Simple Bean Chili
- 60 MINUTES
- MAKES LOADS
- EASY-PEASY
Say yes to batch cooking! This simple bean chili recipe feeds both, vegetarians & meat lovers. The recipe makes a big batch (approx. 12L) of this delicious bean chili so that you can stock up the freezer for weeks ahead. Just invest 60 minutes on making it, divide into food boxes, throw into the freezer and know that a yummy, nutritious meal is waiting for you at home. Just remember to transfer your food box from the freezer into the fridge in the morning!
SIMPLE BEAN CHILI:
Ingredients Photo Slideshow
SIMPLE BEAN CHILI:
Ingredients
- 3 LARGE ONIONS: chopped (I like bigger chunks)
- 3.99 L BEANS: canned or cooked, any kind you like, I used 5 x 398 ml cans of black beans & 5 x 398 ml cans of red kidney beans, rinse first if you’re using cans!
- 680 G MUSHROOMS: any kind, chopped any way you like, I used 4 x 170 g packages of white mushrooms
- 1 KG CORN: frozen or canned, I used 2 x 500 g packages of frozen corn
- 4.77 L TOMATOES: diced or crushed, I used 6 x 796 ml cans of whole tomatoes and then chopped them in the blender for a few seconds
- SALT: I started with 2.5 tablespoons and added more when finished to please my taste
- CHILI POWDER: I used about half of a 155 g bag of chili powder
- GROUND MEAT: optional, I added some ground deer meat that I had in the freezer but pork, beef, chicken, or turkey will work too.
- COOKING FAT TO FRY ONIONS: I like to use stable animal fats (solid at room temp.) or raw coconut oil because they are more heat resilient compared to vegetable oils (burned/rancid oils promote free radical formation in the body when consumed!)
VARIATION TIP
This recipe is totally flexible! What you see here is how I like it but you can add, remove & swap ingredients as you please.
SERVING TIP
Serve with cooked quinoa, buckwheat or a slice of sourdough bread. To save time, cook a 4-day's worth batch of quinoa/buckwheat and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. For richer taste, sprinkle some good quality cheddar cheese over your bean chili just before eating.
VEGETARIAN TIP
Add more beans (black, kidney, pinto, white) or any of the other ingredients (corn, mushrooms) to reach desired consistency.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
With regards to onions, mushrooms, corn and tomatoes, I choose organic versions as much as possible to reduce my exposure to toxic pesticides. In case you're interested, review the EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Just click on the "FOOD FOR THOUGHT" title to be redirected.
SIMPLE BEAN CHILI:
Cooking Workflow Slideshow
SIMPLE BEAN CHILI:
Cooking Directions
- Fry the onions till soft & golden
- Add & mix in salt
- Add & mix in chili powder (if you’re making your bean chili with meat, add it together with chili powder, mix well and cook until fully done)
- Add & mix in mushrooms & cook until wilted then shut the stove off
- Add & mix in corn, beans, tomatoes & mix thoroughly with a large wooden spoon
- Taste to see if you need to add more salt and/or chili powder
- Mix thoroughly all ingredients
- Divide into food boxes & freeze (if you’re hungry, just scoop off a portion for a meal and heat it up in a separate sauce pan)
STORING TIP
Divide your bean chili batch into food boxes of different sizes ex. 1 portion size for yourself, 2 portion size for you and your significant other or larger portions to serve all of your family members.
Ahoy, I'm Eva!
