This chili gets its flavor from smoky spicy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and tons of spices. It’s loaded with plant and animal protein, lots of fiber, and sneaks in plenty of veg. It’s the perfect vessel for all the cheese and any of your favorite chili toppings.
Ingredient highlight
Beans! are a great way to get in some protein along with a heavy dose of fiber, complex carbs, folic acid, iron, magnesium, and potassium to name a few. They are famous for making you fart (hehe) because of the specific sugars (oligosaccharides) they contain that we have trouble breaking down. Cooking your beans from scratch reduces the fart-causing substances!
Any easy way to sneak beans into recipes is to replace 1/2 of the meat with beans so you still get the meaty flavor but with a major fiber boost.
Can also confirm it’s the perfect fall camping meal!
Servings 5 – 6 (makes about 11 cups)
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, divided
- 4 cups chopped veggies*
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef**
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 cups water
- 2 (15 oz) cans beans (black and/or pinto), drained and rinsed
- 3-4 chipotles in adobo, chopped (about 2-3 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp adobo sauce, from the can
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
Toppings:
- Grated cheddar
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Cilantro and/or scallions
- Chopped red onion
- Avocado slices
- *I used bell peppers, squash, cabbage, and cauliflower. Use whatever you have on hand!
- **Easily sub with ground turkey.
Instructions
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until the onion has softened, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the veggies, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until the veggies have softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Make a space in the center for the beef. Add the beef, break it up into chunks, then sprinkle on the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook the beef until it is mostly cooked through, mixing it in with the veg and continuing to break it up into small crumbles along the way, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, smoked paprika, cumin, and oregano. Stir it all up and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the water, beans, chipotles, adobo, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer rapidly for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve topped with lots of cheese and any other toppings you want.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Chop 1 yellow onion
- Chop 4 cups veggies
- Chop 4 cloves garlic
- Chop 3-4 chipotles in adobo + measure 2 tbsp adobo sauce
- Prep any toppings
- Make the chili
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, add an extra can of beans.
- To make it bean-free, use 1.5 lbs of meat and an extra cup of veggies.
- To make it not spicy, you can skip the chipotle and adobo sauce. Add an extra teaspoon of each spice.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftovers in the microwave or on the stove until warmed through. Load it up with toppings.
- Use it as a “dip” for tortilla chips.
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