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Home » Stews » Chili » Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili
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Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

January 9, 2020 by Kathy Hester 9 Comments

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Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

Chili is one of my favorite staples. I’m sure it comes as no surprise since it’s a stew and brown – two of my favorites when it comes to slow cooker dinners. Well, maybe some of my favorite foods just happen to be brown…

Of course, it’s great as is or with a sprinkle of vegan chez – but that’s just a blank canvas for you to work with. There’s the classic chili mac that only requires you to boil up some pasta, mix in the chili and add a touch of vegan cheez (if you’d like). You can bake the finished recipe under a layer of cornbread to create the perfect casserole and it’s great in quesadillas or tacos too.

Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

I always have a few cans of vegan chili in my pantry for the nights that I’m too tired to make dinner. My favorite default dinner is chili chez dip with micro thin tortilla chips. It can cheer me up after a hard day and it goes great with a margarita.

Cans are great for dinner emergencies, but I’d rather grab something homemade from the freezer. The grains in this recipe really mimics the meaty texture that is usually made from some type of  soy. This chili is soy free and as a bonus has no added oil. You can even make it gluten-free by using quinoa or more millet in place of the bulgur.

Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

Working on my bean book last year I acquired a pantry full of beautiful heirloom jewels. I dug a few out for this chili (alubia blanca, arikara yellow beans, sangre de toro,) but honestly it would taste just as good with navy, pinto and black beans. It can be a inexpensive or fancy as you want it to be. Well – maybe fancy isn’t’ the best word, since (even with my pricey heirlooms) it looks like a plain old bowl of chili!

Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili   

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

soy-free, oil-free **Please note this recipe uses a 1½ or 2 quart slow cooker. You can double or triple it and use a larger slow cooker.
Prep Time6 hrs
Cook Time10 hrs
Total Time16 hrs
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chilli
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 502kcal

Ingredients

PM:

  • 2 cups assorted dried beans any but kidney beans* I used 3 heirlooms in equal amounts (alubia blanca, arikara yellow beans, sangre de toro)
  • 4 cups water

AM:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 can 15.5 ounce diced tomatoes or tomato puree
  • 1/4 cup bulgur use quinoa or more millet to make gluten-free
  • 1/8 cup millet
  • 1 tablespoon dry veggie bouillon with nutritional yeast or chickeny flavor or 1 cube
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili spice mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle or ancho powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • The night before:
  • Add the beans and water to the slow cooker and cook on low at least 7 or 8 hours.
  • In the morning:
  • Carefully drain the beans and rinse them. Then return them to the slow cooker with the fresh water, grains, tomatoes, and all the spices except for the salt.
  • Cook on low 7 to 10 hours.
  • Salt to taste before serving.

Notes

* Kidney beans need to be boiled 10 minutes before you cook them in the slow cooker due to a toxin they contain.

Nutrition

Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 119g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1765mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 93g
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Lots of Beans and Grains Slow Cooker Chili

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Filed Under: Chili, crockpot, Fall, Main Course, Overnight (8+ hours), Slow Cooker Recipes, Soy-free, Winter Tagged With: 1 1/2 quart, 2 quart slow cooker, beans, bulgar, Chile powder, Chili, crockpot, heirloom beans, Kathy Hester, millet, rancho gordo, slow cooker, The Great Vegan Bean Book

Previous Post: « Slow Cooker Cabbage Steaks from The Revised Vegan Slow Cooker
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kate

    September 18, 2013 at 9:43 am

    Can I use chili powder in place of the chipotle or ancho powder?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester

      September 18, 2013 at 9:50 am

      Sure – you can use any type of ground chili you want. I actually used a mix from Rancho Gordo.

      Reply
  2. The Peace Patch

    September 22, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    My mom made really good chili when I was a kid but she never made it in a cornbready casserole…that sounds so delicious! I need to track down a recipe for that.
    I love your swirly plates…where did you find them?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester

      September 22, 2013 at 4:39 pm

      I got them at Anthropologie – the have the coolest dishes!

      Reply
      • The Peace Patch

        September 22, 2013 at 11:55 pm

        Great find! I would have guessed on etsy. Thanks! 🙂

        Reply
  3. Travis

    February 1, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    Kathy, of the heirloom beans you use, which varieties most closely approximates the taste and texture of a pinto bean? I love chili and it’s a regular part of my diet, and I’d like to start growing my own beans, but am having trouble identifying the best heirlooms to grow. I dislike the texture and taste of kidney beans, so I’m trying to avoid any heirlooms with that kind of texture. Thanks for any insight you can give me. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester

      February 1, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      Here are a few that I mention in The Great Vegan Bean Book: Rattlesnake beans, anasazi, appaloosa, borlotti/cranberry, rio zape and vaquero beans.

      I don’t know how hard or easy any of them are to grow, but I’d love to here what you plant and how they do!

      Reply
  4. LindaH

    June 23, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    I just made this today for the first time and it was delicious! I used a combination of pinto beans, red beans, and Mayoboba beans because that’s what I had on hand. I didn’t have any bouillon, so just used a tbls of nutritional yeast. I soaked the beans over night and cooked them at pressure for 25 min in my Instant Pot and then followed the recipe for the second cooking using the slow cooker function on the IP for 8 hrs. I’ll definitely be making this again!

    Reply
  5. Marcy

    September 12, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    Each time you feature a recipe from Vegan Slow Cooking, out comes my dog-eared copy to find the recipe.
    Alas, this chili isn’t in there. What else might it be called?

    Reply

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