This Sunday there’s a little event called the SuperBowl in case you haven’t heard. I’ll be making another big batch of this Lentil and Black Bean Chili for this, because it’s soooo delicious and I ate all of the current batch that I made! Oops!
Here’s a little secret, I don’t actually watch football. I’m like the 10% of people in this country that do not watch football I guess. With that being said, I always watch the SuperBowl. I enjoy the big game day mostly for the food, the commercials, and the half-time show.
This Lentil and Black Bean chili is Vegan, and so hearty that honestly you can’t even tell that there is not meat in it.
I recently discovered Lentils and I absolutely love the flavor of them. To me it’s one of the best beef replacements in certain meals, especially this chili!
This was actually my first time making a vegetarian chili and I was so happy with the way the flavor turned out on this.
I was so happy with it, that I took like a bazillion pictures of this chili, haha! Ah yes, the life of a food blogger. Sometimes I don’t think my friends and family really understand what I do, and that’s ok. They think I just take pictures of food and them put it online, lol, if it were only that easy! 🙂
Most food bloggers like myself put in countless hours putting together new recipes, setting up the photo shoot (A.K.A. my living room table), taking pictures, going through the hundreds of pics picking out which ones will be edited for the post, doing final edits on the photos, adding it to my website, and then doing all of the geeky SEO stuff that will hopefully get it noticed in the search engines.
Oh yeah I almost forgot the social media part, adding the recipe posts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Oh and I also started doing video recipes which I think are super cool, you can check them out on YouTube. (Pssst – there’s now a video recipe for this chili below!)
Whew! It’s no wonder I don’t have time to sit down and watch football! But that’s ok because I love what I do! And my friends and family like it because they all get to eat yummy food. 🙂
Sorry I got a little side tracked there, I just had to get that off of my chest.
Let’s get back to this Lentil and Black Bean Chili recipe!
Here’s what I love about this chili:
- It’s super healthy and totally Vegan
- It’s hearty and delicious
- It’s really easy to make, just throw everything in a pot and let it simmer until it’s done
- Everyone will love it, even the toughest critics like my 13 year old son
- You can make a big batch and freeze it
If you try this recipe let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! It’s super helpful to me and other readers!
Cheers friends!
UPDATE! I’ve updated this recipe using an Instant Pot! So if you want to use this method, check it out here —–> Instant Pot Lentil and Black Bean Chili.
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Lentil and Black Bean Chili
This Sunday there’s a little event called the SuperBowl in case you haven’t heard. I’ll be making another big batch of this Lentil and Black Bean Chili for this, because it’s soooo delicious and I ate all of the current batch that I made! Oops!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 5 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 1/2 cups of dry Green Lentils
- 1 14.5oz can diced Tomatoes with fire roasted green chilis
- 1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
- 2 14oz cans of Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 large Sweet Onion chopped
- 1 large Red Pepper chopped
- 4 cloves finely chopped Garlic
- 1 Tbs Olive Oil
- 1 cup frozen Corn
- 1 Tbs Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Truvia Brown Sugar
Instructions
- In large pot add vegetable broth and lentils.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- While lentils are cooking, in a large pan add olive oil, onion, red pepper, and garlic.
- Saute 5-6 minutes until softened.
- When lentils have simmered for 20 minutes, add remainder of ingredients to pot.
- Simmer chili for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Do occasional taste tests and add more or less spice to your liking.
- Enjoy!
- ***Slow Cooker method below***
- In 6 quart slow cooker add vegetable broth, dry lentils, tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, onion, red pepper, garlic, corn, chili powder, cumin, and brown sugar.
- Stir until combined.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
Notes
Instant Pot method here —–> recipe
Keywords: lentil and black bean chili, vegan chili, vegetarian chili, chili, gluten free, meal prep, dinner
I love chili
This sounds amazing! Do you know how I could adjust the recipe to make it in a slow cooker instead?
Hey Monica, Sorry for the delay, I actually wanted to test this recipe out using a slow cooker before replying to you. 🙂 I omitted the Olive Oil and added everything else to my 6 quart slow cooker. I cooked it on low for 6 hours and it came out perfect! No need to precook the lentils or anything else, they will all cook in the slow cooker. Let me know if you try it!
Making your chili recipe in the slow cooker as we speak! I plan to ladle it over some baked potatoes for dinner this evening! So far so good 🙂
Awesome Heather! 🙂
If we prefer spicy over sweet, would it be good to remove the brown sugar?
Yes you could certainly omit this, give it a taste and season it more to your liking!
Made this recipe in the crockpot, doubled the chili spice and omitted the brown sugar. It was perfect at 6hrs in the slow cooker.
Thank you for the recipe
Awesome Cristina, that’s so great to hear! 🙂
Hey need a method for the instant pot! I have everything loaded in mine now. will take a guess and let you know how and what I did.
★★★★★
made this in the instant pot. the only things I did differently was to do manual hi pressure at 15 min and quick release. The lentils remained intact. it was thick consistency I was so excited.
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks for the Instant Pot tip! 🙂
Hi if I use the crockpot can i use dry black beans instead of canned?
hi! this recipe looks great and i’m phsyced to try it! I’m trying to eat less calories daily, and 300 calories is pretty low for chili so that was a total bonus too! However, I was wondering: what is the exact serving size? I just want to make sure I’m eating the right serving size ?
★★★★★
Hey Ruby, serving size is about 1 cup. 🙂
Just made this for lunch. Really delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★
That’s so great to hear! 🙂
This is the second time I am making this dish. Delicious and satisfying…and it works beautifully with Weight Watchers!
That’s awesome Karen, love it! 🙂
Hi!
I am looking to make this in the crockpot but not sure I will be home 6 hours before…Have you done this with the crockpot on high for a shorter amount of time? If so, how long?
Thank you!!!
Victoria
★★★★★
Hi Victoria, I have not tried it on high in the Crockpot, but typically when you convert it from low to high the time is cut in half. So I would think it would be ok on high for 3 hrs. If you try this be sure to let me know how that works for you! 🙂
Just made tbis and holy chit it is amazing! I added a little bit of my own spice but still sooo good!
This just made my day! Thank you Angelina:)
Thanks for the recipe! It was soo good! Just what I was looking for!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Erin! 🙂
Hi I made your chilli and loved it, but it was a pretty big batch. Can I freeze it??
Hi Carolina, so glad you loved it! Yes you can freeze it:)
Very delicious! Thank you for sharing. Followed the recipe exactly and wasn’t disappointed!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Edward!
Hi there! Just wondering how long this would stay good in the fridge? Going to make it tomorrow!
Hi Jess, You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You could also freeze it as well. Be sure to let me know what you think of this recipe after you try it:)
This recipe looks great for my family that has some vegetarians and some gluten-free. But the sodium is pretty high. Any suggestions for cutting sodium but amping up flavor?
Hi Tai, You could get low sodium vegetable broth, black beans, etc. to cut back on the sodium. Let me know if you give it a try, would love to hear your feedback:)