After devouring all the festive food , its high time we focus on the new year dress. It’s time to buckle up, cut down those calories that we happily put on feasting all month long.

Yes it’s time for some soups and salads. After eating such good food , its difficult to transition to the healthy one’s right. Starving and dieting was never my thing. I always believe in healthy lifestyle and a little bit of everything in limits doesn’t hurt. Soups are fine, but salads in this cold weather !! its below 20 degrees f and  I am just not motivated to eat cold salads . So there is one more reason to make this  recipe .

Today I am sharing a recipe which is a soup and salad in one – Vegetarian chili . It’s a vegetarian version of  Mexican chili or should I say a Tex-Mex version.And its vegan too.  I call it as a dump soup – With loads of veggies, beans and toppings , extremely customizable . A complete hearty meal in a bowl. It  is not only nuitrtious but also delicious to the core . And making it ahead of time earns more brownie points. Vegetarian chili can be made and eaten more than one way so that you do not get bored of it.

 So I just swap one meal of the day with a big bowl or two  of vegetarian chili, this always works in my favor for my body type and I have always been successful in loosing those extra pounds without dieting or starving – I hope I have answered the questions asked by many readers- “you cook such sinful food and how do you maintain your weight ? “ – the secret is out guys.

On a serious note – if you haven’t tried it yet , please do even if you do not want to loose weight. It’s a very healthy meal option.

Ok let me slow down here, I get really excited when it comes to sharing.

As I mentioned before its like a soup and salad in one. It has thicker consistency compared to other soups.

There are hundred’s of recipes available online for vegetarian chili , what am I doing different?                

Generally vegetarian / vegan versions of chili have tomatoes as its base , my version uses beetroot .

Yes ,Beetroot is the hero of this version of vegetarian chili.

Why beetroot? I love to use veggies which aren’t consumed often and which needs to be included in our diet . Beets come with plethora of benefits but isn’t getting due importance in our diet. It has always been in sandwiches or just plain soup which I make like once a month. Hence beetroot is the base of this version of chili .

In a nutshell , what is this soup made of

Loads of veggies – both – purée and chunky.

Beans – for extra protein

Herbs and Spices – that only makes this soup more and more delicious.

Make a big batch ahead of time – A batch that can last me for a week hopefully.

Make ahead of time tips!

Store in the fridge for upto 3 days

Vegetarian chili freezes well – freeze in 1 time use portions.

Makes a great lunch box too.

So how do I eat it entire week  without getting bored –

Everyday I just make changes in the toppings and add ons, so no boredom – yayy!!

I made this 3 days back and this is how I am having it –

Day one

Simply 2 bowls of hearty and piping hot vegetarian chili with light sprinkle of cheese topping was my dinner.

Day two

Changed up things a bit . Added sour cream , sprinkled some cheese , added ½ cup bulgur wheat, some pan roasted sweet corns as topping – my lunch

Day three

Today I will be adding in some barley , some flaxseed meal , avocados and cashew  cream .

Day four.

Thinking of brown rice , edamame and sour cream  .

Day five

Will add cooked cracked wheat, pan sautéed peas and spinach with sesame seeds and top with  avocado dressing.

I hope you have enough ideas and come up with your own bowl of goodness.

This soup keeps you fuller for a very long time, if I have it for lunch, I am actually not hungry by dinner and I just land up eating half of my dinner portion. So win win every time.

Feel free to have this soup any time of the day , for lunch, dinner or light snack .

Highlights

vegan base

make ahead of time

keeps you fuller for a long time 

flexible 

customizable 

gluten free base 

I like to make vegetable stock/ broth at home  whenever possible, you can use store bought too.

You can even use plain water , but I highly recommend using broth as not only it enhances flavors , it also makes it more nutritious.

Home made vegetable broth

4-5 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

2-3 peppercorns

Tomatoes, onion, carrots or any vegetable peels

Approx 2” long Roughly sliced ginger chunks

Fistful of coriander stems

Just boil all the above  for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the gas .Do not drain it immediately . Let the peels and spices steep in the water for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on time on hand. Drain and use as needed or store in the fridge up to 2 days.

Step by step pictorial tutorial.

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5 from 2 votes

Vegetarian Chili

A hearty vegan bowl of soup and salad all in one.

Course Salad, Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Adjustable Servings -8 -12 servings

Author Khushboo

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium sized tomato diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 cups boiled black beans/ rajma / other beans / canned beans
• 2 beetroot diced
• 1 cup tomato salsa/ puree / crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoon roasted cumin/jeera powder
• 3-4 cloves garlic sliced/ grated
• 4-5 cups vegetable broth/ water or more as needed
• 2 fistful of chopped coriander with tender stems
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• ½ tablespoon chili powder optional
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large pot heat the oil
• Add in garlic , sautee until brown .
• Add in onions and rest of the vegetables except tomatoes
• Sautee for a minute
• Add in the spices .
• Add in tomatoes , vegetable broth . Bring it to a simmer. Add in salsa/ tomato puree , beans , salt pepper and let it cook on low for 20-30 minutes , stirring occasionally . Add more broth/ water to adjust the desired consistency.
• Taste test and adjust the spices if needed. Add in the coriander and cook for 2 more minutes. Switch off the flame and enjoy it piping hot on its own or with toppings and combinations mentioned above.

Notes

Chili is supposed to be thick and will thicken more after cooling . Adjust liquid according to your preference.
Use 2-3 cups of total assorted veggies – other veggies suggestions – sweet corn, celery , pumpkin, squashes.
Increase or decrease the amount of beans – I have used total 2 cups of cooked black beans
Other beans suggestions- rajma, garbanzo , white beans , black eye peas , pinto beans
Make ahead of time and storing tips mentioned above.
Combinations and toppings suggestions mentioned above.

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