When I was younger, I would eat canned chili like it was going out of style. This updated rendition of the classic one-pot meal retains all the beefy chili goodness that I remember as a child, thanks to TVP (textured vegetable protein). It’s chunky; packed with protein, veggies, and nutritious spices; and fabulous served alongside our Cornbread (page 253) or in our Cornbread Chili Casserole (page 82).
You can find TVP at many mainstream grocery stores, but vegan beefy crumbles will work, too (just skip step 1).
Yield: 8 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes | Cook time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
½ cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
2 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
½ medium green bell pepper, diced
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ cup corn kernels (frozen corn or fresh uncooked corn sliced directly off the cob)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 bay leaf
Chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Finely diced red onion, for garnish (optional)
1. In a medium bowl, soak the textured vegetable protein in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes. Drain, press the water out, and set aside.
2. In a large nonstick pot over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent. Add the TVP, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, kidney beans, chickpeas, corn kernels, 1 cup of water, bouillon cube, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, and bay leaf.
4. Bring the chili to a boil, cover, turn the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Garnish with cilantro and diced red onion (if using).