Crock Pot Vegan Chili
Believe it or not, chili can be made healthy without loads of saturated fat and calories with this amazing Crockpot Vegan Chili that even has meat-eaters licking their lips.
Sometime back, I experimented with a new recipe for chili. It turned out amazing! A follower actually won a cook-off with this delicious crockpot vegan chili recipe!
You’re going to love this vegan chili because it’s…
- Bursting with flavor
- Smokey
- Packed with wholesome ingredients
- A one-pot recipe
- Crockpot recipe
- Super easy to make
- Filling
- Crowd-pleasing
- Award-winning
Even our own 88-year-old Grandma Edwards said she would’ve thought it had ground beef, and she asked me to leave a bowl of it for her dinner.
If this crockpot vegan chili can fool Grandma Edwards, it officially passes the test!
Ingredients in crockpot chili
- cooked beans
- fire-roasted tomatoes
- bulgur
- onions
- garlic
- vegetable broth
- ketchup
- spices
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
How to make vegan chili
Begin by dicing up the onions and garlic.
Personally, I like to use can beans for this recipe because I like a variety of different kinds. Simply drain and rinse all of the bean juices before using them.
However, you could just use one type of bean for the whole recipe. This is especially good if you want to make your own beans fresh.
Remember to make sure your beans are already cooked before adding them to the crockpot.
Place all ingredients–onions, garlic, cooked beans, tomatoes, veggie broth, bulgur, maple syrup, and spices–in a crockpot on medium and allow to cook for 4 hours. You can also turn the setting down to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
That’s seriously all there is to it!
If you would like to make this chili in your IP, try my Instant Pot Vegan Chili recipe which is basically the same recipe with a few adjustments.
Award-winning vegan chili recipe
Sometime back, someone won a Chili Cookoff with this recipe.
I won our chili cook Off contest at work today with your recipe. I proudly let everyone know it was vegetarian and shared your recipe! Thank you!”–Sally
Sometimes we like to top our chili beans with Tofu Sour Cream. It’s so easy to make with only 5 ingredients and a blender.
What is bulgur?
Bulgur is one of the most important ingredients in this recipe. Bulgur is a whole wheat grain that is cooked exactly like rice in about 15 minutes. Follow package directions.
I like to make a big batch of it and store it in the freezer to use in recipes like tacos, stews, nachos, etc. because bulgur adds a ground beef texture and soaks up flavors of the dish you’re preparing.
Remember that you don’t have to precook it for this recipe. Just toss in 3/4 cup dry bulgur.
Pro tips & suggestions
- Either canned or freshly cooked beans work well with this recipe.
- Any type of beans can be substituted. Great options include kidney beans, cannellini, navy, pintos, black beans, and others.
- There is no need to cook the bulgur first. Simply toss it in the pot dry.
- To add more heat or spice to this chili, simply add more cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Buckwheat groats can be substituted for bulgur to make this recipe gluten-free.
- To make it in your IP, try my Instant Pot Chili Recipe.
- Sometimes we like to top our chili beans with Tofu Sour Cream. It’s so easy to make with only 5 ingredients and a blender.
- This Crock Pot Vegan Chili goes very well with my Country Cornbread.
*Originally published October 07, 2015.
Other great vegan chili recipes
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Crock Pot Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 4-1/2 cups cooked beans. This would be (3) 15 oz cans of beans, drained and rinsed. I use black, pinto, and cannellini
- 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with juice
- 3/4 cups bulgur wheat uncooked dry
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 2 large cloves of garlic minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth low sodium
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Worchester sauce without anchovies
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon season salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Begin by dicing up the onions and garlic.
- If using can beans, drain and rinse them. I do this by dumping them into a colander and rinsing them under water.
- Place all ingredients–onions, garlic, cooked beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, veggie broth, bulgur, maple syrup, and spices–in a crockpot on medium and allow to cook for 4 hours.
- You can also turn the setting down to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Video
Notes
- If you want to make chili in your IP, try this Instant Pot Vegan Chili recipe which is basically the same recipe.
- Either canned or freshly cooked beans work well with this recipe.
- Any type of beans can be substituted. Great options include kidney beans, cannellini, navy, pintos, black beans, and others.
- There is no need to cook the bulgur first. Simply toss it in the pot dry.
- To add more heat or spice to this chili, simply add more cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Sometimes we like to top our chili beans with my Tofu Sour Cream. It’s so easy to make with only 5 ingredients and a blender.
- This Crock Pot Vegan Chili goes very well with my Country Cornbread.
- Buckwheat groats can be substituted for bulgur to make this recipe gluten-free.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
Looks good. I never pre-cook my bulgar…just dump it in, and it cooks and soaks up the flavor.
Do you add the extra water?
Susan, in this recipe, I only add the extra water if the bulgur is uncooked. Most of the time, I have bulgur cooked and frozen to be easily added to recipes. In that case with this recipe, I would not add the extra water, because the bulgur is cooked. If, however, I didn’t have any on-hand in the freezer and needed to add it uncooked (dry), I would need to add the extra water to allow it to cook in the crockpot with the beans and have plenty of moisture. 🙂
Your recipe says uncooked bulgur, but doesn’t mention adding extra water. How much water?
The recipe calls for 4 cups of vegetable stock, so that is all the bulgur will need to cook to the right consistency. Enjoy!
Looks awfully dry.
Carol, it shouldn’t look dry at all. Make sure you included the 4 cups of vegetable broth and 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes with juice. Did you only use the 3/4 cup of dry bulgur and include only cooked beans (either from a can or freshly cooked) before adding them?
Sounds wonderful. However, my slow cooker only has high & low. Guess 2 1/2 hours on high will do it. Take care.
Patsy, yes, I think that would work just fine. Happy cooking!
Terri, would you consider posting pressure cooking instructions, especially from dry beans? I love this recipe!
Chris, I have never used a IP pot before, so I’m not sure about the cooking instructions. I’m sorry. Hopefully, someone on here that is IP savvy can chime in here.
I wonder if it’s a typo 3/4 cup ketchup? I used ketchup 75% less sugar. Chili came out way too sweet. Loved the look and the texture of this chili. I’ll make again later in the week using tomato paste instead of the ketchup.
Tomato paste or tomato sauce would be a great substitute for the ketchup. These colder days are perfect for chili. Enjoy!
@Terri, if I substitute tomato sauce should I use 3/4 cup as well? And any particular tomato sauce you would recommend?
Hi Ron- 3/4 cup tomato sauce should work just fine in this recipe. Hope you enjoy the chili!
Sounds good. ……going to get the crock pot out. Thanks!
Three-Bean-Bulgur Chili—
Ingredients:
3 cans of beans, drained and rinsed. I used black, pinto, and cannellini
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
1-1/2 cooked bulgur wheat (This has a ground beef texture and soaks up flavors. Cooks just like rice in 15 minutes and can be found at most grocery stores.)
1 small diced onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worchester sauce (without anchovies)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. season salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tsp. sea salt
Place all ingredients in crock pot on medium and allow to cook 4-5 hours.
I live in Canada, and have never seen fire roasted tomatoes. Would a can of diced tomatoes work?
Mary, yes, diced tomatoes will work too. Fire roasted tomatoes just add a little extra flavor. Enjoy!
@Mary, Sobeys has them!
This was by far the best vegan chili recipe I have ever tried. The flavor from the combination of ingredients and seasoning was perfect. I made it in my instant pot cooking the bulgur and beans first. Added the rest of the ingredients and set for 6 minutes on manual. To cook the bulgur I added 1 c dry to 1 3/4 c water and cooked in the IP for 4 minutes. I did decrease to overall salt by 1 teaspoon but that was personal preference. I also used the catsup and found it to add the perfect flavor addition.
Is there a gluten-der substitute for the bulgar?
Some people say buckwheat groats work well as a replacement. I haven’t tried it yet though.
I won our chili cook Off contest at work today with your recipe. I proudly let everyone know it was vegetarian and shared your recipe! Thank you
That’s AMAZING! You just made my day! Thank you for letting me know. I think I’ll share this on my facebook page! 😀
What is season salt, and how is it different from sea salt? I don’t want to put too much salt in it. Thanks
Very good point. I didn’t even realize that I had both salts listed. I would suggest just using season salt, as it is a mixture of salt, herbs, and spices like turmeric and onion.
All I can say is Wow! It still has 2 hrs in crock pot, but I keep going and stealing bites from it. I tweaked slightly, but it tastes amazing. I’ve never cooked Bulgar before, but I love how it looks like ground meat. I’ve tried several different WFPB chilis, but none a winner until now. I’m so excited to try more of your recipes.
I too love the texture of bulgur in chili. So glad that you are loving it. Happy cooking!
I didn’t have Bulgur available so threw in soy curls. Still cooking and keeping my fingers crossed that it turns out ok!
I just made this chili – it’s amazing!! Just thought I should share – also, I didn’t have pre-cooked bulgar so I added the uncooked and the extra liquid and it turned out great 🙂
Made this in my pressure cooker with a few modifications. Cooked 1 cup of each beans with 6 cups of vegetable broth and other ingredients except Bulgar. After beans were cooked i added 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and some liquid smoke and a sprinkle of Chipotle powder. Closed pressure cooker and set for 15minutes. Nice BBQ smokey chili flavor. Excellent flavor and texture. I will make it again and will plan on making this for friends and family that are meat eaters.