Lentil Chili is an easy, hearty, and delicious 1-pot vegan meal. Made with hearty red lentils, black beans, walnuts, vegetables, and a handful of smoky spices, it’s perfect for layering on tons of toppings and will brighten up any cold or gloomy day!
If you are looking for more ways to enjoy inexpensive and nutritious lentils, make sure to check out my 1-Pot Lentil Bolognese, Vegan Lentil Soup and Lentil Shepherd’s Pie.
Each bowl of this lentil chili is packed with protein and fiber thanks to the mix of lentils, black beans, vegetables and walnuts. And did I mention it’s crazy delicious!?
The best part? This simple lentil chili can easily be made on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot, or in a slow cooker. It isn’t too spicy, either! Go ahead and play with the ingredients and spices to make each spoonful as spicy, smoky, or mild as you like.
You’re going to want to make this rich and flavorful vegan chili ASAP because it’s:
- Easy to make in one pot
- Cozy and hearty comfort food
- Inexpensive and budget friendly
- Perfect for meal prep or freezing for later
- Flexible! Play with the spice level, add more veggies, or pile on as many toppings as you like.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Yellow onion
- Green bell pepper – Or any color bell pepper you like. Feel free to add some of your favorite veggies to the mix, like corn, zucchini, squash, carrots, or jalapeno.
- Garlic
- Spices – You’ll need a sweet and smoky blend of chili powder, cumin, maple syrup, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt to give this chili its flavorful charm.
- Crushed tomatoes – Diced tomatoes or even tomato sauce will work.
- Vegetable broth
- Red lentils – I like using red lentils in this chili, but you can use green or brown if you’d like them to be more visible throughout the chili.
- Black beans – Or pinto beans. Want a meatier vegan chili? Cook some vegan ground beef with the onions instead of beans.
- Walnuts – I added finely ground walnuts which make a really great addition. They thicken the chili, and make it taste a bit “meaty”. Leave them out for nut allergies.
How to make vegan lentil chili on the stove
First, sauté the onion until translucent, then add the green bell pepper and garlic and cook for a 1-2 minutes. Add the spices and stir into the vegetables for 30 seconds.
Add the crushed tomatoes, lentils, beans, walnuts, broth, maple syrup and salt. Then stir well and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
Instant Pot method
Saute the onion in the Instant Pot using Saute mode. Add the bell pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant.
Pour the spices, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, lentils, beans, walnuts and syrup into the pot. Stir it all together before turning off Saute mode.
Seal the lid closed and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
Give the chili one last stir, season with salt to taste, then serve.
Slow cooker method
Saute the onion, green peppers and garlic in a separate pan on the stove.
Transfer this mixture to the bowl of a slow cooker. Add the spices, tomatoes, lentils, beans, walnuts, broth and maple syrup to the slow cooked and stir well.
Next,cover the crockpot with a lid, then cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours. You’ll know the chili is ready when the lentils are tender.
The best lentil chili toppings
Serving this lentil chili to a crowd? Place all of these toppings and more into small bowls and let your guests customize their chili any way they like:
- Vegan sour cream
- Shredded vegan cheese
- Chives
- Fresh lime juice
- Cilantro
- Tortilla chips
- Avocado chunks
- Chopped cilantro
- Pico de gallo
- Hot sauce
Don’t forget a slice or two of vegan cornbread on the side!
Lentil Chili
Ingredients
Lentil Chili
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup red lentils
- (2) 15-ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Optional toppings
- vegan sour cream
- shredded cheese
- chopped chives or cilantro
- tortilla chips
- diced or sliced avocado
- vegan cornbread
Instructions
Stovetop
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the green bell pepper and garlic, and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Now add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Stir into the vegetables and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, lentils, beans, walnuts, vegetable broth, maple syrup and salt. Stir well and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. The lentils should be tender; if using brown or green, they might take an extra 15 minutes to cook.
- Add salt to taste, or any other spices you'd like more of, like chili powder or cayenne pepper for heat. Serve with topping of choice such as sour cream, cheese, avocado, tortilla chips and perhaps with a side of cornbread.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Use the sauté function to cook the onions then add the green pepper and garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add all the other ingredients and give it a good stir.
- Secure the lid and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then carefully release any remaining pressure. Stir, add salt to taste and add a little water for a thinner chili, if desired. Enjoy with toppings.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- First, sauté the onion, green bell pepper and garlic until softened. Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and add all the rest of the ingredients (except the toppings of course).
- Stir, then cover with the lid and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, until the lentils are tender. Serve.
Notes
- For less sodium – Use low or no sodium canned beans and low sodium vegetable broth. Don’t add salt, or just add a little to taste.
- Feel free to add canned or frozen corn, diced carrots or sweet potatoes or any other veggies you like.
- Leftover chili – The chili will keep for about 4 days in a covered container in the refrigerator.
- Freezer instructions – It freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then transfer to freezer friendly containers or bags and freeze.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published in Feb. 2022 and the recipe was quite different, using Beyond Beef and green lentils. I played with the recipe and enjoyed this version so much more. I hope you like it!
If I use green lentils in the instant pot, do I need to adjust the cooking time?
I might add an extra 3-4 minutes to the cooking time for an Instant Pot when using green lentils, since they do take a little longer to cook than red lentils. Enjoy!
Hi there! I’m definitely going to try this recipe. Wanted to know what are the serving sizes (i.e. 1 or 2 cups, etc).
I hope you enjoy it! To know for sure, you’d have to divide it into 8 servings (or weigh the whole recipe, then your serving). Probably around 3/4-1 cup of chili.
Sitting here eating a bowl with a freshly baked baguette. This is seriously tasty and quite easy to prepare. I followed your directions to the T except we were in a winter storm, and I was out of green bell pepper. Makes you want to be like Oliver Twist and say, “More. Please, sir!” Thank you.
Hello sorry if this is a silly question but I’m not used to cooking with lentils. Are we supposed to use dried lentils, or lentils from a can in this recipe? Thanks
Hi Kate. For this recipe, I use dried red lentils. I hope this helps, and that you enjoy the recipe!
Thanks, I will be trying it tomorrow!
Great recipe! (Although I used a lot less chilli because the family doesn’t like it hot: 1/2 teaspoon instead of 2 tablespoons!) Served it with rice, vegan yoghurt, vegan cheese and pickled red onions. Even the meat-eater loved it. Thank you 🙂
You are welcome, Kate! I’m so glad that you and your family enjoyed the chili recipe! Thank you for sharing your recipe variations and terrific review! Happy cooking!
Love this recipe. I’m on a WFPB diet and needed the protein. I had no veg broth so substituted miso broth. That was a bed idea! Thanks for your recipes, Nora.
Hi Jill. I’m glad that you enjoyed the lentil chili! Thank you for sharing your sharing your terrific review! I appreciate you using my recipes. Wishing you a happy cooking!
This came up on my Facebook page today, I decided to make it for dinner tonight. I cut the recipe in half since I’m cooking just for one. It was delicious. I’ve been looking for a chili recipe and this is it. I added some smoked salt in addition to the smoked paprika and I think that really gave it a nice depth. I’m looking forward to the leftovers and to making this again.