Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili
Pinto, black and kidney beans simmered with crushed tomatoes, toasted cumin seeds, red pepper and corn, finished with lime and cilantro.
Chili con carne means chili with meat, so a chili with none is the biggest change of all. It is now official: the International Chili Society judges a Vegetarian Chili category, defined as any vegetables or meatless "meat" cooked with chili peppers and spices, with meat and meat by-products banned and beans allowed. Wikipedia notes that vegetarian chili, also called chili sin carne, nearly always includes beans. Even Cincinnati joined in: Wikipedia's Cincinnati chili article says Arnold's Bar and Grill serves a vegetarian "Cincy Lentils" dish ordered in ways.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Pinto, black and kidney beans simmered with crushed tomatoes, toasted cumin seeds, red pepper and corn, finished with lime and cilantro.
🇺🇸 The original
The Texas bowl of red is chunks of beef simmered with dried chiles and spices until tender. No beans, and in the strict version no tomatoes. See the Texas Bowl of Red (San Antonio Chili con Carne) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Toasted whole cumin
Toasting the seeds in the dry pot before anything else gives a stronger cumin flavor than ground cumin alone.
Covered sweat, little oil
Cooking the vegetables covered with one tablespoon of oil softens them in their own steam, which keeps the chili light (ATK's "light" method).
Step by step
- Step 1
Toast the cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring, 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Step 2
Stir in the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, oil, cayenne and salt. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft.
- Step 3
Add the beans, water, tomatoes, oregano and brown sugar, scraping up anything stuck to the pot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 25 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Step 5
Stir in the corn and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, until hot.
- Step 6
Off the heat, stir in the cilantro and lime juice and season with salt. Serve over rice if you like, as ATK suggests.
Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili
Serves 4 (about 1 3/4 cups each) · about 7 cups · 1 hr total
Base
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped fine
- 9 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp table salt, plus more to taste
Beans and simmer
- 1 cup canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Finish
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp lime juice
To serve
- Optional: cooked rice, sour cream or plain yogurt, shredded cheese
Method
- Toast the cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring, 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, oil, cayenne and salt. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the beans, water, tomatoes, oregano and brown sugar, scraping up anything stuck to the pot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 25 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Stir in the corn and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, until hot.
- Off the heat, stir in the cilantro and lime juice and season with salt. Serve over rice if you like, as ATK suggests.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Light Vegetarian Bean Chili" (2009), as written for 4, with ATK's suggested mix of pinto, black and red kidney beans set at 1 cup each. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Any three canned beans work. Rinse them well so the chili stays clear-flavored.
- It keeps 3 days in the fridge (ATK) and thickens as it sits; loosen with water when reheating.
- For a heartier bowl, stir in diced roasted sweet potato with the corn.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Chili has to have meat. Disputed: the name says "con carne", but the ICS now runs an official Vegetarian Chili category.
- Beans allowed. Documented for vegetarian chili (ICS), unlike Traditional Red.
- Meat substitutes count. Documented (ICS allows meatless "meat").
- No garnish on a competition bowl. Documented for every ICS category: anything only on top counts as a garnish and is disqualified.
- Three specific beans. Folklore: ATK suggests a mix, not a rule.
Every other chili
Texas Bowl of Red (San Antonio Chili con Carne)
Big cubes of beef chuck braised for three hours in a purée of toasted whole dried chiles, with no beans and no tomatoes.
Chile Colorado (Northern Mexican Red Chile Beef)
Beef and potatoes stewed in a smooth guajillo chile sauce thickened with a little flour, the Chihuahua way, and spooned into warm flour tortillas.
Chili con Carne with Beans
The American home classic: ground beef, kidney beans and tomatoes simmered two hours with chili powder, cumin and a little heat.
Cincinnati Chili (Three-Way to Five-Way)
A thin, cinnamon-and-allspice-scented meat sauce ladled over buttered spaghetti and built up in "ways" with beans, onion and a mound of finely shredded cheddar.
New Mexico Green Chile Stew
Pork, potatoes and plenty of roasted New Mexico green chile simmered in broth, the comfort-food bowl behind New Mexico's official question, "Red or green?".
Chile Verde with Pork
Pork shoulder braised for hours in a chunky purée of charred poblanos, tomatillos, garlic and jalapeño until it falls apart.
White Chicken Chili
Shredded chicken and creamy white beans in a light, green-chile broth of poblano, Anaheim and jalapeño, finished with lime, cilantro and scallions.
Frito Pie
Homemade beef chili ladled straight into a split-open bag of corn chips and topped with cheddar and chopped onion; eat it with a fork, right out of the bag.
30-Minute Weeknight Beef and Bean Chili
Ground beef, kidney beans and lightly blitzed tomatoes with chili powder, cumin and a little chipotle, on the table in about 30 minutes.
Fast-Food Style Chili, Inspired by Wendy's
A mild, beefy, tomato-heavy chili with kidney and pinto beans, onion, celery and green pepper, simmered low and slow like the drive-thru favorite. Inspired by, not official.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.