Meatless chili with Soy Curls and beans is a hearty, meal-in-a-bowl style soup.
A great weekday lunch or dinner. Makes terrific leftovers too! Vegan & gluten-free.
When it comes to make ahead meals, it doesn’t get much better than chili!
Chili only gets better in the refrigerator, where the flavors can really meld.
Make it on Sunday, and somehow the last bowl on Thursday is even more delicious than the first. You can’t say that about every dish!
That’s especially true of this meatless chili recipe with Soy Curls.
It has a smoky edge from smoked paprika, plus layers of flavor from onions, garlic, spices, fire roasted tomatoes, hot sauce, and a tad bit of mustard for tang.
Finally, it has a filling, chewy quality by way of Soy Curls. They add a meaty texture to meatless chili. Plus, it’s a gluten-free option for folks who can’t eat seitan.
(If you don’t have or don’t like Soy Curls, vegan chorizo works well as a replacement! Get more details in the section titled, “Make it your own.”)
In this post:
Why readers love this recipe
“I recently discovered Soy Curls and have since become obsessed. This recipe was a perfect addition to my Soy Curl journey. Thank you! ❤️“ – Kelsey
Ingredients
Soy Curls: Soy Curls are made with just one ingredient – non-GMO whole soybeans. They are texturized into shreds & dried.
Look for Soy Curls at Natural Grocers, online, or in the bulk bins of some vegan-friendly grocery stores.
Vegetable broth: Since Soy Curls are a dried product, broth is used to rehydrate them with flavor. Broth can be replaced with water (or a mixture of water + bouillon).
Oil: Avocado oil or any neutral-flavored cooking oil will work here. If you’d prefer an oil-free dish, saute onions, peppers, and garlic in water instead.
Produce: Bell pepper, onion, garlic.
Seasonings: Ancho chili powder, dried oregano, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, granulated onion, and salt.
Ancho chili powder is made with just one ingredient (dried poblano peppers). If necessary, it can be replaced with standard chili powder, which is a blend of spices. Be aware that chili powder blends vary in spiciness.
Hot sauce: I recommend a vinegar-based jalapeno hot sauce. Add more, less, or omit entirely to suit your palate.
Stoneground mustard: Just a dab adds tang. It can be replaced with yellow mustard.
Pantry items: Canned fire roasted chopped tomatoes (with juices), black beans, and pinto beans.
Step by step instructions
This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
1. Put Soy Curls into a bowl of warm broth or water, and rehydrate for 10 minutes. Then drain them in a fine mesh sieve, squeeze to remove excess liquid, and chop into small pieces. Set aside.
2. Sauté onions, garlic, and bell pepper in oil in a big soup pot.
3. Add the drained & chopped Soy Curls.
4. Add spices and seasonings to the mixture, and get everything fully coated. Then deglaze the pot with water, making sure to pick up any spices that are stuck at the bottom of the skillet.
Add fire roasted tomatoes and beans. Bring the chili to a simmer. Then lower the heat and allow the flavors to meld.
Once the flavors have melded, serve the meatless chili in bowls with any of your favorite toppings like:
- Crushed tortilla chips or air fryer tortilla strips
- Cilantro
- Pickled red onions or pickled shallots
- Vegan sour cream
- Shredded vegan cheese
- Quick pickled jalapeños
- Sliced avocado or guacamole
- Crackers
- Air fryer croutons
Tip: Chili tastes even better the next day. If you have the time, make the chili on one day, and plan on serving it the next.
Make it your own
You can make this chili your own by varying the ingredients.
- Replace Soy Curls with soyrizo or chorizo-style seitan: Add ¾ to 1 cup of chorizo-style seitan or soyrizo to the soup pot after the onions, garlic, and bell peppers. Then continue with the recipe as written. (If using soyrizo or seitan & no Soy Curls, you can skip the rehydrating portion of the recipe.)
- Replace Soy Curls with additional beans: Add ¾ to 1 cup of your preferred beans at the same time as the pinto, black, or red kidney beans. Then continue with the recipe as written. (If using additional beans & no Soy Curls, you can skip the rehydrating portion of the recipe.)
- Vary the beans: Any of the beans can be replaced with kidney beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, or navy beans
- Replace vegetable broth: Instead of using broth, dissolve ½ teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon no chicken base into a cup of warm water
- Add more veggies: Add corn, zucchini, and/or mushrooms
- Make it spicier: Increase the heat by adding more or hotter hot sauce or finishing the bowl with pickled jalapeno peppers
- Reduce smokiness: Smoked paprika adds a lot of smoky flavor; if you’re not a fan, replace some or all of it with basic paprika
Serving suggestions
A cozy bowl of chili can be a full meal on its own, or serve it with any of these side dishes to fill it out:
Storage instructions
Store Soy Curls chili in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about 5 days.
This meatless chili also freezes well. Freeze in a freezer-safe container. It will keep for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw it in the fridge or by using the defrost function on the microwave.
Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.
FAQ
On their own, Soy Curls don’t have much in the way of flavor. There’s a slight beaniness to the taste, which makes sense since the only ingredient is non-GMO soybeans.
But once they have been rehydrated in broth, drained, and seasoned with spices, the added seasonings are the flavors that become pronounced.
For my meatless chili, I like to chop them into small pieces. That way the spices can quickly dominate and take over without a long cooking time.
Yes! If you have crumbs at the bottom of the bag, don’t throw them away! Just add them to the rehydrating liquid. They become a great crumble size for this meatless chili (or for soup!)
Soy Curls and TVP are similar, because they’re both made from soybeans.
The difference is that the curls are made from the whole soybean, while TVP is made from de-fatted soy flour. The curls are made by cooking soybeans, texturizing, and then drying them.
(Since they’ve been dehydrated, they need to be introduced to liquid again to puff back up.)
Since the curls don’t have any preservatives, they can go rancid over time if left on the shelf. You can extend their shelf life by keeping them in the freezer or refrigerator. (If you put them in the freezer, you don’t need to defrost them before using.) I keep mine in the refrigerator.
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Meatless chili with Soy Curls & beans
Ingredients
- ½ cup Soy Curls
- 1 cup vegetable broth or water, warmed
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper red, orange, or yellow
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon stoneground mustard
- 1 cup water
- 14.5 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes from can with juices
- 1 ½ cups pinto beans drained
- 1 ½ cups black beans drained
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, cover Soy Curls in 1 cup of warm broth (or water) and set aside for ten minutes for them to hydrate. After they have hydrated, drain them in a fine mesh sieve, and squeeze to remove excess liquid. Then chop them into small chunks. Set aside.
- In a soup pot, bring oil to a medium heat. Add red bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pot and sauté until fragrant, roughly three to five minutes.
- Add the drained & chopped Soy Curls to the pot, and incorporate with the other ingredients.
- Add ancho chili powder, dried oregano, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, granulated onion, salt, hot sauce, and stoneground mustard, and combine.Make sure everything is evenly coated, and cook for a minute or two more. (If the pot gets too hot and things start to burn, lower the heat.)
- Add a cup of water to the pot to deglaze it. Use a spoon to make sure that any spices stuck to the bottom are incorporated in the liquid.
- Add the fire roasted tomatoes (with juices), drained pinto beans, and drained black beans. Bring the chili to a simmer.
- Once it is simmering, turn the heat to low and continue to cook for 20 minutes or more to let the flavors meld, stirring occasionally. (If too much water cooks off, and the liquid gets too low, add more water, as needed.)
- Once the flavors have melded, ladle the chili into bowls and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Content updated May 26, 2025. Original recipe posted July 2013. When updating the recipe, I doubled the amount of bell pepper & spices (except for oregano & salt).
Judy
Hi Cadry! I’m new to soy curls and am interested in trying this recipe. I typically make a lot of chili and freeze serving sizes to have at a later date. Can I still do this if I add soy curls or does it change them too much? Thank you!
Cadry Nelson
Hi, Judy! Soy Curls freeze well. Make a big batch & freeze as usual. I’m excited to hear what you think of the chili!
Kelsey
I recently discovered soy curls and have since become obsessed. This recipe was a perfect addition to my soy curl journey. Thank you! ❤️
Cadry Nelson
I’m so glad to hear that, Kelsey! Thanks for letting me know!
Shell
This chili is packed with so much goodness! You had me at yellow bell peppers.
Cadry
Gotta love a good warm-you-up meal this time of year!