Easy three-bean chili
Thick, smoky and so hearty you won’t miss the meat, and it’s even better after a night in the fridge.
- 55 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.45 a serving
- 470 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 lime
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Each serving has about 470 calories, 23 g protein, 78 g carbs and 10 g fat, and costs about $2.45 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No vegetable broth? Chicken broth works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and bell pepper and the garlic. and all three cans of beans in a colander.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, pepper and of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft, about 7 minutes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Cooking the spices in the oil for a minute wakes them up. Keep stirring so nothing scorches.Add the crushed tomatoes, beans, broth and the rest of the salt, stir, and .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium-high heat
to low, set the , and for 25 minutes, stirring every so often, until thick.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: Too thick? Add a splash of water. Too thin? Take the lid off and give it 10 more minutes.Squeeze in the juice of half the lime. Taste and add more salt or chili powder until it tastes rich and bold.
Low heat
Ladle into bowls and top with avocado, cilantro and lime wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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