Vegan Chili Soup
This is my favorite chili soup. It’s made with simple ingredients and is Medical Medium compliant. There’s no meat, dairy, or corn in this chili, and it absolutely doesn’t need it! I like to make it with dried beans cooked in the Instant Pot, but you’re welcome to use canned-just make sure you rinse them well. This chili soup is sweet, spicy, and addictive!
Ingredients
Categorized for easy shopping list creation:
| PRODUCE | |
|---|---|
| Onion, yellow or white | 1 large |
| Garlic | 3 cloves |
| Jalapeno | 1 |
| Poblano | 1 |
| Red Bell Pepper | 1 |
| Lime | 1 |
| Cilantro | for topping |
| DRY GOODS | |
|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp |
| Black Beans | 1/2 cup dried or 1 cup cooked |
| Kidney Beans | 1/2 cup dried or 1 cup cooked |
| Pinto Beans | 1/2 cup dried or 1 cup cooked |
| San Marzano Whole Tomatoes | 28 oz can |
| Water or Vegetable Broth | 3 cups |
| SPICES | |
|---|---|
| Chili Powder | 1 tbsp |
| Cumin | 1 tsp |
| Paprika | 1 tsp |
| Cayenne Powder | 1 tsp |
| Sea Salt | 1 tsp |
| Sugar (granulated maple, coconut, brown, or maple syrup) | 1 tbsp |
Step by Step Instructions
Cook the Dried Beans
Measure and rinse the dried beans. Add to the Instant Pot and cover with water, at least 2 inches above the beans. Cook on high for 35 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally (meaning do not touch the pressure release switch), and wait for the machine to tell you it’s safe to open the lid. Then drain and rinse the beans.
Prep Ingredients
Prep and measure all of the ingredients.
Cook
Heat olive oil (or water for fat-free version) over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and poblano.
Then add the bell pepper.
Once the veggies are fragrant and softened, you’ll add the sugar and spices and cook for a minute. This allows the spices to bloom and the sugar to caramelize a bit, which complements beautifully with the jalapeno.
Now you’ll add the tomatoes, beans, water, and spices and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Serve
Serve with lime and cilantro.
Cooking Tips
For the sweetener, I recommend using a granulated sugar to give a caramelly flavor when sautéing.
San Marzano Whole Tomatoes are essential to this recipe. Do not use crushed tomatoes; we’ll crush the whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon. I prefer the flavor of big chunks of whole tomatoes over crushed.
I like to use filtered water for this recipe because the soup is flavorful enough that it doesn’t need the help of vegetable broth. However, if you want to use broth, you can.
I have instructions on how to cook dried beans in the Instant Pot, but feel free to use canned beans instead. If using canned, wash the beans under running water until there are no bubbles.
Final Thoughts
This recipe makes about 10 cups of soup and serves 2-4 people.
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Vegan Chili Soup
Equipment
- Instant Pot if using dried beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil use water for fat-free option
- 1 onion yellow, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno diced, optionally remove seeds
- 1 poblano diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon sugar (granulated maple, coconut, brown, or maple syrup)
- .5 cup black beans, dried or 1 cup cooked
- .5 cup kidney beans, dried or 1 cup cooked
- .5 cup pinto beans, dried or 1 cup cooked
- 28 ounces San Marzano whole tomatoes canned
- 3 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 lime
- Cilantro for topping
Instructions
Instant Pot Dried Beans
- Rinse 1/2 cup of black beans, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, and 1/2 cup of pinto beans, and add to instant pot. Fill the Instant Pot with enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches..5 cup black beans, dried, .5 cup kidney beans, dried, .5 cup pinto beans, dried
- Pressure cook on high for 35 minutes. Let the steam release naturally (meaning don't touch the Instant Pot) until you're prompted to open the lid.
- Drain and rinse the beans. This method takes about an hour to cook the beans.
Chili Soup Instructions
- Prep/measure all ingredients before cooking.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and poblano. Stir frequently, until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 jalapeno, 1 poblano
- Add bell pepper and cook for about 3 minutes, until softened, stirring frequently.1 red bell pepper
- Add sugar and spices and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.1 tablespoon sugar (granulated maple, coconut, brown, or maple syrup), 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Add beans, tomatoes, and water to the pot and stir, breaking apart the tomatoes with a spoon. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.28 ounces San Marzano whole tomatoes, 3 cups water
- Turn off the heat and add the juice of 1 lime to the pot. Serve each bowl with freshly chopped cilantro.1 lime, Cilantro
