One-Pot Black Bean Quinoa Chili
Published 9/18/2023 • Updated 9/25/2023
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Hearty and nourishing black bean quinoa chili is ready in under an hour on the stovetop. This vegetarian chili is protein-packed and a delicious alternative to classic chili made with meat.
It’s not a fall weekend in the Midwest without a pot of chili simmering on the stove, homemade apple cider, and football. We are huge chili fans and have chili recipes for every palate here at Fit Foodie Finds.
This vegetarian chili packs in all of the same great heartiness and flavor of chilis made with meat, but uses black beans and quinoa instead. Everything is cooked together in one pot on the stove, making this a quick and easy recipe with minimal cleanup.
Featured Comment
“Simple and delicious! What a fabulous recipe! Can’t wait to make it again! The cinnamon sticks and hominy make this a very unique recipe! Made it exactly as written!” – Kathy
What You Need for Black Bean Quinoa Chili
Even though this chili is made without meat, it has the same great texture and flavor as our classic chili recipe thanks to plenty of beans, veggies, and spices. You need:
Veggies: Think typical chili vegetables like green and poblano peppers, onion, and garlic. We like to add hominy to this quinoa chili for color, taste, and texture.
Protein: Instead of meat, we use a combination of quinoa (uncooked) and beans for protein.
Tomatoes + Broth: This is a tomato-based chili so we use both diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in addition to vegetable broth.
Spices: The spice combination is what gives this vegetarian chili the flavor depth you’d traditionally get from a meat-based chili. We use cinnamon sticks for a little spice and sweetness, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and paprika.
Black Bean Quinoa Chili Substitutions
Customize this vegetarian chili to your liking and based on what ingredients you have on hand. Instead of:
- Poblano peppers, try jalapeño peppers or throw in an extra diced bell pepper.
- Black beans, use your favorite kind of beans like garbanzo, navy, or great northern beans.
- Hominy, use the same amount of yellow sweet corn.
- Each individual spice, use about 1/4 cup of homemade chili seasoning to replace the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and paprika.
- And, for even more spice, add a can of diced green chiles.
Best Dutch Oven for Soups and Chilis
We cook all of our soups and chilis in this thing and it’s truly the perfect size.
Great Jones
Dutch Oven
The Great Jones “The Dutchess” is our favorite Dutch oven for every day cooking. It’s great for one-pot meals, soups, and more!
FAQ
This chili is more “warm” than spicy. It has a rich and comforting flavor profile with some warmth, but not a lot of heat.
No. The quinoa cooks in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, so there’s no pre-cooking required.
The quinoa absorbs much of the water as the chili cooks, so this recipe yields a very thick and hearty chili. If you want a thinner chili, mix in more broth until you reach your desired consistency.
I’m sure you could, but we haven’t tested it. This recipe was developed specifically for quinoa.
Storage
This recipe makes a lot of chili which is great for meal prep. Let the chili cool completely and transfer into airtight container(s). Refrigerate for 3-5 days.
When reheating the chili, you may need to add a little more broth or water to thin it out a bit.
Freezer Instructions for Quinoa Chili
Chili is a wonderful meal to keep in the freezer for long, cold days. To freeze chili, let it cool completely, transfer to freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 3 months. And, here are all of our tips and tricks for how to freeze soup and chili like a pro!
Dip it!
One of my personal favorite ways to eat chili is WITHOUT a spoon. That’s right, I like to trade my spoon for tortilla chips and sometimes even Fritos.
Serving Suggestions
AKA ideas for chili toppings! Chili isn’t chili without all of the amazing toppings and here are some of our favorite black bean quinoa chili toppings:
- Cilantro
- Diced avocado or guacamole
- Tortilla chips (for dipping!)
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Diced onion
- Diced tomatoes or salsa
- Lime wedges
Black Bean Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
- 1 large poblano pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
- 1.5 cup white quinoa, uncooked
- 30 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 28 oz. hominy, drained and rinsed (or yellow sweet corn)
- 15 oz. diced tomatoes
- 15 oz. tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 5 cups vegetable broth, divided (or any broth)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add olive oil. When the olive oil is fragrant, add the white onion and 1/8 teaspoon of salt to the oil. Toss and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the poblano pepper, green pepper, and quinoa to the Dutch oven. Mix well. Toast the quinoa for 3-4 minutes (stirring continuously) until it begins to brown.
- Add the black beans, hominy, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper, and 4 cups of broth to the Dutch oven. Stir everything together and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and and add the cinnamon sticks. Cover the Dutch oven and let the chili simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.
- The quinoa will have expanded during the cook time so when the quinoa is completely cooked, stir in the remaining 1 cup of broth.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and enjoy the chili topped with fresh cilantro and your favorite chili toppings such as sliced avocado, Greek yogurt/sour cream, etc.
Tips & Notes
- Storage: Once the chili is completely cool, transfer to airtight container(s) and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Chili thickens as it sits, so when you reheat the chili, you may need to add a little more broth or water to thin it out.
- Freezing Instructions: Let the chili cool completely, transfer to freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Consistency: This is a pretty thick and hearty chili. If you like a thinner chili, add more broth at the end until you reach your desired consistency.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
I just made a huge pot of this and wow… amazing! I didnt have chili powder so i used paprika and cumin. came out amazing. my husband LOVED it. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
#winning So glad it still tasted good without the chili powder! Thanks for the comment 🙂 And I’m pumped this meat-free chili is husband-approved!
So I recently started eating healthy. I’m working on a fiber-rich diet plan so I have tried a million chili (beans) recipes recently and this is by far my favorite. I like chili because it has everything I need in one pot: vegetables, protein, carbs. I think the cinnamon stick really does trick in this recipe and the poblano pepper is amazing. It is so hearty and filling I don’t even miss the meat. Meatless chili never tasted so good. And this recipe is super easy. Throw everything in a pot (lots of canned good make it easier too) and cook for an hour! This is my go to recipe and I have no need for other chili recipes. This does make a huge pot of chili though. I freeze it in individual servings and enjoy for weeks.
Seriously you just made my day! I am SO SO SO SO glad you like this recipe! Have an amazing day Juliana!
Can you tell me what kind of portions you used? What ounces for the cans?
So sorry for the late response! 15 oz!
Not a problem, thank you!! I am eager and ready to make this. Been daydreaming all day at work.
Let me know how it goes Su! I want feedback 😀
Thanks for the follow up Lee! I thought it came out pretty GOOD though I feel like I might have slipped up somewhere since it didn’t look as good as yours! I’ve never made chili let alone healthy chili so I thought it had to be a little thicker. I added some plain tomato sauce and a little cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken it up. It seemed to do the trick. Maybe its the type of beans I used (I used black, pinto, and kidney) or maybe I should have drained the diced tomatoes? Days and days of leftovers, I might take another reviewer suggestion and freeze some of it. Thank you!
Glad you were resourceful and could fix the problem! First time chili cooker..OH EM GEE! You have been missing out! I can’t wait for you to do some more chili exploring. You’re about to get hooked!
Girrrrl, I already am. 🙂 thanks for the inspiration.
Made this chili last night! It was pretty good. I made some substitutions of what I had on hand. The recipe did not specify what size can for the tomatoes. I added a 28 oz. can. This makes a lot of chili. I’ll be interested to taste it tonight after the flavors marry a bit. I’ll probably add more spicy peppers and some cheddar cheese as well.
Sounds like you made some great substitutions 🙂 Hoped you liked it!
This recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this out. Could you specify a few things, such as cans of black beans, corn, tomatoes, etc? I don’t really buy canned goods (I buy dry black beans and soak myself) but it would be nice to know if I need to get canned, (or do my own thing) how many ounces (or cups) I would need. Thanks!
In 1 can of beans, corn, or tomatoes there is about 1.5 cups of substance! Let me know how it goes!
The expression you’re trying to use in the beginning is “if I do say so myself”
What is the nutritional value?
Small piece of dark chocolate stirred in at the end makes a difference!
That is a really clever idea! I’m totally trying that next time!
The intro says Serrano peppers but the recipe calls for poblano? Which one is better? And does anyone who has made this know if it’s better made the day before and reheated or made the day of and served fresh??
Made this tonight, was delicious, very filling and I figured it out to be 240 calories and 42 carbs per cup..Should be pretty close…Definitely going to make it again,,freezing leftovers in 1 cup containers…YUMMMM
JUST made this! Can’t wait to have it for dinner tonight 🙂
(I did split the recipe in half because I live alone)
Good plan! I didn’t realize how much if made until I made it 😉
Good plan! I didn’t realize how much the batch made until I made it 🙂