I was never much into meal prepping until I went to graduate school. As an undergraduate, I bought a lot of prepackaged meals, ate in the dining hall, or just ate out cheaply. As I got more into cooking and baking and creating my own recipes and as my life somehow got even busier (and no real chance of life slowing down any time soon), I realized how important meal prepping can be.
Even working from home, meal prepping on the weekend saves me so much time! Having extra time to answer emails during lunch instead of making it really can help me get things done. So, I’ve been thinking about how to share my favorite meal prep recipes that help me get through my busiest weeks.
My chili recipe is probably my favorite meal prep recipe for the fall and winter. Not only is it great in big batches, but it’s so warm and comforting as well! It’s also extremely versatile – serve it with avocado or guacamole on top, with a side of rice, or crackers.
There’s also plenty of ways to make this recipe your own – add your favorite toppings, mix up the spices, and change up the veggies. Make it spicier by leaving the seeds in the jalapeno pepper. Experiment with the kinds of beans you use in the chili. The great thing about chili is that it’s kind of just throwing a lot of stuff together!
My favorite toppings for chili are sour cream and shredded cheese, and I also usually eat it served with rice, although my partner prefers crackers which is what we had last time we had this chili.
The most important part of making this chili is to make sure the vegetables are done. The vegetable you’ll want to check if using the recipe below is the potato. Other veggies you might include that will need to be checked are carrots or turnips – really any root vegetable. Other than that this recipe is mostly just simmering all of the ingredients on the stove.
If you keep kosher, be sure to look for ingredients with a hechsher on them, such as the spices, olive oil, beans, canned tomato, and tomato paste (and any toppings you might add). This recipe is also gluten free as written (although some add-ons might not be, such as the crackers I used).
Do you meal prep? What kinds of recipes do you like to make in advance for the week? I would love to hear your thoughts AND how this recipe turns out for you. If you make any changes to make this recipe your own, I would love to hear about that too! Let me know in the comments or message me at @thejewishvegan on Instagram. And, as always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out. Now, let’s get started!
Vegan Bean & Vegetable Chili
Equipment
- large pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 15½-oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15½-oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1½ tbsp chili powder
- ½ tbsp cumin
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 4 small red potatoes chopped small
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper deseeded and chopped finely
- 1 orange bell pepper chopped
- ¾ cup frozen, canned, or fresh corn kernels
- 2½ cups kale chopped and removed from the stems
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- When hot, add the onions and cook until they are translucent - approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Add the beans and spices and mix thoroughly.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and stir until the mix is fully incorporated (especially ensuring that the tomato paste is mixed in).
- Add the broth and potatoes and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato, jalapeno, and bell pepper, and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After the 20 minutes, add the corn and kale and stir in. Once the chili returns to a simmer, you can check to make sure that the potatoes are fully cooked by sticking a fork in a piece of potato. If it goes in easily, your chili is done. Continue cooking if the potatoes are not done, checking every 5 minutes or so to see if they are done.
Notes
BY PROVIDING YOUR EMAIL, YOU’LL ONLY RECEIVE EMAILS FROM MADDIE – NO SPAM (PINKY PROMISE)!