If, like me, you made a New Year’s resolution to start eating healthier, you might be just a little worried about what you’re going to eat at the Big Party coming up this weekend.
I’m referring, of course, to the Super Bowl, the day when grown adults run and dodge and knock each other down in their quest to get to the guacamole bowl. Or maybe that’s just at my house. I live with two hard-core football fans who will insist that there be guacamole and tortilla chips to eat during the big game, and if I’m not careful, I’ll start mindlessly snacking all my healthy progress away.
That’s why I have a plan–and I suggest you have one, too. You may not be able to keep away from all the tempting snack food, but you can have just as tempting nutritious food on hand to grab when the snacking urge hits. Guacamole itself isn’t unhealthy as long as you don’t overdo it, but packaged tortilla chips are just fried flour and salt. So make your own baked chips, or better yet, scoop up your guac with baby carrots, celery sticks, red pepper slices, cucumber, or cauliflower florets. And be sure to have a filling, nutritious main course that tastes like you’re cheating on your diet (but you’re not).
That’s where the chili comes in. Nava Atlas shares this Big Pot of Really Good Chili in her hot new book Vegan Holiday Kitchen (which I had the honor of photographing). It’s perfect for when you’re feeding a crowd of hearty eaters, and because the seasoning is mild, each of your guests can spice it up according to taste.
Vegan Holiday Kitchen contains dozens of recipes for informal get-togethers like Super Bowl parties, so be sure to check out the last chapter on potluck dishes. And if you don’t have it yet, hop over to Hungry Vegan to read a terrific review and enter to win a copy.
Smoky Refried Bean Soup and Baked Tortilla Chips
If you’re not hosting a crowd this year and don’t need a really big pot of chili, I recommend my Smoky Refried Bean Soup, a Ridiculously Easy recipe that cooks in about 30 minutes. Here are a few other low-fat recipes to keep you munching guiltlessly as you cheer your team to victory:
- Mexican Lasagna (or Enchilada Casserole)
- Bryanna’s Low-Fat Veggie “Guacamole”
- Saintly Black and Gold Salsa (my Superbowl recipe from 2010)
- Chipotle Chickpea Dip
- Baked Lime-Chipotle Tortilla Chips
- Three Guilt-Free Snacks You Can Make at Home
- Texas Caviar (Black-eyed Pea Salsa or Salad) at Fatfree Vegan Recipes
- Spinach and Cucumber Spread from Vegan Holiday Kitchen
- Vegan Fat-Free Spinach-Three Bean Dip from The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes
- Seitan tacos with homemade salsa and guacamole from Bistro Katie
Nava's Big Pot of Really Good Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted this)
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 3 28-ounce cans beans of your choice (try a combination of pinto, pink, and black beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
- 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1-2 jalapeño or other hot peppers seeded and minced, or one 8-ounce can mild or hot chopped green chiles
- 1 tablespoon good-quality chili powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Chopped ripe tomatoes for garnish
- Chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté until the onion is golden. Add the remaining ingredients except the last three.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender and the flavors have melded.
- Season with salt and pepper, and adjust the other seasonings. If time allows, let the chili stand for up to several hours before serving. Heat through as needed.The chili should be nice and thick; if it has gotten too thick, stir in a cup of water. Serve in individual bowls, garnished with tomatoes and cilantro.
Notes
Add a cup or two of cooked corn kernels toward the end of cooking time Add a medium or large firm-cooked sweet potato, peeled and diced Add a diced zucchini or yellow summer squash about halfway into the cooking time Serve with grated nondairy cheddar cheese on the side for garnishing individual servings Put out extra “hot stuff” like minced fresh chili peppers, dried hot red pepper flakes, or hot sauce for those who like their chilies extra-spicy Nutrition (per serving, including oil): 236 calories, 37 calories from fat, 4.3g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 938mg sodium, 719.6mg potassium, 39.9g carbohydrates, 11.6g fiber, 5.8g sugar, 11.4g protein. Nutrition info below excludes oil. Without oil, one serving is zero points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program. Recipe from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. Reprinted with permission.
Nutritional info is approximate.
janet @ the taste space
I never knew that Super Bowl parties were all the rage…. well, sign me up if I get to eat chili as tasty as this. 🙂
moonwatcher
Hi Susan,
This looks great–there are all kinds of wonderful surprises in that aweseome book! I have been making something very similar to this in smaller batches based on a recipe I saw at Healthy Girl’s Kitchen through an Engine 2 e-mail. I like Nava’s addition of the cocoa powder. I would use carob, but it works similarly. I hope you have a great Super Bowl weekend.
I LOVE the blue plate and bowl–just gorgeous!
xo
moonwatcher
Laura B.
This looks delicious, however, I must ask about the beans- is that measurement correct? It seems like a lot of beans.
Susan Voisin
It’s right–and it is a lot of beans! But the chili is very thick and mostly beans. I actually used 6 15-ounce cans because I didn’t have the larger cans.
Tierney@ Get Your Veg On
This chili looks great! I’ll bet it would be really tasty served over a baked potato with some nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.
Esther J
I had leftovers today over a baked sweet potato. Just yummy.
Linda Suchy
I love all your recipes! Thank you for your site!
wendy (healthy girls kitchen)
Last year I made it a point to inspire people to have Plant-strong Super Bowl Parties. I even went as far as contacting a bunch of bloggers asking them to post recipes of no-oil vegan super bowl party ideas. My efforts were met with limited success.
This year? It’s all the rage! I’m so excited! It seems like everyone is talking about their Healthy Super Bowl Party recipes. I couldn’t be happier. Seems our little movement is getting a little bit bigger. 🙂 xoxo
Susan Voisin
Wendy, I wish I’d seen your post! Before posting this, I did a Google search for low-fat vegan Super Bowl recipes and found practically nothing. Maybe things are changing, but it’s still tough to find healthy recipes.
Karen
I make a similar chili with TVP and black beans. I recently took a crockpot of it to a party and while there were other vegetarian chilies in addition to a traditional (meat) chili my pot came home empty and I had several requests for the recipe, most from non vegans.
Alana Helbig
I love all the hearty delicious recipes you post. This year I made a resolution that each week I would cook a new recipe. Thanks to your blog I’ve always got something new and exciting to try!
luminousvegans
I love chili and this version looks especially hearty and filling (and simple)! I like the idea that someone mentioned of having it over potatoes with nooch! 🙂
carol
I just want you to know Susan that I started the ETL Vegan plan in December, got the Forks over Knives book around the first week of January, and met a wonderful lady at a local health food grocery store who told me of your blog. I have lost around 8 pounds and although the other two books with recipes are good, your blog is by far the best! Your recipes are all delicious and low fat. You have helped me tremendously in learning how to cook vegan. What’s more my husband has now found that he likes surviving with out meat, dairy and added oils and butters and he has lost almost 20 pounds just by eating the same foods I am. Keep those recipes and helpful comments coming Susan, you are helping me to change my life. I have been cooking the old way for over 50 years now so I need the helpful hints and learning techniques. It is like I am discovering a whole new challenging world. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
carol
A quick question to anyone who has a “rotation plan” for meal planning. Can you describe that method in a nutshell? Are you in a definite two week plan? a monthly plan? a six week plan? A planned food variety of beans and veggies designed for essential health benefits? A dinner rotation or all three meals a day rotation planning? I am sure I am making this sound difficult but since I am new at this I would like to have some sort of organization about my cooking so it gets easier rather than being so time consuming. Thanks.
K
Just made this recipe for my dinner and it is fantastic! I added textured vegetable protein to it for the meat eaters in my family so it would have the meaty look and feel of carnivore chili. It went down an absolute treat. Thanks!
Kum
Chili looks so tasty…
Thank you so much for sharing so many vegan recipes, which is not only good for our health, but also great for our beautiful planet.
Drisana (SoulShineBlog)
This looks like a great chili! I’ve never tried adding cocoa powder before…I bet it’s good!
Maya (The Keen Kitchen)
Once I started adding cocoa powder to chili, I never went back! It’s such a fantastic “secret” ingredient that adds another layer of richness and depth without a lot of calories. Fan.
Amy
Made this chili for the family tonight. Enough for an army! Very tasty 🙂 I will use jalapeno next time, went with canned mild green chilis and would have liked a smidge more zing. Will most certainly make this one again. Thanks!
Julia
Hi Susan – just a quick question for you (apologies if this is covered elsewhere on your site, I’m new!). What are your thoughts on using dried beans instead of canned? I’ve got a pantry full of them for the first time (kidney, butter, and cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas etc.) and though I can’t wait to use some, I’m a little intimidated by all the talk of kidney beans being toxic if improperly soaked, drained and rapidly boiled. Have you ever had problems with this? I want to get cracking on a big-pot chili – the Irish winter isn’t cold, but it sure is damp and I need something to warm me up!
Susan Voisin
I think dried beans are always the best option if you have the time; they avoid the BPA problem of canned beans and just plain taste better. All of your beans will cook faster if you soak them, so starting off with soaked kidney beans shouldn’t be any different. Then make sure they boil for at least 10 minutes. If you cook them in a pressure cooker, that will automatically happen. The only real problem I see is using a slow cooker, which doesn’t get hot enough to boil them. So use a pressure cooker or cook on the stove and you shouldn’t have any problem.
Mary Catherine
I’m delighted with the Vegan Holiday Book. The recipes attributed to Susan are especially inspiring and the photos are lovely. It’s motivating me to stick with vegan version of Weight Watchers – as is FFV. Thanks!
Sara
I’m from Arizona, where we’re serious about our chili. This recipe is almost exactly what I use to make my chili, except I use a can of tomato paste instead of the sauce. I maintain that the cocoa is the secret to its success.
I have also gotten to where I also throw in 8oz of mushrooms and a package of tempeh into the pot to make it heartier (and bigger). Also, a touch of liquid smoke can be an awesome addition. But these things are optional to the base.
Carol Udart
I have this book and made this chili a couple weeks ago. It is my new favorite chili recipe, and it makes a lot!
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner
I love chili during the winter — it is the perfect way to stay warm and get in some veggies! 🙂
Pam
Made this chili yesterday – it was / is excellent on it’s own and when partnered with a grain.
I cooked 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water. Put some quinoa is a bowl and spooned the chili over it, topped it with some yogurt cheese. Addicting!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Liz goff
Made the chili this weekend. It was great! Thanks
Esther J
This was a hit in my house! Even my stepfather, who never saw a steak he didn’t like, cleaned his bowl (He had no idea how healthy he was eating!).
For years, I made a veg chili, but never with cocoa, that secret ingredient that works wonders and which I (inadvertently) doubled, along with the chili powder, but it turned out just fine. Actually, I’ll probably keep it that way in the future, as everyone really did love it.
Thanks for this!
Mia J
I have a huge bag of pinto beans, and I’m so excited to see this delicious way to use them up! Do you have an idea as to how many cups dried beans would equal 3 28 oz cans of beans? Thanks!
Megan
I tried this chili yesterday and OMG! It was amazing. I tasted it for seasonings before it was even cooked and kept tasting. It was DELICIOUS! The tomato and cilantro really made the chili pop.
I’m a vegetarian at the moment and trying to move on to vegan but with all these amazing recipes you have on here I can see the change coming closer. I also tried the lentil and mushroom shepard’s pie (great! i love wine and mushrooms so I added a lot) and the chocolate chia seed pudding. It reminded me of chocolate cake batter. I loved it!
Ella McDaniel
The addition of cocoa powder is brilliant! I would never have thought of it, but it’ll add some amazing earthy complexity. I might cut into the health factor a bit with some non-dairy sour cream, though; the contrast between cool creaminess and hearty heat is too much to pass up!
Siwinile Mabhena
Hie i love your recipes and they are so easy to do and they are so colorful I lake
recipe books with pictures
Marie
I made it with dried beans (soaked overnight), fresh tomatoes (pealed) and tomato paste (2 table spoons) with long hot peppers (2 of them) . I added some carrots as well (4 small ones) and only one onion. I added only a tea spoon of the cocoa powder and cooked it for ~3.5 hours. It came out AMAZING! Thick with rich taste. Definitely making this one again!
caterina
I would like to use dried beans instead of canned ones: how do you suggest using? Thank you for all you great recipes!!
Shae
Susan, thank you so much for this recipe! I made this last week and it was delicious. I think I only used 2 of the small cans of kidney beans. I also made some baked tortilla chips to go with it, so yummy! Perfect for Autumn (here in Australia) :).
Abra
I was wondering if this chili can be made in a slow cooker? I will be at vegan cheese making class on Sunday but want to take this to our Super Bowl party on Sunday. GO 49ers 🙂
Susan Voisin
I think it would be fine in the crockpot. For added flavor, I would go through the first step of sautéing the onion in a skillet and then add it all to the crockpot.
Abra
Thanks Susan. I did that and am now transferring to crock pot. So glad I saw this! I thought I subscribed. I hope everyone has a fun Super Bowl Sunday 🙂
Anastasia Crisis
Hi Susan, I’ve posted this on your facebook, but also wanted to share it in this recipe since it’s along the same topic. I’ve been following fatfreevegan for a few years now and have cooked up a storm following your recipes! Thank you for all your tips, fine cooking, and lovely photographs.
Now myself and a buddy of mine have created a vegan blog and podcast (a foodclass and music selection), do check it out, I would love to hear some feedback.
First episode features vegan alternatives for Super Bowl:
http://singingwithmymouthfull.tumblr.com/
Hope you like 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Penny
I make it similar, just less beans and more bell pepper and corn in it. The key are the spices and the cacao powder. It even convinces people, who claim they don’t eat veg chili.
Lauren Crigler
My vegan family (me, my husband, and our two little boys) visited my meat eating family of origin (my parents, my brother and his family, my aunt and cousins). Everyone LOVED this recipe. My mom is visiting me this weekend and she has placed an order for this! Thank you for this recipe and many others that make my vegan life easier and happier!
Pam
I made this chili recipe a few days ago and oh my god was it delicious!!! And it made enough to last a couple days. Reheated it was just as wonderful too! My husband and son couldn’t get enough 🙂 I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe to anyone! 🙂