This is such a popular recipe for families, that I've made a few updates so it can be enjoyed as a delicious vegan chili recipe!

It is true. The thought of eating meatless meals can be a little bit scary. For some folks, meat is the very heart of every meal. But, let me assure you it is possible to make amazing vegetarian recipes that even the picky eaters in your house will love.

As the world buzzes with facts about the environmental and health benefits of cutting out meat (if only for one day of the week) it can feel overwhelming. As for kids - change is even scarier for kids. A meatless chili recipe!? My eldest daughter literally said, "the meat is my favorite part of chili!" Who knew?

New year, new goals ,and new recipes. Time to step outside of your comfort zone and take a chance on this delicious kid-friendly vegetarian chili. No one will miss the meat.

Kid-Friendly Vegetarian Chili

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter (if you have a nut allergy you can skip this ingredient or substitute with seed butter)
3 red peppers, chopped into ½-inch pieces
2 sweet potatoes (total 10 ounces), chopped into ½ inch pieces (smaller if you have picky potato eaters, * see the note below)
handful of little yellow potatoes, halved
2 x 19 fl oz cans mixed beans (chickpeas, black beans, butter beans)
1 x 28 fl oz can whole plum tomatoes
1 x 28 fl oz can diced plum tomatoes
handful of cilantro stalks
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup sour cream

In a cast iron dutch oven...if you don't have a dutch oven, a large flat-bottomed pot will suffice...heat oil over medium-high heat. Toss in the shallots, cumin, cocoa, paprika, and peanut butter. Cook the onions and spices until the onions soften and the peanut butter melts. You will have a dark, onion paste.

Add in the peppers, sweet potatoes, and yellow potatoes. Toss the peppers and potatoes in the paste until they are coated.

Add beans (with their liquid), tomatoes (with their liquid), cilantro stalks, and salt. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Bring the chili to a boil and then drop to a simmer. Simmer for 1-2 hours...until the potatoes are soft.

Serve the chili with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Make it a Kid-Friendly Vegan Chili Recipe

With a few simple changes this recipe can be completely vegan. The basis of this chili is already vegan, I don't use any butter or any other dairy products. So, to go from vegetarian to vegan it is all about the toppings you choose. There are great alternatives to dairy sour cream - you could use a tofu-based sour cream or a bean and oat-based sour cream alternative. There are so many amazing cheese alternatives available too. Again, vegan shredded cheeses are typically either soy-based or nut-based (almond or cashew). You could also add a dusting of nutritional yeast to add a pop or parmesan cheese-like flavor to your chili. These are simple ways to switch things up.

Now, what does "kid-friendly" mean? I have two kids - one kid devoured the chili and even took a thermos full for lunch the next day. The other kid picked her way around the sweet potatoes. I'll take that. She loved the flavors...not the chunky potatoes. Lesson learned, next time I'll chop the potatoes smaller. If you have a picky potato eater...chop those sweet potatoes smaller. Kid approved!

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Kid Friendly Vegetarian Chili

Who said that kids won't eat vegetables? Make a big batch of this vegetable packed chili and your kids will clean their bowls.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 50

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American, canadian

Keyword: chili, vegetarian chili

Servings: people

Calories: 469kcal

Author: Jen

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots roughly chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter if you have a nut allergy you can skip this ingredient or substitute with a seed butter
3 red peppers chopped into ½ inch pieces
2 sweet potatoes total 10 ounces, chopped into ½ inch pieces (smaller if you have picky potato eaters, * see the note below)
handful of little yellow potatoes halved
2 x 19 fl oz cans mixed beans chick peas, black beans, butter beans
1 x 28 fl oz can whole plum tomatoes
1 x 28 fl oz can diced plum tomatoes
handful of cilantro stalks
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup sour cream

Instructions

In a cast iron dutch oven…if you don’t have a dutch oven, a large flat bottomed pot will suffice…heat oil over medium-high heat. Toss in the shallots, cumin, cocoa, paprika and peanut butter. Cook the onions and spices until the onions soften and the peanut butter melts. You will have a dark, onion paste.
Add in the peppers, sweet potatoes and yellow potatoes. Toss the peppers and potatoes in the paste until they are coated.
Add beans (with their liquid), tomatoes (with their liquid), cilantro stalks and salt. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Bring the chilli to a boil and then drop to a simmer. Simmer for 1-2 hours…until the potatoes are soft.

Notes

Serve the chilli with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Nutrition Info is to be used as a rough guide only. Nutrition info is based on the products I am using and you may not be using the same products/brands. Thus, the nutrition info may vary.

Nutrition

This recipe is another twist on a Chef Jamie Oliver recipe - Smoky Veggie Chilli. I skipped using a grill...too cold to go outside and I didn't have the time to use a stovetop grill. I also skipped serving the chili with a baked potato. Instead, I added the little potatoes to the chili itself. A few tweaks and this chili has now been added to our regular rotation. You really cannot beat a big bowl of hot chili on a cold, winter day.

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