I recently asked my Facebook fans what kinds of recipes they wanted to see and ‘slow cooker/crock pot’ won by a long shot. I’m so excited to bring you recipes that not only are things you want to see, but recipes that make my life simpler. I have always been one that’s on the go constantly and it just seems to keep getting busier and busier. If you keep up with me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been an exercise fiend and spend quite a bit of time working out. Between my full time job, my love of Tried and Tasty, and exercising it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for much in between. So slow cooker meals are right up my alley. Since it’s just my husband and me, the double benefit (besides the ease) is that when I put together a crock pot meal it will usually last us about a week. Score! When I’m running out the door it’s nice to have a healthy lunch to grab or when I’ve come home from a long day it’s nice to have a hot meal ready!
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
A delicious & hearty chili that is perfect for any vegetarian, or even those who don't mind meat either!
Ingredients
- 1 15oz can -or- 2 c. dry soaked kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15oz can -or- 2 c. dry soaked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15oz can -or- 2 c. dry soaked pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 c. frozen corn
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 c. vegetable broth
- 5-8 garlic cloves minced (I love garlic!)
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp. regular paprika
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours (or until beans are soft).
Recipe Notes
My 2 Cents]
This is my first recipe using dry beans that I had soaked overnight. I talked about dry beans in my ‘Get Healthy in 2014: Kitchen Basics Part 1‘ post and I finally took the plunge and gave it a whirl. Since I hadn’t done it before, I looked to youtube for tutorials and found this one on ‘How To Soak Beans & Save Yourself Some Moolah‘ It was so easy. The thing you have to remember is that even though the beans have been soaked, they still will need an hour or so at a boil on the stovetop in order to become soft. Because of this, instead of cooking my chili on low for the 6-8 hours I ended up cooking my chili on high for 8-9 hours. That’s how long it took the beans to soften. Just keep that in mind, depending on which route you end up going.
[More of My 2 Cents]
Because this is such a hearty stew I didn’t even miss the meat. In fact, it was almost like there was meat in there because of all the beans. This was ultra-healthy because I was able to use my freezer corn from this summer as well as canned tomatoes that I did a couple of years ago. Because the tomatoes were whole, I just tossed them in my Blendtec and pulsed them until they were broken up. I ended up practically making tomato juice, but it worked nonetheless.
Adapted from Picky Eater Blog
Joy
Are you sure about 6 cups total of dried beans? That would be like 12 cups of beans after cooking.
Today my husband and I decided to turn vegetarian from being carnivores. and this might be our first meatless dish. Wish me luck.
Yvonne
Good luck, I hope you enjoyed it!
andrea
How many calories per serving?
Yvonne
I just updated the recipe so that it is in my newest printable format and also provides estimated nutritional information. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Callie k.
How many does this serve?
Yvonne
I just updated the recipe card, it will make 12 servings – serves lots for fully bellies of yummyness!
I have tossed raw bulgar in my three-bean chili and it added a nice texture. Now, to go soak those beans
Yvonne
Sounds good!
Lauren
n you add butternut squash ? Or would the flavor be off?
Yvonne
Oh, I bet butternut squash would be an excellent addition! I don’t think it would ruin it at all – great idea!
Erin
Oh yes, I’ll definitely cook the quinoa before putting it in!
Erin
Would you leave out one of the beans and replace with the quinoa just so the bean to liquid ratio doesn’t get messed up or just throw it all in?
Yvonne
That’s not a bad idea! And definitely cook the quinoa before adding it to the soup (is what I would suggest)… but then again maybe not?? I’m not sure!!
Erin
What do you think about adding quinoa to this?
Yvonne
I’d definitely say go for it – that’s a fabulous idea!!