Vegan Chili Recipe for Burgers & Dogs
If you love carrot/veggie dogs and black bean burgers but miss topping them with chili, I think you’re about to do a happy dance! This quick Vegan Chili Recipe is simmered with spices and onions and can be made in minutes.
We love this chili because it’s…
- So versatile
- Great on chili cheese fries, carrot hotdogs, black bean burgers, and more
- Busting with flavor
- Hearty
- Easy to make
- Even fools meat-eaters
Before switching to a healthy whole food, plant-based diet (WFPB) and lifestyle, we used to eat a lot of artery-clogging burgers and hot dogs.
We also had a host of medical conditions including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and joint pain.
Discovering how to make meatless chili for veggie burgers and dogs
For 35 years, I had made my homemade chili to top those burgers, hot dogs, and fries. It was a recipe I learned from my mom and grandmother, and it was so good.
Then, after four years of eating chili-less Black Bean Burgers, carrot dogs, and French fries, I decided to veganized my old recipe by replacing the ground beef with a grain called bulgur that is available at many grocery stores.
What is bulgur?
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, chili beans, no-meatloaf, etc. because bulgur adds a ground beef texture and soaks up flavors of dish you’re preparing.
It’s so nice to be able to pull it out of the freezer already cooked and jump right into cooking the main dish.
For this chili recipe, you can use already cooked bulgur from your freezer or uncooked. Just reduce the cooking time if you decide to use cooked bulgur you already have on hand.
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
How to make vegan chili
In a saucepan, saute diced onions in approximately 3 Tbsp of the veggie broth. As they brown and begin to caramelize, add more veggie broth 1 Tbsp at a time. Allow to caramelize well.
Add all other chili ingredients including the bulgur, stir well, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Cover and turn off. Chili is basically done and ready to be eaten.
*NOTE: If you already have pre-cooked bulgur (2 cups) in the freezer that you would like to use, simply omit the veggie broth/water except for about 1/2 a cup, and cook for only 5 minutes.
Add to carrot dogs, veggie and black bean burgers, vegan chili cheese fries, or anything else you can think of.
Tips for making this vegan hotdog chili
- I make big batches of bulgur in my rice steamer and freeze it to be used in recipes like this, along with tacos, lasagna, and chili fries. The great thing about having bulgur already cooked is that it cuts a step out of food preparation and speeds up the process of sitting down to dinner.
- It’s so nice to be able to pull it out of the freezer and jump right into cooking the main dish.
- This chili is the perfect topping for carrot dogs, which are my new love.
- You’ve just GOT to try my homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce on your hot dogs and burgers too!
- To make this gluten-free, try substituting Buckwheat Groats or cauliflower rice.
If you would like to make your own ketchup for this recipe, check out my 10-Minute Vegan Ketchup recipe.
*Originally published May 25, 2017
Comment from follower
Made this on Monday and used no-salt added tomato sauce…it came out perfect! So delicious on carrot dogz.”–Chickavegan
Other recipes that use bulgur
- Vegan Chili Cheese Fries
- Black Bean Spinach Lasagna
- Three Bean Crockpot Chili
- Instant Pot Chili Recipe
For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!
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If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
Vegan Chili Recipe for Burgers & Veggie Dogs
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup veggie broth (if using uncooked bulgur)*
- 1 cup dry uncooked bulgur (or 2 cups cooked)*
- 2 cups veggie broth or water
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon or worcestershire sauce without anchovies
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon season salt
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional for spice)
Instructions
- In saucepan, saute diced onions in approximately 3 Tbsp of the veggie broth. As they brown and begin to caramelize, add more veggie broth 1 Tbsp at a time. Allow to caramelize well.
- Add all other chili ingredients, stir well, and simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes. Cover and turn heat down to warm or off. Chili is basically done and ready to be eaten.
- *NOTE: If you already have pre-cooked bulgur (2 cups) in the freezer that you would like to use, simply omit the veggie broth/water except for about 1/2 a cup, and cook for only 5 minutes.
- Add to carrot dogs, veggie and black bean burgers, vegan chili cheese fries, or anything else you can think of. Black bean burger and vegan chili cheese fries recipe links below.
Video
Notes
- I make big batches of bulgur in my rice steamer and freeze it to be used in recipes like this, along with tacos, lasagna, and chili fries. The great thing about having bulgur already cooked is that it cuts a step out of food preparation and speeds up the process of sitting down to dinner.
- It’s so nice to be able to pull it out of the freezer and jump right into cooking the main dish.
- This chili is the perfect topping for carrot dogs, which are my new love.
- You’ve just GOT to try my homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce on your hot dogs and burgers too!
- To make this gluten-free, try substituting Buckwheat Groats or cauliflower rice.
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…
Your new enhanced blog looks terrific! Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much! It’s a work in progress. 🙂
I have not tried either of these and don’t even remember where I got them but in this context, might be fun to play with:
FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (1)
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp ground celery seeds
½ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
1/2 to 1 tbsp prepared mustard
======================================
FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (2)
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
¼ tsp marjoram
½ tsp ground mustard seeds
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp white pepper
2 tsp sugar
Hi Terri, do you think subbing tomato sauce/puree for the ketchup would work? Thanks!
Yes, I think that substitution would work just fine for this recipe. Enjoy!
Made this on Monday and used no-salt added tomato sauce…it came out perfect! So delicious on carrot dogz. Thanks again Terri!
That’s fabulous to hear! Thanks!
I must thank Terri for introducing me to bulgar!! It is a great ground beef substitute for those of us getting used to leaving off meats. We’ve been WFPB for 3 years, but there are still times we miss the meaty texture that this bulgar is great at mimicking!! The chili recipe is great & we highly recommend it!
Tried this with our first carrot dogs and it was a good addition. Thanks!
Terri, where can I find bulgar? And what section of the store is it located? Thanks. Can’t wait to try out this recipe.
Bulgur is can usually be found in the same section as rice and other grains. If your store carries Bob’s Red Mill products, they usually have a couple of different types of bulgur. At Whole Foods and Earth Fare type stores, you can even find it in the bulk section and buy it by the scoop. Hope you love the recipe!
Hi…How can I make this gluten free? Thank you!
Hi Janet- I haven’t tried it, but you might substitute buckwheat groats for the bulgur and see how it comes out. Other people have used buckwheat groats as a sub in other bulgur recipes with success.
Hi, could I sub the bulgar out with quinoa? Cant wait to try!
Hi Kathryn- I haven’t tried subbing out quinoa for the bulgur before. Some folks have said they’ve used buckwheat groats as a gluten-free substitution in this recipe with success. I would say the quinoa would be worth a try. It will definitely change the texture, but the flavor should be similar.
@Kathryn, I have used quinoa because that is what I had on hand and it was delicious.You should try it!