Chickpea Walnut Chili is a vegan chili lovers dream! A spicy tomato broth with chickpea walnut "meat" that creates the same texture as a traditional bowl of chili.
This right here is a meat lovers chili.
Hearty, thick and chock full of ground beef, spices, and... wait... what?!
The ground meat is actually chickpeas and walnuts?
Yes, yes, and yes! This suspiciously meaty looking bowl of chili is pulling a fast one on us. It is made out of plants and only plants. But it still has the rich silky and spicy tomato sauce and the chewy bites of "meat" just like a traditional bowl of chili.
And all you need to create the perfect meaty meatless chili is a can of chickpeas and a cup of walnuts.
How to make chickpea walnut meat:
This is one easy task, friends.
Grab your food processor and add in both the chickpeas and walnuts. Process until they are broken down into small pieces, similar in size to ground beef.
These little pieces will give our chili an unbelievable meaty texture without the meat. Instead, we get gut friendly fiber and blood pressure reducing potassium from the chickpeas. Plus anti-inflammatory omega 3s and heart healthy copper from the walnuts.
Now the most important question of the day:
If you don’t top your chili with so many toppings you can hardly see the chili buried underneath, is it really chili?
When it comes to toppings, there are no bounds! We like:
- tortilla chips for crunch
- slices of buttery avocado
- a heavy cilantro shower
- dairy free cheese, because, cheese
- a dollop of (vegan) sour cream to tame the spice (which is very subtle)
- hot sauce if you'd to crank up the spice
- a juicy squeeze of lime
- and any other topping you and your bowl of chili just can't live without!
Chickpea Walnut Chili
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chickpea Walnut Chili is a vegan chili lovers dream! A spicy tomato broth with chickpea walnut "meat" that creates the same texture as a traditional bowl of chili.
Ingredients
- 3 cups chickpeas
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 Fresno or jalapeno chili, diced (optional)
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder (mild or spicy)
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon cocoa or cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 (15)oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cups broth or water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the chickpeas and walnuts to a food processor and pulse until they chopped into small pieces.
- Add the oil to a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in the onion and fresno chili and sauté until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, cacao powder, and smoked paprika. Mix well and sauté until the spice are fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the tomato sauce, broth, honey, salt and the chopped chickpeas and walnuts. Stir. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with your toppings of choice and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ recipe
- Calories: 331
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 1033mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 13g
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