This vegan 3-bean chili is packed with flavor, comes together in one pot, and is perfect for your plant-based meal prep. It’s an easy recipe, making it an awesome plant-based meal for beginners. Double the recipe for freezing, or serve a crowd with a buffet of toppings.

The goal with my plant-based recipes is not only to provide you with simple, approachable dishes that even the beginner home-cook can tackle, but also meals that you genuinely look forward to enjoying.

The ingredients in this vegan chili are easy to find and most are pantry staples. I’ve chosen to use black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans, but you can use whatever combination of beans you like.

With the use of cumin, cilantro, and corn, it has a fiesta-flavor spin on your traditional chili, but it doesn’t lack any of the warm filling elements you crave when you think of this comfort food.

This dish checks a lot of boxes for the plant-based beginner. It makes a perfect meal-prep recipe, but is also a great Sunday afternoon one-pot dish. If you are trying to make the effort to eat more plant-forward meals, then having a collection of go-to recipes and a meal prep system can be the key to achieving that. And if you ask me, this recipe is definitely a go-to.

vegan 3-bean chili ingredients:

You’ll find the full ingredient list below—but here’s what to expect in this plant-based recipe

Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans (or your choice of 3 beans)
Canned petite diced tomatoes
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
Jalapeno pepper
Vegetable broth
Corn
Onion
Cilantro
Tomato paste
Lime
Seasoning: cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika
Toppings: avocado, tortilla chips, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese

how to make vegan 3-bean chili:

When making a dish that has a good amount of ingredients, it is always helpful to get them all out and set before you start cooking.

This is why I drain and rinse the beans at the start of the process. Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, tackle opening your canned goods, and have the beans ready to go.

Then, dice your onion and in a large pot saute it in olive oil, avocado oil, or broth if you prefer, over medium or medium-low heat. Keep an eye on the onions to make sure they don’t burn, and cook for about 5-10 minutes until translucent.

While the onions are cooking, dice your red and green bell peppers and the jalapeno. Add peppers to your pot once onion is ready.

The next ingredients you want to add are the seasonings (cumin, paprika, chili powder) and cilantro. This will enhance the flavor of your chili much more than waiting until the broth has been added to add your seasoning.

Stir everything around and let it cook for another minute or so.

Then, add in the tomato paste, and again give the start of your chili a big stir so that the tomato paste coats all of the ingredients. Adding the tomato paste now and cooking it with the vegetables will neutralize the acidity in the paste.

After cooking with the tomato paste for about a minute, add in the petite diced tomatoes with the juice. No need to drain.

If drained and rinsed your beans in advance, they should be ready to go. Add the beans to the pot, along with the broth.

Bring everything to boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer the chili for about 20 minutes.

Stir in corn and a bit more salt and pepper at this stage.

Cook for another 5 minutes of so, until the corn is heated through. Add in the juice of half a lime and you are ready to serve!

My favorite toppings are tortilla chips and avocado, and I love to serve my chili over rice. You can also add some vegan cheese and sour cream for the full classic chili effect.

add vegan chili to your plant-based meal prep menu:

Chili, soups, and stews are my absolute favorite to meal prep. They keep so well in the fridge, are loaded with your favorite ingredients, and heat up for the perfect desk-lunch.

Prepping this vegan bean chili for meal prep is pretty straight-forward!

Since this meal is made on the stove-top, I’d recommend your other dishes be made using other appliances or equipment—like roasting in your oven, in a slow cooker, or require no-heat cooking at all (think salads, chickpea salad sandwiches, etc.). This will ensure you’re cooking multiple meals at once, and will save you time.

Once you’ve made your chili, separate it out into individual containers for your meals for the week. Wait to cut and slice your avocado until the day you plan to enjoy your chili.

Vegan 3-bean chili is a great make-ahead dish. If you’re interested in other recipes perfect for vegan meal prep, check these out:

I hope you love this vegan 3 bean chili as much as I do! Be sure to follow along for more plant-based goodness on Pinterest and Instagram.

Vegan 3 Bean Chili

About 50-60 Minutes to make (including time to chop & prep)

serves about 4-6

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 large onion , diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno (more or less to personal taste), finely chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of petite diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 cup of corn
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
Juice of 1/2 a lime
salt + pepper to taste
Optional topping: tortilla chips
Optional topping: avocado
Optional topping: extra lime juice
Optional topping: sour cream (can be vegan)
Optional topping: shredded cheese (can be vegan)
For serving: prepared rice or grain of choice

Instructions:

Helpful tip: begin by gathering all of your ingredients, and opening all of your canned items. Drain and rinse your beans in advance so they are ready to go when it’s time to add them to your chili.
Saute onion in olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until translucent.
Add cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Stir and cook for about a minute.
Add diced bell peppers and jalapeno to your pot. Stir and cook for about a minute.
Add in garlic and chopped cilantro, and cook for a minute. Stir frequently to keep garlic from burning.
Stir in tomato paste and cook for another minute.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the canned tomatoes (with the juice), three types of beans (drained and rinsed), and the vegetable broth. Give everything a big stir.
Increase the heat and bring to a boil.
Once at a boil, decrease heat back to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in corn (fresh, canned or frozen-no need to defrost). Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Before serving, add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Optional toppings: tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, more lime juice, sour cream (can be vegan), cheese (can be vegan).

Notes:

Feel free to use any combination of beans you have or prefer.

Add more or less jalapeno pepper depending on how spicy you enjoy your chili.

Cooking tip: adding the seasonings and herbs into the onion and vegetables before adding the broth, enhances the flavor the chili. If you were to season the chili once everything was already added to the pot, the flavors wouldn’t come together as well.