Spicy Smoky "Meaty" Vegan Chili | 1-Pot Meal! | The Wicked Kitchen

You know what? Screw all of this cold winter weather and let’s make some hot and delicious, SPICY (if you like that sort of thing), SMOKY (if you use the incredible chipotle peppers in adobo sauce like the video), MEATY (from the finely-chopped mushrooms) 100% VEGAN CHILI!!!! This is a really quick and easy 1-pot meal that will feed you and your family (if you’re still on sharing terms at this point of the pandemic) for a few solid meals. It stores great in the fridge and is a quick re-heat for leftovers. We top this one off with some vegan sour cream, vegan cheddar cheese shreds, sliced green onion, fresh jalapeños and cilantro for an extra burst of freshness. Throw some tortilla chips at it and call it a day!

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SPICY SMOKY “MEATY” VEGAN CHILI RECIPE

Ingredients:

8 oz (227g) cremini mushrooms (aka “Baby Bella” mushrooms), rough chopped
½ yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (optional, depending on your heat threshold)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp pickled jalapeño brine (juice, whatever you want to call it)
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 can (15 oz/425g) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz/425g) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz/425g) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (28 oz/794g) crushed tomatoes
2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 fresh jalapeño, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Vegan cheese shreds
Vegan sour cream

Instructions:

First you’ll want to roughly chop all of the mushrooms. This helps to create a more consistent fine mince in the food processor.

After the mushrooms are chopped, dump them into the food processor. Another key to this technique is to pulse and shake the food processor to mix the mushrooms around, rather than simply flipping the switch and letting it go.

Blend the mushrooms until finely minced, then set aside.

Start heating a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Dice the onion.

Add the olive oil to the pot, then add the onions. (Note: If you want to make this oil-free, you can add the onions to the hot pan and then deglaze it with a little bit of vegetable stock.) Cook the onions until they’re almost translucent.

While the onions cook down, mince the chipotle peppers. Again, the peppers are totally optional if you don’t want the spicy heat. You can always add some extra spice or hot sauce to individual servings as desired.

When the onions are nearly translucent, add the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and garlic. Give it a stir while the spices toast and become fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the minced mushrooms to the pot. Drizzle a little bit more olive oil on top of the mushrooms then combine the mixture. Let it cook down for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.

While the mushrooms cook, they’ll release quite a bit of water. That water is going to pick up all the flavors from the spices, onions and garlic and infuse it into the mushroom mixture, giving it the concentrated “meaty” flavor we’re looking for. You’ll know you’re done with this step when the mushrooms start sticking to the bottom of the pan.

While the mushroom mixture cooks down, dice the zucchini and yellow squash.

When the mushroom mixture is ready (when it’s starting to stick to the pan and most of the moisture has been cooked out), add the chipotle peppers and jalapeño brine and give it a stir or two.

Add all of the beans, the zucchini and yellow squash. Lower the heat to medium and stir.

Add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir.

Add the salt and pepper (to taste) and stir.

Cover and bring to a boil, then remove the lid, and simmer for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Time to taste! If you used the pickled jalapeño brine (juice, whatever) you’re checking to make sure it’s not too acidic.

CAUTION: your chili has been bubbling away on the stove for the past quarter of an hour, so it’s going to be WICKED HOT!

If you determine that it’s too acidic, add a drizzle of agave syrup as needed to balance things out (or maple syrup or brown sugar).

If you want to thicken your chili, you can add some tomato paste at this stage a little at a time until it reaches the consistency you’re looking for.

Prepare the green onion and fresh jalapeño for garnish.

When you’re ready to serve, lower the heat and ladle the chili into bowls. Add a dollop of vegan sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded vegan cheese, green onion, sliced jalapeño and cilantro and serve with tortilla chips. Sit back, soak up the mmmm’s and ahhhhh’s from your lucky pod of eaters.

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