One-pot lentil chili with beans (Ready in 27 minutes!)

This hearty bean and lentil chili is delightfully warming.

It’s packed with brown lentils, pinto and black beans, plus fire roasted tomatoes.

Top it with vegan cheese, avocado, and green onions.

Then add tortilla chips or crackers for dunking. Vegan and gluten free.

Lentil bean chili is hearty and satiating.

It’s one of those filling, one-pot meals that really sticks with you.

It’s flavorful, comforting, and filled with warming spices.

Lentils have a great bite, texture, and slight tinniness that makes them a surprisingly delicious substitute for ground beef.

Plus, a half-cup serving of lentils has 9 grams of protein.

It offers 20% of your iron for the day. It’s low in fat, and high in fiber.

Got to love that!

This vegetarian chili recipe makes the most of pantry and refrigerator staples.

Thanks to canned beans and pre-cooked lentils, it’s ready in less than half an hour.

Great for a quick and easy weeknight meal!

Save time with pre-cooked lentils

For this recipe, I like to use pre-cooked lentils. They’re one of my favorite cooking shortcuts.

Trader Joe’s sells steamed lentils in the produce area.

(Look for it in the refrigerated section.)

It comes with 1 ½ cups of lentils in the package, which is exactly what you’ll need for this recipe.

So you can just dump in all of the lentils from the package.

So easy!

However, if you’d prefer you can make green or brown lentils from scratch instead.

In total, you’ll need 2 ½ cups of cooked lentils.

Step by step instructions

Here are the ingredients you will need for this lentil chili recipe.

Sauté onions and garlic in a pot with oil, until softened and fragrant.

Add spices & cook with onions.

De-glaze the soup pot with water.

Then add the following:

• Fire roasted tomatoes with juices
• Black beans
• Pinto beans
• Salt
• Mustard
• Hot sauce

Bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Optional but recommended: For a thicker chili, pulse an immersion blender inside of the pot for 3 or 4 seconds to break up some of the beans and tomatoes.

By breaking them up some, it adds a thicker viscosity & heartiness to the soup.

Topping ideas

Brown lentil chili is infinitely more fun with tasty toppings. They add to the taste and texture.

Top with any or all of the following:

• Cilantro
• Green onions or pickled red onions
• Vegan sour cream
• Shredded vegan cheese
• Quick pickled jalapeños
• Sliced avocado or guacamole
• Air fryer tortilla strips or tortilla chips
• Crackers
• Air fryer croutons

Make it your own

You can make this bean and lentil chili your own by varying the ingredients.

Make the beans and lentils from scratch

Remember when using dried beans that you’ll need to soak them ahead of time.

You’ll need 1 ½ cups of cooked beans to replace one can.

Dried lentils don’t have to be soaked before using.

I recommend brown or green lentils. French lentils du Puy would also work.

I don’t recommend red lentils, which disintegrate in liquid. They don’t have the toothsome bite you want here.

Vary the beans

Any of the beans can be replaced with a different type.

Use kidney beans, chickpeas, or navy beans.

Vary or add more veggies

You can fill this chili out with the veggies of your choosing.

Add corn, red bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and/or mushrooms.

Replace the onions with shallots or leeks.

Nix the fire roasted tomatoes

I like the added smoky flavor you get from fire roasted tomatoes. However, they can easily be replaced.

Instead of fire roasted tomatoes, use plain canned diced tomatoes or jarred salsa.

Vary the spices

Add other seasonings like paprika, granulated onion, granulated garlic, red pepper flakes, and/or oregano.

Instead of ancho chili powder, use standard chili powder.

(Chili powder is a blend, while ancho chili powder has one ingredient – ancho chilies. It’s not hot, just flavorful.)

Vary the hot sauce

If you like a lot of heat, add more hot sauce or hotter hot sauce.

If you’re heat averse, leave it out.

Serving ideas

Chili is a full meal in a bowl. So it doesn’t really need a side dish.

But if you’d like to fill out the dinner, lentil chili goes well with any of these side dishes.

• Southwest salad
• Air fryer polenta fries
• Onion rings
• Vegan jalapeño poppers
• Black bean corn avocado salad
• Vegan corn cakes

Ways to repurpose leftovers

Lentil chili is one of those flavorful dishes that actually gets MORE delicious after a day or two in the fridge.

If you’re looking for more ways to enjoy it than by the bowlful, here are some ideas.

• Use a half cup in vegan chili cheese dip
• Slather it on a vegan chili dog
• Use it on chili dog pizza
• Use it to smother loaded tater tots
• Pour it over an air fried baked potato or baked fries

How to store & reheat

Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

It will keep for about 5 days.

It also freezes beautifully.

Put it into a freezer proof container. Then freeze until you’re ready to eat it.

It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

When you’re ready to enjoy it, move it to the refrigerator to thaw.

Reheat in the microwave or on the stove until warm.

More chili recipes

Are you a big chili fan?

Here are more chili recipes I know you’ll enjoy.

• Three bean chili
• Meatless chili with Soy Curls
• Vegan tortilla soup

Lentil chili with beans

Hearty lentil chili is loaded with pinto and black beans. With fire roasted tomatoes, onions, and garlic, it's the kind of full-meal-in-a-bowl that sticks with you.

Pro tip: Using pre-cooked lentils is a convenient time saver!

Finish the chili was your favorite toppings like green onions, non-dairy cheese, or vegan sour cream.

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: southwestern, Vegan

Keyword: gluten free, lentil stew

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Servings: 5 people

Calories: 271kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ teaspoon organic canola oil or your preferred oil
• ▢ ½ medium onion chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons coriander
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cumin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
• ▢ 1 ½ cups water
• ▢ 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted chopped tomatoes with juices
• ▢ 2 ½ cups (17.6 ounces) cooked lentils brown or green
• ▢ 1 ½ cups black beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 ½ cups pinto beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon stoneground mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon hot sauce optional
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

• ▢
  Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with oil. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, until translucent and fragrant.
• ▢
  Add coriander, cumin, and ancho chili powder to pot. Saute with onions and garlic for about 30 seconds.
• ▢
  Then add the following to the soup pot: water, fire roasted chopped tomatoes with juices, lentils, black beans, pinto beans, mustard, hot sauce (if using), and salt.
• ▢
  Bring the chili to a simmer. Cook for fifteen minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the chili to thicken.
• ▢
  Optional but recommended: After the chili has thickened, use an immersion blender in the soup pot for 3 or 4 seconds to break up some of the tomatoes and beans. It also thickens the soup further.

  You don't want to blend the chili completely. It should still be chunky. However, a few seconds with the immersion blender gives some added texture and thickens the chili even more.

  After blending, allow the chili to cook for a few more minutes.
• ▢
  Ladle the chili into bowls.

  Serve with your choice of toppings, crackers, or tortilla chips.

Notes

If you use Trader Joe's steamed lentils (pictured in this blog post), one 17.6 ounce package is exactly what you'll need for this recipe.

Leftovers will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove until warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 818mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 3.9mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 6.1mg

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