Vegetarian White Bean Chili
Creamy, comforting, lightly spiced and super flavorful white bean chili is given a vegetarian makeover with butter beans! We build amazing flavor here with simple ingredients and I can’t wait to show you how easy it is. While I think butter beans make the most perfect filling thanks to their substantial size and creaminess, you can use any white bean you like!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (500 g) cooked butter beans , from 1.25 cups dried beans OR from two 14oz (400g) cans
- ½ large white or red onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsp canned diced green chiles, don't drain
- 1.5 tsp cumin seeds, crushed - you can swap for 1.25 tsp of dried cumin
- ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cups (700 ml) vegetable stock or imitation chicken stock
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy (double) cream
- 1 lime, for juice and wedges
- 1 handful cilantro (fresh coriander), chopped
Instructions
- In a deep saute pan or soup pot, heat a little oil and saute the onion until soft. Then add the garlic and mix through, just until the fragrance is released.1/2 large white or red onion, 4 cloves garlic
- Push all the onions and garlic to the side of the pan. Add the cumin and fennel seeds to the middle and allow them to toast until fragrant. Then add the ground spices and mix through the pan. Add some extra oil to the pan if it is getting too dry.1.5 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp dried oregano
- Add the butter beans and green chiles and mix through. Saute over a low heat for a minute or two to bring all of the flavors together.If your butter beans were cooked from dried, reserve 1/4 cup of the bean cooking water.3 cups cooked butter beans, 4 tbsp canned diced green chiles
- Add the vegetable stock to the pan and allow to simmer, partially covered, for at least 15 minutes. The broth will reduce and thicken up in this time. If you have bean cooking water, add that in too - reduce your stock by the same amount, so 1/4 cup of bean water and 2 3/4 cups of stock.3 cups vegetable stock or imitation chicken stock
- Optional: If you want a thicker, more varied texture you can mash some of the beans, and let it simmer for an extra 5 minutes.
- Squeeze the juice of half of the lime into the pan and mix through (save the other half to cut into wedges for serving). Add the cream and cilantro. Stir through and keep on the heat until it is just warmed through again and starting to bubble, then immediately remove from the heat.1/3 cup heavy (double) cream, 1 lime, 1 handful cilantro (fresh coriander)
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes, covered, before serving.
- Serve into bowls with your chosen toppings and lime wedges for squeezing. Enjoy!
Calories: 256kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 1258mg, Potassium: 641mg, Fiber: 13g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 928IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 230mg, Iron: 6mg