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A few years ago, I found the One.
Oh, O is great, too, but when I say *the One*, I’m talking about the One, people. The one ultimate chili recipe, meaning I could put to rest my search for the greatest out there. I posted it a couple years ago, before I learned how to use a camera…. just saying.
So what’s so special about this chili, eh? Well, the original version technically starts with chunks of meat–nothing ground–sautéed, smothered with loads of onions, rich tomato paste, and an aromatic, full-bodied stout. Top ‘er off with chile pequin and masa harina, and you’ve succeeded in creating a chili that is everything good and nothing gratuitous–no green bell peppers, no corn, no beans, nada. I never thought that sounded too excellent, because growing up I’d only ever eaten a very different type of chili, but it was love at first bite. My chili coming-out party!
But these days, we eat way less meat and so I knew I had to develop an equally perfect vegan version. Enter.. ground seitan! Having never truly been a fan of the frozen “soy crumbles” forced onto you at the grocery store, I developed a ground seitan recipe a few months ago that’s the perfect stand-in for veganizing otherwise carnivorous recipes. Why?
It’s tender and flavorful and literally never toughens. It’s made in your own kitchen, so you know exactly what’s going into it, yet is so painfully affordable you’ll take to laughing maniacally at the fools–the fools!–who pay for the exorbitantly overpriced prepackaged stuff at Whole Foods. And it is my absolute favorite meat substitute to date.
The result is a chili that’s rich and spicy, a chili that focuses on just the necessities, a chili that would fool any omnivore. A chili that could win championships, like its meat-laden counterpart! A chili that will provoke a dramatic ripping-to-shreds of all your previous chili recipes. Go ahead, press delete. You won’t be needing that *other* vegetarian chili recipe anymore.
After all, you’ve found the One.
Ultimate Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil , such as canola or a light olive oil, divided
- 20 ounces ground seitan
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms , halved
- 2 ½ medium onions , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 16 oz . cans tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- ½ bottle bottle dark beer , stout recommended
- 1 cup not-beef broth or water
- 1 teaspoon ground chile pequín or cayenne pepper
- ½ tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tbsp whole chipotle peppers
- 2 tablespoons masa harina or corn meal
- 1 chopped white onions , to serve
- 1 jalapeños , fresh or pickled, to serve
- 1 chopped cilantro , to serve
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 6-qt. pot over high heat and sauté ground seitan 'til slightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil and sauté mushrooms 'til browned; remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Heat 1 more tablespoon oil, then add onions and garlic; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return ground seitan to pot; stir in tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spoon, until tomato paste is caramelized, about 12 minutes. Add oregano, chili powder, chile pequín, paprika, tabasco, and cumin; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
- Add broth or water, beer, mushrooms, and chipotle peppers; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. Stir in masa harina; season with salt. Simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Girl, this looks sooooo goooood! I love that you use seitan instead of beans. I could eat bowls of this for days. Holy cow.
Girls-only chili party!!! 🙂
Omg, YES! This chili definitely looks like it lives up to it’s name—I’m totally drooling here, Cheryl! Pinned. 🙂
Oooh! The best compliment 🙂 Thanks Sarah!
i love all the flavors in there! this will make a fantastic dinner!
Thanks Manali!!
Oh yes, oh yes. Love the idea of stout in here, too. I mean, love the idea of everything in here, really!
Well, thanks Sarah! That is definitely a compliment 🙂 And I pretty much love stout in everything.. I even bought some to put in my shampoo. Am I going overboard? (say no..)
OMG!!! First of all, LOVE the Halloween banner, Cheryl.
Although I am not a vegan, I do love your vegan version of (well) EVERYTHING.
I am eyeing this chili of yours for my next party 🙂
LOVEEE
Thanks Pang! I figured I had to get a little bit festive since our house is so undecorated this year. I’m not totally vegan either but this chili totally does not disappoint!! 😀
I like to consider myself a bit of a chili connoisseur if I do say so myself. This looks soo yummy. One of the best ways I feel makes chili tasty is tons and tons of layers of flavor, which clearly you have with the mushrooms, beer, chipotle peppers. I never thought I’d try a vegan chili but I am definitely going to try this!
Ooh, I hope you do! It really is packed so full of flavor, especially thanks to the chili powder, chile pequin, and chipotle. I can’t handle a blah bowl of chili – what’s the point! It honestly doesn’t taste vegan, either – it’s that rich. Yum! Thanks Karishma 🙂
This looks so thick and indulgent. I love it!
Right on both counts! Thick, rich, so flavorful. Mmmmmm 😀
This vegan chilli looks amazing! Love the flavours, this is one of my favourite dishes!
Thanks Jess! It really is yummy! 🙂
Looks incredible!! I need to try out this ground seitan. We tend to stick with bean based chili most of the time and that’s probably because we don’t have a vegan “meaty” chili recipe that we trust. I did one with tofu in the past… and it did not meet the mark. But, this sounds amazing with the seitan, chipotle peppers, and beer! Yum.
Thanks Shannon! It really is damn good. I wouldn’t say this is like the healthiest vegan chili of all time, and you could totally *keep* the beans if you wanted, but honestly it’s so satisfying on its own you don’t need even need it! I hope you try it!
Finding the perfect chili recipe is so satisfying. I love how thick this recipe looks. So indulgent and yummy looking!
Truly indulgent!! And indeed, so satisfying. Thanks Katrina 🙂