That’s the go-to dish if you want to convince someone to plant based cooking.
In Spanish language ‘Con Carne’ literally means ‘with meat’, so yeah you guessed right – ‘Sin Carne’ means simply ‘without meat’.
This chili is not just another no-meat chili. It’s as good or even better than the ‘original’!
Why you should try this Vegan Chili Sin Carne?
- ideal dish to convince ‘meat eaters’ that vegan meal can be filling and delicious
- can be eaten with rice or in tortilla
- cheap and easily accessible ingredients
- you can prepare big portion and eat it for few days – gets better after reheating next day
- freezer friendly
This Vegan Chili Sin Carne is so delicious and full of flavors that it will leave everyone begging you for more.
Vegan Chili Sin Carne
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Medium6
servings15
minutes1
hour1
hour15
minutesIngredients
4 cans of red kidney beans (or 3 cans and 1 can of sweet corn)
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
3 bell peppers (red and yellow)
2 red onions
1 medium carrot
1 medium sweet potato
1 cup soy mince (it’s optional, but it really recommended)
olive oil for frying
- SPICES and CONDIMENTS
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
0.5 tsp hot paprika (hot chili flakes or cayenne)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
bunch of coriander, lime or lemon
Directions
- Peel onions, sweet potatoes and carrots. Open and drain canned beans.
- Cut your veggies in bite size chunks. I don’t like to chop them to thin, but if you prefer smaller pieces that’s also fine.
- Start by frying onions until they become translucent. Add 1tsp salt and other powdered spices. When they heat up the smell will be amazing!
- Add sweet potatoes, carrot and bell peppers, stir well so they become covered with spices. Stew for few minutes (if you need to add 1-2tbsp water).
- Add canned tomatoes, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir in the beans and soy mince.
- Cook your chili for 30 minutes covered. If there is a lot of watery sauce uncover it and cook it for another 30 minutes.
- In the end adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, lemon or lime juice. Stir in fresh roughly chopped cilantro.
Notes
- I like my vegan chili quite hot, you can adjust spiciness to your preference by adding more or less hot paprika.
- I know there is a lot of spices in this recipe, but they are all quite important. Smoked paprika and soy sauce add ‘meaty’ umami taste.
- I like this Vegan Chili the third day the most. After it was reheated couple of times, it got thicker and all the flavors blended perfectly. Using proportions above I make portion for 2 people for 2-3 days. If you cook for more people don’t be shy to double the quantities.
Serving suggestions
My favorite way of eating this Chili is wrapped in tortilla with a salad and guacamole on the side. If you top it with melted vegan cheese.. the combination is just perfect.
Another way to go is serve it over the rice sprinkled with coriander and drizzled with lemon juice! Very healthy and filling.
Latest idea for serving this Chili was my hubby’s lazy invention pictured here. He made those crispy quesadillas with perfectly melted vegan cheddar inside. Very cool crunchy addition to Vegan Chili.

Chili Sin Carne is on repeat in my kitchen regularly. I’ve made it for parties – it’s always well received (yes, even by vegan skeptics). I definitely go for this recipe when warming comfort food is needed. I also cook it in bulk when I know I won’t have much time for cooking in next few days.

Let me know what you think about this recipe for Vegan Chili Sin Carne! What is your favorite way to eat it? With rice, tortilla or maybe something else?
