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- 8 cups
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Fruit isn’t just for sweet treats! In this vegan chili, blueberries—which are both blended into the stew and used as a garnish—deliver hits of juicy sweetness to complement the earthy, savory notes of the kidney beans. The result is a fragrant, deliciously complex stew that’s ready in under an hour. Chili freezes well; make extra and you’ll always have a healthy homemade meal ready to go.
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely chopped red onions
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 12 small cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained, or 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 2 15-oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large pot combine the first eight ingredients (through cumin) and ½ cup water. Cook over medium 15 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and 1½ cups of the blueberries. Cook 15 minutes more.
- Transfer 2 cups of the chili to a blender; let cool. Cover and blend until smooth. Return mixture to the pot. Stir in beans, half of the cilantro, the lemon juice, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes. Top servings with the remaining blueberries and cilantro.
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Comments (10)
(5 from 8 votes)Delicious, what are the stats for this recipe? Protein, calories, carbs etc?
So good and flavorful, yum. I will be making this chili again and again.
This recipe is so delicious as a family we decided will never make chili any other way. So amazing and wonderful and easy to make!
This turned out better than expected. Sweet & mild. I made it for a potluck at work. I'll double the recipe, if I make it to share again - made <8 cups once cooked.
Loved this so much! As the weather cooled down, I was craving chili and decided to give this a try. SO glad I did. I couldn't find mild chili powder so I just used regular, so mine was a bit spicy and a bit sweet. BIG FAN!
Dumb question, is regular paprika considered ‘sweet?’ I have regular paprika, Hungarian paprika and smoked. Thanks!
Correct, if it says "paprika" only it's sweet paprika.
I love this recipe! I have made many of Darshana's recipes and they are all really tasty. I am on a low sodium diet too so I use a salt substitute.
I thought it sounded odd but figured i'd make it cause i had all the ingredients and it's very delicious! I used smoked paprika and frozen wild blueberries. I also choose to skip the blending part and topped with green onions. YUM! Will be making it again.
I was a little hesitant at first, but thought, why not! I'm so glad I did. My family really enjoyed the little touch of sweetness that the blueberries bring to the chili. They had no idea there was actually any blueberries in it when I asked them to guess the secret ingredient, lol! I modified it a wee bit because I need to eat low sodium, so I omitted the salt and used no salt added kidney beans & tomatoes. For ease, I used a frozen bell pepper/onion blend and left out the celery because I didn't have any. I used a bit of celery seed instead. I'm going to start putting blueberries in all my chilis going forward. I love the burst of sweetness and nutrition as well.