Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

I have found my new favorite of all time Chili recipe! First, because it’s a slow cooker recipe and as you can tell by our recent posts lately, I’m on a slow cooker kick. Second, it’s vegetarian and full of delicious legumes and vegetables (which we got fresh from the local farmers market). Third, the original recipe said “this dish is hearty comfort food at its best, plus it will satisfy both vegans and meat eaters alike” which it absolutely did. We made this one night when Gabe’s coworkers came over to carve pumpkins for Halloween, and the chili was a hit. I was honestly a little nervous picking out a dish to serve, and when I chose this one I was a little worried because I knew one of the guys coming over was a total meat lover to the extreme. I mean this guy is known for eating an 8 X 8 burger at In-N-Out Burger (that’s eight burger patties nestled between eight cheese slices, folks). Not only did he like the recipe, he loved it and asked for the recipe! Doesn’t get much better than that!

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 6 hours and 30 minutes

Total time: 8 hours and 50 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

2 cans (15 ounce) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans (15 ounce) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 ounce) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 can (14 ounce) crushed tomatoes with juice

1 can (15 ounce) fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 small or 1 large carrot, finely chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 cups frozen corn kernels

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream, and/or sprinkling of chopped green onions

Instructions

In the slower cooker, combine the pinto and kidney beans, chickpeas, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, onion, carrot, red and yellow peppers, chili powder, cumin, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 cup (8 ounces) water. Stir to mix well. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 6 hours to blend the flavors. *It will seem like there isn’t enough liquid, but as the chili cooks it all comes together very nicely.

Uncover, add the corn, and stir well. Re-cover and continue to cook on the low-heat setting for 30 minutes. The corn should be tender and warmed through. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

Transfer to individual bowls, top with you favorite things and serve right away. Serve with warm corn bread if you like!

Recipe inspired by Williams-Sonoma.