Description
Your classic chili but with a sweet and smokey (not spicy) twist! We use a combination of kidney and black beans and a blend of spices that creates a warm and earthy broth base. As always, we like to throw in a generous amount of greens to amp up the nutritional benefits of the dish.
Notes:
- The tamari/soy sauce addition may surprise you, but it adds a lovely depth of flavor and umami to the final dish. We don’t recommend skipping this ingredient.
- This chili is wonderful on its own and filled with tons of protein, but if you would like to add your favorite alternative ground meat (such as Beyond Meat), please do so! You may want to hold back on some of the salt in the recipe, in that case, as the meat alternatives tend to be salty on their own!
Ingredients
Scale
Spice Blend:
-
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp chili powder
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Optional: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Chili Ingredients:
-
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced (about 1 small onion)
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2 cups poblano peppers, seeded and diced (about 3 poblano peppers)
- Optional: 1/2 lb. ground meat alternative, such as Beyond Meat or Impossible
- 3 cups sweet potato, diced (1 large sweet potato or 2 small)
- 1 1/2 cups corn (About 2 ears of corn. Frozen or canned works in a pinch.)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably with no salt added)
- 1 15 oz. can crushed tomato (preferably with no salt added)
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or chard, roughly chopped
- Optional Toppings:
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- Cheese, grated
- Scallions, thinly sliced
- Pickled red onion
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Make the spice blend: In a small bowl, combine the spices and set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add onions, poblano peppers, ½ tsp salt, and sauté until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the spice blend and cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute to bloom the spices.
- If you are using “meat”, add it in now and sauté until it begins to brown.
- Add in the sweet potatoes, corn kernels, garlic, and cook another 2 minutes.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, broth, maple syrup, beans, and remaining 1 ½ tsp salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately, reduce heat to low and simmer 25-30 minutes until the chili is slightly thickened and potatoes are cooked through. Add in the greens and cook until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and adjust seasoning to taste. Ladle chili into bowls and sprinkle with your toppings of choice.
