Vegan Chilli

'Adapted from BBC Good Food'

Ingredients:

For the chilli 2 tbsp olive oil 2 medium onions

sliced 1 red pepper, deseeded, cut into chunks

1 tsp ground coriander

1tsp dried chiili flakes

1/2 tsp paprika powder

1 tbsp plain flour

400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the quinoa 1 packet cooked quinoa

1 lime, juice only

4 spring onions,

finely sliced 1 ripe avocado, halved, stone removed

flesh scooped out

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish

Add salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring well. Add the chilli flakes, paprika, chopped red pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes

Sprinkle over the coriander and flour, stir to combine, continue to fry for 30 seconds, stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper if needed

Add chopped tomatoes with the juice, the beans and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until all of the vegetables are tender. Add water if it starts to get too thick

Meanwhile, heat the cooked quinoa in a saucepan with two tablespoons of water so it steams through

When warmed through, put the quinoa in a large bowl then fluff with a fork

Stir in the avocado, and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper and mix well

Spoon the quinoa onto plates and top with a ladle of the chilli and chopped coriander

Ilana Estelle is a mental health and wellbeing advocate who combines educational insight with her personal experience of living with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. She holds diplomas in Counselling, Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy, Psychotherapy and Counselling, and Stress Management. Through her writing, Ilana supports others in navigating their emotional, mental, and physical health challenges. In addition to writing for The CP Diary, her work has appeared in healthy lifestyle magazines. Ilana is also the author of three books: Cerebral Palsy: A Story – Finding the Calm After the Storm, Spirituality, Healing and Me, and Survival: The Covid Years – Time for Change.

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4 comments on “Vegan Chilli”

  1. This looks really delicious. Having not eaten red meat for many years I am always looking for recipes which replace meat with vegetables and this ticks all the boxes for me as I love chilli too.

    I like your 'cheat' and would even go so far as to make life even simpler by adding red kidney beans in chilli sauce. You can use this recipe and add and remove ingredients too.

    I might fry some meat free mince with the onions and as I am not a big fan of avocado, I'll probably leave those out.

    1. Glad you like it. I'm not a meat eater. Meat free food is not only healthier for you (your arteries, cells and heart will thank you for it) but you're saving the planet and that ticks my box.

      It's not enough for us to journey through life and not give what we're doing to the planet a thought. To save future generations, we must all take a stance now. Vegan chilli and recipes like it, is us taking that stance.

      The argument you only live once, therefore you should be able to eat what you want ONLY works in theory, but in practice it's contributing to your early demise, through illnesses such as heart disease, strokes and cancer.

      Vegan chilli, is not only healthy, it's nutritious and in the longer term, it's exactly what we need to save the planet. It's back to basics on this one.

  2. So I made this today and it was amazing, so quick and easy. But that might be because I used beans in a chilli sauce and didn't brother with the quinoa.

    1. Thanks for the feedback. Yes, cooking should be quick and easy. Nothing complicated or complex.

      I don't think it matters what you replace in a recipe, it's what works for you and what you enjoy to eat.

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