Recipe · Mince
Smoky Chilli Non Carne
A big pot of smoky, beefy-style chilli with kidney beans and a hint of dark chocolate.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Effort
- Easy
Vegan
This chilli goes big on smoke and spice, with vegan mince for the meaty base and kidney beans for body. A square of dark chocolate at the end rounds everything off. Make a double batch — it's one of those dishes that gets better every time you reheat a portion.
Ingredients
servings
For 4 servings.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 peppers (any colour, chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 400g vegan mince
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1–2 tsp chilli powder (to taste)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 × 400g tin red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 250ml vegetable stock (check it's vegan)
- 15g dark chocolate (check it's dairy-free — many dark chocolates contain milk)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- to serve rice, tortilla chips, vegan soured cream, coriander and sliced spring onion
Scaled amounts are rounded. Cooking times usually stay the same, but a bigger batch may need a bigger pan or an extra few minutes.
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic for the final minute.
- Turn up the heat, add the mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up, until browned.
- Stir in the cumin, smoked paprika, chilli powder, cinnamon and oregano and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in the tomato purée.
- Add the tomatoes, kidney beans and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.
- Stir in the chocolate until melted, then add the lime juice and season to taste.
- Serve with rice or tortilla chips, a dollop of vegan soured cream and a scattering of coriander and spring onion.
Good to know
- If you're cooking rice to go with it, cool any leftovers quickly and get them into the fridge; reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- A chipotle chilli in adobo (check the label) instead of some of the chilli powder adds even more smoke.
Check every label: stocks, sauces, breads and pastries sometimes contain milk, egg or fish. Cook until piping hot all the way through.
