Lentil Chili - The Plant Based School (2024)

Lentil chili is a tasty and wholesome one-pot recipe where green or brown lentils replace the ground meat in classic chili con carne.

You can expect a hearty, satisfying, and high-protein meal that is easy to make with pantry staples and is excellent for meal prep.

Table of Contents

• What is lentil chili?
• Lentil chili video
• How to Make Lentil Chili
• Serving suggestions
• Variations
• Questions
• More lentil recipes
• More high-protein meals
• Lentil Chili Recipe

Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet.

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What is lentil chili?

Like our sweet potato chili, lentil chili is an easy one-pot vegetarian chili recipe inspired by Mexican chili con carne, where lentils and beans replace the meat.

And like many of our lentil recipes, such as Moroccan lentil soup, Italian lentil pasta, lentil soup with veggies, and lentil bolognese, it combines traditional flavors that we all love with incredible nutrition.

A bowl of lentil chili provides you with over 25 grams of complete and high-quality protein, gut-healthy fiber, zero cholesterol, and negligible amounts of saturated fats.

When we make recipes such as this delicious lentil chili, we borrow from traditional world cultures to create a tasty and nutritionally balanced meal that relies on legumes, spices, whole grains, and vegetables.

If you are interested in similar recipes, you can get inspiration from our Moroccan Harira soup, African Peanut Stew, Indian Red Lentil Curry, Tuscan White Bean Soup, Middle Eastern Chickpea Hummus with Pita Bread, and many of our other high-protein vegetarian meals.

Ps. Serve lentil chili with something pickled (quick-pickled jalapeños or quick-pickled red onions), something creamy (sourcream, cashew sour cream, or thick yogurt), and something tangy (lime juice or lemon juice) for the best flavor!

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

FLAVOR BASE

A good flavor base – also known as sofrito in Spanish and soffritto in Italian – is an essential step in making sure your soup, stews, and, in this case, this lentil chili, has a rich and full flavor. To make it you’ll need:

Olive oil

We use extra virgin olive oil to make the flavor base.

Substitute regular olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, or any other vegetable oil for extra virgin olive oil.

Onion

We use a yellow onion, chopped not too finely.

Substitute white onion, red onion, or shallots for yellow onions.

Garlic

We recommend fresh garlic for a more fragrant garlic aroma. You can press, mince, chop, or grate the garlic.

Bell pepper

We use red bell pepper, cut into small dice.

Substitute green, yellow, or orange bell pepper for the red one.

Tomato paste

Tomato paste is concentrated tomato and usually comes in a squeezable tube. It adds richness and depth of flavor to the lentil chili.

SPICES & HERBS

Take our recipe as a starting point, and feel free to add more or less spices based on your taste. We add:

Red pepper flakes

We use red pepper flakes to add heat.

Substitute cayenne pepper or chili powder for red pepper flakes.

If you use chili powder, you’ll need to adjust the quantity depending on your chili powder.

That’s because chili powder can be more or less spicy.

For example, in the United States, chili powder is often a blend of spices with cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and oregano. If you are using that, you’ll probably need 2 to 3 tablespoons, as it’s not that spicy.

Other chili powders are made with pure ground chili and are very spicy.

In this case, you’ll need less than a teaspoon.

Cumin

Ground cumin is an essential spice in Mexican cooking, and it’s delicious in this lentil chili.

Substitute whole cumin seeds for ground cumin.

Smoked Paprika

Smoked paprika adds a mild smokey flavor to this lentil chili recipe.

If you don’t like smokey flavors, use regular paprika.

If you like smokey and hot flavors, substitute chipotle powder for smoked paprika. Chipotle powder will add even more heat and smokiness; we think it’s delicious here.

Oregano

Dried oregano is another popular ingredient in Mexican cuisine. If you find dried Mexican oregano, that’s great.

Alternatively, Italian dried oregano will do just fine.

Bay leaves

Bay leaves add an earthy, almost meaty aroma, melding perfectly with the rich chili sauce and legumes.

They are usually sold whole in dry form and last forever in your pantry. We also use them in many other recipes, such as pumpkin curry, red lentil soup, and pasta with chickpeas.

LEGUMES & VEGETABLES

Lentils

We use dried green lentils or dried brown lentils instead of the ground beef in classic chili con carne.

Dried lentils are tasty and nutritious, don’t require soaking, and cook in 15 to 45 minutes.

Here’s our guide on how to cook lentils if you wish to learn more about this wonderful legume.

To speed up the recipe, you have two options. You can use canned lentils or dried split-red lentils.

If you use canned lentils, rinse them well, add them to the chili, and simmer for about 15 minutes to get them tender and flavorful. In this case, you’ll need about 1/3 of the vegetable broth.

If you use dried split red lentils, rinse them well, add to the chili, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. In this case, you’ll need 1/2 of the vegetable broth.

Remember that red lentils lose their shape as they cook, and they have more of an oatmeal-like texture once they are cooked.

Beans

We use canned or cooked black beans and kidney beans for this lentil chili. You can also use just one type of beans.

Other varieties of beans, such as pinto beans, black-eyed beans, or borlotti beans, also work here.

We use cooked or canned because dried beans need to soak and have a longer cooking time than lentils, so you can’t cook them directly in the same pot.

If you use canned beans, you have to drain and rinse them.

If you use dried beans, you’ll need to soak them first for 8 to 12 hours, then boil them in plenty of water until tender.

Soaked dried beans cook in 1 to 2 hours on the stovetop and in about 10 minutes in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

Here are our guides on how to cook black beans and how to cook white beans.

Tomatoes

We add canned diced tomatoes.

Substitute fire-roasted tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, or tomato puree.

Vegetable broth

We use a low-sodium vegetable broth.

Substitute water for vegetable broth.

Salt and Black Pepper

Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

SERVES WELL WITH

• Lime juice: a squeeze of lime juice is essential. Substitute lemon juice.
• Cilantro: optional to add freshness and fragrance.
• Avocado
• Sourcream: you can use cashew sour cream to make vegan chili.
• Pickles: try quick-pickled jalapeños or quick-pickled red onions.
• Rice or tortilla: serve this vegetarian lentil chili with boiled brown rice, warm tortilla, or tortilla chips.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Start with the flavor base

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion, diced red bell pepper, and pressed garlic and sauté on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.

Then add red pepper flakes, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, tomato paste, and bay leaves, and cook 1 more minute or until you can smell the spices’ fragrant aroma.

Add legumes and liquids

In the meantime, rinse the dried lentils under running water to remove dirt. Also, do a quick visual check to ensure no stones or debris are hiding between the lentils.

Add the dried lentils to the pot with the flavor base, then add the canned beans, drained and rinsed, and stir for a short minute.

Tip: we prefer rinsing canned beans because the liquid they come with can cause gas in some people.

Add the vegetable broth and crushed tomatoes, and season with salt and black pepper.

Simmer until lentils are tender

Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. Stir occasionally and add more vegetable broth if required.

Taste and adjust for salt and heat. Also, adjust the consistency; you can make a soupy lentil chili by adding more broth or a thicker one by letting it simmer for a few more minutes.

You can serve a bowl of lentil chili with brown rice or flatbread as a nutritious and satiating main meal.

We recommend topping it with a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice, chopped cilantro, and pickled jalapeños.

It’s also excellent with sliced avocado or guacamole, pickled red onions, and a dollop of thick Greek yogurt, sour cream, or vegan sour cream.

Other breads and grains that work well with lentil chili are:

• Boiled quinoa, millet, and amaranth.
• Boiled farro or barley.
• Couscous.
• Wamermed tortilla or any other flatbread, such as Italian flatbread, Indian naan bread, or Middle Eastern pita bread.

Sweet potato chili

Sweet potato chili is another excellent alternative to chili con carne because it combines nutritious legumes, tender and delicious sweet potatoes, and aromatic spices.

This one is also an easy one-pot recipe you can make with simple pantry staples.

Check out our sweet potato chili recipe.

Red Lentil Chili

Substitute red lentils for green or brown lentils to make a delicious red lentil chili.

You can make red lentil chili with whole red lentils or split red lentils. If you make it with whole red lentils, the cooking time is about 30 to 45 minutes.

If you make it with split red lentils, the cooking time shortens to about 15 minutes. In this case, you’ll need about half the vegetable broth of our lentil chili recipe.

Make ahead: lentil chili is an excellent recipe for meal prep as it keeps well in the fridge and freezer.

Refrigerator: let the chili cool down and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Freezer: Let it cool down completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze it for up to 3 months.

Thaw & Reheat: Defrost lentil chili in the fridge for several hours. Reheat in a saucepan with a splash of water or the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.

If you love cooking with lentils, find more vegetarian dinner ideas here:

• Lentil curry
• Easy lentil vegetable soup
• Turkish lentil soup
• Lentil salad
• Mujadara
• Lentil pasta
• Curry lentil soup

Get more vegetarian protein inspiration with these delicious dinner ideas:

• Harira soup
• Moroccan lentil soup
• Tofu curry
• Kung pao tofu
• African peanut stew