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Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili

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This easy-to-make Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili has become a new favorite in our home and is likely to become one in yours as well! A hearty and delicious meal, perfect for a cold winter’s day, or for a summertime chili cook-off.

Before going vegan, I’d never had (or even heard of) a white bean chili. Then a few years back I saw a recipe for one, one which was in fact plant-based. Though I’d never been a huge fan of most legumes, it looked so good and I decided I had to try it. Sadly, the recipe was just OK, I gave it only three stars and decided to never make it again.

A couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling through some of my older food photos and saw a picture of when I had made that, not terrible, but also not too exciting, white bean chili. I started craving what I thought it could be, and began to jot down ingredients to make exactly what I’d envisioned.

To my delight, the chili came out not only as I’d hoped, but possibly even better! I wasn’t the only one who thought so either. My husband loved it, as did my omnivorous taste-tester, Naka. That’s right, once again — vegan-made and omni-approved!

I gave a few optional topping ingredients, though honestly, it’s delicious as-is. I do love mine topped with avocado slices, and the cilantro is also a nice touch. For me, the liquid from the green chilies adds enough acidity to the recipe, but my husband enjoys his with a squeeze of lime on top as well. We also tried it with red chili flakes, for added heat. This works well if you’re feeling spicy and would like to kick it up a notch!

I make this into a complete meal by serving green salads on the side, as well as, Jalepeño Cornbread Muffins — not because muffins are needed, but because they’re so darn good. The corn muffins are a recipe I’ve been working on for quite some time (like off and on, the whole time I’ve been vegan!). I finally have them perfect, but want to make them one more time to get some good photos. Then I will share them with you and link the recipe here so you can enjoy them with your chili too!

Last summer, my neighborhood put on their first annual chili cook-off. At the time, I was thinking a traditional chili would be best, that that would be what people wanted. So I threw together a veganized recipe of a typical ground meat chili with kidney and pinto beans. Though they said mine did well in the contest, the winner was a chicken chili, which wasn’t traditional at all! I didn’t taste it or the other chilis on account of them not being vegan, but the fact one so unique was able to win has me excited to enter this new chili into the contest for this coming cook-off!

I do hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Please let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a pic of yours and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis. I’ll be sure to let you know how the cook-off goes!

 

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Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili

This hearty and delicious meal is perfect for a cold winter’s day or for a summertime chili cook-off.
Course Main Course
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 small
Author Tiffani Wells

Ingredients

  • drizzle olive oil
  • 8 oz (or about 1 3/4 cup) diced sweet onion
  • 4 oz (about one whole) diced green bell pepper
  • 1 large (1.5 oz w/ stem) jalepeño, minced with or without seeds depending on preferred spice level (I leave mine in)
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 cups “chicken”-flavored vegetable broth *see notes for examples
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp white miso paste
  • 3 15 oz cans cannellini beans (or sub Great Northern beans or do a mix of both) drained and rinsed
  • 4 oz can diced green chilies DO NOT DRAIN
  • 1 large dried bay leaf
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves loose, not packed
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp sea salt or more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup unflavored/unsweetened non-dairy milk I use cashew
  • 1 tsp *kuzu
  • 3/4 cup organic frozen corn

Optional for topping…

  • sliced avocado
  • fresh lime
  • fresh cilantro leaves
  • red chili flakes

Instructions

  • Drizzle the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil. Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño — stir. Cover the saucepan with a lid, turn down the heat slightly, and let the veggies sweat until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • While the veggies sweat, whisk the miso paste into the vegetable broth.
  • When the veggies are done sweating, remove the lid and add the broth/miso mixture, beans, green chilies INCLUDING all their liquid, bay leaf, cilantro, oregano, cumin, coriander, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn the heat down to maintain a simmer and cover with the lid. SImmer with the lid on for 25 minutes.
  • While the chili simmers, whisk the kuzu into the milk to create a slurry.
  • After 25 minutes, remove the lid from the chili, add the milk/kuzu slurry and the corn. Turn the heat up to bring the chili back to a simmer. Simmer without the lid for five more minutes, or until the chili slightly thickens. Taste, if needed, add more salt.
  • If desired, top each serving with avocado slices, additional cilantro, chili flakes for added heat, and/or a squeeze of lime.

Notes

*When making this chili, for the broth, I’ve always used Better Than Bullion, No Chicken Base. Other broth options would be Imagine No-Chicken Broth or Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n Bullion (please note for the Edward & Sons Bullion, each cube is enough bullion for two cups of water).
*Kuzu (AKA kudzu) is a root starch belonging to the pea family and is a Japanese superfood! If you’re unable to get your hands on this magical ingredient, you can substitute other starches, such as, cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot. 
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