Vegan Crockpot Chili

Update 2023:

When I first started this blog I posted about random things with no rhyme or reason. It has evolved into a glass art blog, and I've cleaned up most of the random nonsense.

I kept my recipe posts because, quite frankly, I don't have them written down anywhere else and they are pinned to my Pinterest board so I can find them quickly. And over the years other people have pinned them too, so I want to keep them up and alive.

---

Admittedly, I am a cook by sight/taste/feel kinda gal and rarely take exact measurements ... but I wrote down some "ballpark" estimates. By all means tweak and modify to your hearts content to get it just right for you.

Vegan Crockpot Chili:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 1 green pepper
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 small can sliced black olives - drained
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce
• 1 can of each black, pinto, kidney and great northern beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 serving of homemade chili seasoning

Wash, chop, drain and rinse everything and throw it all together in the crock pot. Stir it all up and cook on low 8-10 or high 4-6 hours. I usually serve this with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar (and a nice huge handful of nacho chips) which makes it not vegan anymore, but still vegetarian and quite possibly the healthiest thing you can put in your mouth.

Chili Seasoning:

• 3 Tbsp flour or 1 Tbsp cornstarch for gluten free
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp chipotle chile pepper or 1 tsp crushed red pepper (adjust to your desired heat level)
• 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

mix together and store in an airtight container.

This makes about 2 servings for my crockpot chili (5-6 quarts). I usually mix up a fresh batch when I make chili and store half in a recycled spice jar for the next time.

Please note I feed this to my Minnesota born, Norwegian heritage children so it is most definitely not spicy. If you like your chili to have a little heat I suggest increasing the amount of crushed red pepper to the spice mix and tossing in a can of green chilies and/or a diced jalapeno to give it some zing.