Three Bean Chili is a delicious and easy vegetarian chili that’s full of vegetables, canned beans, and lots of flavor. Healthy and tasty, don’t miss this easy chili recipe that’s ready in minutes!
If you are looking for a satisfying chili that’s simple to make, this Three Bean Chili is it. Filled with veggies, beans, tomatoes, corn, and hominy, this is a recipe that you can feel good about making.
Looking for another delicious and satisfying vegetarian main course? Check out my Easy Eggplant Parmesan – simple and so tasty! And, if you’re craving vegetarian comfort food, don’t miss this Mushroom Pea Risotto recipe. For another delicious vegan dinner, be sure to try this Tofu Eggplant Curry.
Why Three Bean Chili is the Best!
There is nothing more comforting than a bowl full of chili. And, when you can make it fast and make it healthy, it’s even better.
Three Bean Chili comes together quick and is full of veggies, beans, and delicious spicy flavors. Plus, it’s a great meal prep food too. Whip up a batch and keep in the fridge for a quick meal throughout the week. And, it’s so delicious, you’ll forget that this is meat-free and vegan friendly!
This recipe can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or, you can freeze it in an airtight container for up to a month.
Protein packed and super healthy, this chili is a comforting dish that you’ll want to make year round. I love that you can top this dish with a variety of dairy options such as sour cream, greek yogurt, or shredded cheese. It’s also delicious with chopped onions, tortilla chips, avocado slices, or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
Ingredients
As the name indicates, there are three different types of beans in this chili recipe: cannellini, kidney, and black beans.
In addition to the beans, Three Bean Chili also has canned corn, canned hominy, canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, and lots of seasonings.
- Canned corn and hominy: I love to add corn and hominy to my chili, just like I do in my Healthy Turkey Chili recipe. It adds a nice sweet bite and great texture to the dish. If you don’t have it, you can always just omit it. Frozen corn and hominy works too!
- Spices: here I use a combo of chili powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. If you have a blend of spices you like, or if you have a package of chili seasoning, feel free to use that instead.
- Vegetable broth: this recipe calls for vegetable broth just to keep it vegetarian. However, you could use chicken broth, or just water instead.
How to Make Three Bean Chili
This recipe is perfect for busy weeknights, because it comes together fast and uses simple pantry staples like beans and corn. Plus, once you have everything in the pot, the rest of the recipe is fairly hands off.
Step 1: in a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil. Add in the onions, carrot, and bell pepper and cook until softened. Add in the garlic, salt, and spices, and cook for another minute.
Step 2: drain and rinse the canned beans in a large mesh sieve. Add the canned tomatoes, beans, and broth to the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes.
Step 3: remove about a cup and a half of the chili and carefully add to a blender (alternatively, you could use an immersion blender to blend some of the chili). Pour the mixture back in the pot and add in the corn, hominy, and lime juice. Heat through and serve with toppings.
This chili is excellent served with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions. Or, use tortilla chips to add some delicious crunch.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- You can use whatever veggies you have on hand such as butternut squash, summer squash, celery, or mushrooms.
- Add more or less cayenne pepper depending on how spicy you like your chili. Or omit it altogether.
- Transform this chili into a soup by pureeing half of the chili mixture before adding the corn.
- The hominy is an optional add in. Feel free to omit it if you don’t have it on hand.
Three bean chili is great with any combination of beans. The most popular are kidney, cannelllini, pinto, or black beans. You can use whatever three bean combination you like.
Chili is great served with a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt, some shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, tortilla chips, avocado slices, or sliced jalapeños.
I thicken chili without adding anything extra, just blend a cup or two of the chili in a blender and pour back into the chili. You could also use an immersion blender to blend part of the chili directly in the pot.
More One-Pot Recipes
Three Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion about half a large onion
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (regular paprika works too)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
- 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 15 ounce can corn, drained
- 1 15 ounce can hominy, drained (optional)
- 1 lime, juiced
- Toppings such as sour cream, green onion, and cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Add in the onion, carrots, and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the garlic and seasonings (through cayenne) and cook for a minute. Add in the diced tomatoes, beans, and broth or water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove about 1 ½ cups of the chili and puree in a blender. Add back to the chili pot. (Alternatively you could use an immersion blender to break up some of the beans in the pot.) Stir in the corn, hominy, and lime juice. Cook for another few minutes to heat the corn. Serve and top with any desired toppings.
Notes
- You can use whatever veggies you have on hand such as butternut squash, summer squash, celery, or mushrooms.
- Add more or less cayenne pepper depending on how spicy you like your chili. Or omit it altogether.
- Transform this chili into a soup by pureeing half of the chili mixture before adding the corn.
- The hominy is an optional add in. Feel free to omit it if you don’t have it on hand.
- Use whatever canned beans you like. Pinto or or garbanzo beans work great.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to a month.
Kristen Wood
Yum! This is right up my alley. It sounds super hearty and delicious. 🙂
Gavin Sutherland
Talk about timing! My vegetarian sister is coming over for dinner this weekend and I needed something delicious and simple to make – excited to make this 😉
angelakallison
yeah! So happy you were able to find this recipe in time. Enjoy your time with you sister 🙂
veenaazmanov
Love that it is vegetarian and definitely looks like a comforting meal too.
Beth
This is my son’s absolute favorite chili recipe! Such a great comfort and delicious recipe. Definitely making this throughout fall!
Irina
I was looking for vegetarian chili, and I found your recipe. So I made it for our lunch today. It was amazingly delicious. From now on, it will be a meatless alternative on our family menu. Thanks!