Recipe for slow cooker vegan spicy pinto bean chili with corn and kale
If there were a beauty contest for chili, this rather odd-colored spicy pinto bean chili with corn and kale wouldn't make it to the swimsuit round. Don't be fooled by its rather modest looks, however. Hiding in this vegan chili are three -- yes, three -- types of chile pepper (fresh, dried and canned), and a whole six cups of antioxidant-rich kale. If that isn't sexy, I don't know what is! As with all chili, you can spice the recipe up even more, or tone it down, to your own taste. My non-vegan husband absolutely loved this chili, which would be a perfect main dish for Meatless Monday, and I'm confident you will love it, too. Make a pot today, and eat it or freeze it.
Slow cooker vegan spicy pinto bean chili with corn and kale
From the pantry, you'll need: olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, canned green chiles, canned chopped tomato, dried chile peppers, lime.
Adapted slightly from Slow Cooker Comfort Food, this recipe serves 6-8.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano
4-oz can chopped green chiles
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
28-oz can chopped or diced tomatoes, with juice (I use POMI)
2 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 dried guajillo chile peppers
1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped
10-oz bag frozen corn kernels
6 cups chopped kale
Optional toppings (not for vegan version): shredded Cheddar cheese or sour cream
Sliced lime, for garnish
Directions
In a nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring a few times, until the onions are soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper and green chiles, and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Add the beans, stir to combine, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Meanwhile, 1 hour before the beans finish cooking, heat 2 cups of water in the microwave until it boils, 2-3 minutes on HIGH. Soak the dried guajillo chile peppers for 30 minutes (you might need to put a small plate on top to keep the peppers submerged).
Tear the soaked peppers in pieces (save the soaking liquid), and add them to a small blender along with the jalapeño. Purée, and set aside.
When the beans finish cooking, stir in the chile mixture and the frozen corn. Add the kale in batches, stirring each batch to submerge the leaves as best you can in the tomato sauce. Raise the slow cooker heat to HIGH, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the kale is tender.
Garnish individual bowls with shredded Cheddar cheese or sour cream (if not vegan), and a squirt of lime. Or, let cool completely, pack into airtight containers, and freeze.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Smoky turkey, black bean and corn chili
Clean the Freezer Chili
South End Deep Root Chili
Turkey mole chili
Slow cooker Puerto Rican black beans with sofrito and cilantro
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Slow cooker spicy vegetarian pinto bean and chard burritos, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Chickpea and pinto bean chili, from Cook's Hideout
Veggie chili beans with cornbread dumplings, from Herbivoracious
Chicken enchilada chili, from A Year of Slow Cooking
Slow cooker two bean chili, from Domestic Divas Blog
Disclosure: The Perfect Pantry earns a few pennies on the purchase of cookbooks through links in this post.








Posted by: traci | December 2, 2012 at 07:37 AM
What time is dinner? This looks delicious!
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 2, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Traci, it's a really good, satisfying, spicy vegan chili. Hope you try it!
Posted by: vanillasugarblog | December 2, 2012 at 12:04 PM
I love when you make kicked up chili.
I finally got around to making your lo mein (from 2 or 3 years ago?)
Gosh it was so good.
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 2, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Dawn, it's such a grey day here that I'm totally in the chili frame of mind. (And I'm glad you made the lo mein -- it might be the single most addictive dish on this blog!)
Posted by: Judy | December 2, 2012 at 04:21 PM
Lydia, I have some frozen kale I'd like to use. How much would I use in this recipe? Looks delish!
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 2, 2012 at 05:19 PM
Judy, I'd use 1-1/2 cups of squeezed frozen kale.
Posted by: Kalyn | December 3, 2012 at 10:35 AM
You had me at kale, but I think everything about this sounds good!
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 3, 2012 at 01:31 PM
Kalyn, corn isn't something I eat often, but it's so good with the beans and greens here. I think you'll like it.
Posted by: Jennifer (Savor) | December 4, 2012 at 03:38 PM
I am bringing a bunch of Kale over to your house!
Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) | December 4, 2012 at 04:32 PM
Jennifer, 2012 has been my year of kale, and I'm putting it in everything. Come on over!
Posted by: Jeanette | December 5, 2012 at 02:18 PM
What a healthful chili Lydia - love the idea of using kale in this.
Posted by: David Wilson | January 30, 2013 at 08:54 PM
Can't wait to try this at home!