Lentil Chilli

Beef chilli was my grandmother’s favourite go-to recipe for feeding the family. I love it too and often cook that. But I also devised this lentil chilli con carne – minus the beef – as it’s great for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and meat-eaters alike. Delicious meat free recipes like this make me glad to be flexitarian.

Although we are carnivores, we often have vegetarian main meals as they are the quickest and easiest to make from storecupboard ingredients. As well as being healthy. This lentil chilli recipe is high in fibre, low in fat and super tasty, too. I used canned green rather than red lentils to speed things up. If using dried lentils instead, increase the simmer time to about 40 minutes over a low heat.

The Worcester and soy sauces are not necessary, but add a nice depth of flavour – if you have some. For a vegan lentil chilli, leave out the Worcester sauce as it contains anchovies. I don’t use stock in this recipe as I prefer to add these, but you can if you like. – check the label if you want it to be gluten free. You could even use cayenne pepper in place of chili powder, or black beans instead of red kidney beans.

If possible, make this a few hours before serving. Time makes the flavours combine really well, giving a deep, more rounded flavour. See the last instruction to make a slow cooker lentil chilli. If you want use dried rather than tinned lentils for this, extend the cooking time to 6 hours on low.

This mushroom and lentil chilli serves 4 – 6

Lentil Chilli recipe ingredients

• Olive oil, for frying
• Red onion, 1 chopped
• Red bell pepper, 1 chopped
• Green lentils, 1 tin, drained
• Passata, 1 carton (500g)
• Red kidney beans, 1 tin, drained
• Mixed beans, 1 tin, drained
• Sweetcorn, 200g, tinned & drained, or frozen
• Mushrooms, closed cup, 4-6, sliced
• Tomato paste, 1 tbsp
• Chilli powder, 1/2 tsp
• Chilli flakes, a pinch
• Cumin, 1 tsp
• Oregano, 1 tsp
• Paprika, 1 tsp
• Worcester sauce, a dash (optional)
• Soy sauce, a dash (optional)

Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Medium saucepan
• Wooden spatula 

How to make Lentil Chilli

• Fry the onion and pepper in a dash of olive oil, stirring, until they start to soften and turn golden.
• Add all the other ingredients and stir well. Simmer for 20-30 minutes on a low to medium heat before serving.
• Alternatively, to make this in the slow cooker, cook for 4 hours on low. (Any longer and the lentils will disintegrate completely.)

Serve this vegetarian chili with rice – and sour cream too, if you like. Don’t forget the freshly ground black pepper!

Related recipes:

• Chickpea & kidney bean curry
• Chilli Topped Fries
• Veggie Tagine
• Easy guacamole
• Jackfruit Chilli
• Vegan Dhansak

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