With pinto, kidney, navy, and black beans along with a can of chili beans, this 5-Bean Chili has the best texture and is brimming with flavor.

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Why You’ll Love Five Bean Vegetarian Chili
• Ingredients
• Adaptation/Variation
• How to Make 5-Bean Chili
• More Vegetarian Chili Recipes

• Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
• Read Comments & Reviews

The Story Behind the Recipe

I love, love, love a good slow cooker vegetarian chili, but lately, I’ve been wanting to add some stovetop chili recipes to my arsenal. Sometimes I just don’t have time to plan ahead!

I wanted to create a vegetarian chili recipe that was a bit new and interesting, but still falls firmly into traditional (meatless) chili territory. I had a hunch that adding several different types of beans would lend an interesting texture to a vegetarian chili, and I’m pleased to report my hunch was right!

This 5-Bean Chili recipe is one of those recipes that was, in my opinion, perfect on the first try. I love when that happens! I’ve made it a few times since though, and it’s *chefskiss* perfect every time.

Why You’ll Love Five Bean Vegetarian Chili

• Easy stovetop chili recipe – No planning ahead like with Crock Pot recipes(well except for making sure you have the groceries on hand!)
• Just a few minutes prep time – Most of the cooking time is dedicated to simmering so that the flavors can really develop. Whip up some cornbread, watch Bachelor in Paradise, do some embroidery. You’ve got time!

Ingredients

• Olive oil – For sautéing the veggies
• Green bell pepper
• Onion – I tend to use standard yellow onions in my chili, but if all you have is a red onion, white onion, or sweet onion on hand, that will work too.
• Garlic – Three cloves, minced finely. It adds so much flavor!
• Chili powder – If you prefer a spicy chili, seek out a hotter chili powder. Or grab a mild chili powder for less heat.
• Ground cumin
• Dried oregano
• Smoked paprika
• Tomatoes – I like to use canned whole tomatoes for this chili because they’re nice and saucy and add great texture. Smash them with a potato masher to your desired consistency as soon as you add them.
• Cocoa powder – Just a couple of teaspoons really adds depth of flavor. Don’t knock it until you try it!
• Beans – Chili beans in sauce, black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. Love this combo!
• Salt – To taste.

Adaptation/Variation

• 5-Bean & Corn Chili – Stir in a cup of frozen corn kernels towards the end of cooking.

I hope you love this vegetarian 5-Bean Chili as much as we do! It’s such an easy vegetarian chili recipe yet so heart and absolutely full of flavor.

Print

Easy 5-Bean Chili

This super hearty vegetarian chili has, yep, FIVE different beans for a variety of flavors and textures! An easy stovetop chili that comes together quickly and simmers until perfect.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword chili

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 502kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium green bell pepper diced [1 1/2 cup]
• 1 medium yellow onion diced [about 2 cups]
• 3 medium cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
• 15 ounces chili beans in sauce 1 can; NOT drained
• 15 ounces kidney beans 1 can; drained
• 15 ounces black beans 1 can; drained
• 15 ounces pinto beans 1 can; drained
• 15 ounces navy beans 1 can; drained

Instructions

• Place a large pot over low heat. Add the olive oil. When hot, add the onions and green peppers. Saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, 8 minutes or so. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Cook, stirring, for another minute.
• Add the tomatoes. Use a potato masher to smash the tomatoes. Stir in the vegetable broth, cocoa powder, salt, and beans.
• Increase heat to high. When the chili comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until thickened, 30-40 minutes.
• Taste and add more salt if desired. Serve with sour cream, fresh cilantro, diced avocado, shredded cheddar, and tortilla chips and/or cornbread.

Notes

Freezer notes: This chili freezes really well. Just let it cool then scoop leftovers into a freezer bag, label, and freeze.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 930mg | Potassium: 1566mg | Fiber: 30g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 584IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 9mg

More Vegetarian Chili Recipes

• 20-Minute White Bean Chili
• Black Bean Veggie Chili
• Crock Pot Pumpkin Red Lentil Chili
• Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

The post Easy 5-Bean Chili appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

So I set out to make my own version of Crock Pot Refried Beans. My criteria was pretty simple: they must use dried beans, they must be super duper easy, and they must taste amazing.

Honestly? It took me about seven tries until I got these just right. I’d like to think that confession will inspire confidence in my recipe rather than doubt …

This recipe is so, so easy. While I’m usually all for fresh veggies, I love that this particular recipe takes no chopping – no peppers, no onions. Just a few whole cloves of garlic, a couple glugs of olive oil, some vegetable broth, and spices. And beans, of course.

Some versions of Crock Pot Refried Beans don’t include soaking time. This isn’t one. I’ve read that soaking beans is an important step in reducing the gas-causing compounds, and, well, I’ve found that to be pretty true. So I’m a bonafide always-soaks-beans kinda gal. Besides – it takes, like, two extra minutes of hands-on time to soak. Okay, and a tad more planning. Totally worth less discomfort and, um, you know. Noise and stuff.

So. First, I soak the beans in the Crock Pot overnight. In the morning, I drain and rinse the beans, then return them to the Crock Pot and add the other ingredients.

Then they cook. 8 hours or so.

Then I break out my immersion blender and blend the heck out of them. And then I let them cook in the Crock Pot, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so to thicken up and get even more refried-ish.

And then there you have it. Creamy, perfect, frugal, oh-so easy refried beans. Now you can make tostadas. Or tacos. Or just eat a bowl straight up with some cheddar cheese melted sprinkled on the top. That, my friends, is the perfect snack.

You can also freeze them. I measure cups into zipper bags, label them, flatten them, and throw them into the freezer. Then I can just pull one out whenever I want a snack or we decide we want some super-easy tostadas for dinner.

So there ya go. Refried beans in the Crock Pot with no lard, no chopping, and hardly any work. Vegetarian, vegan, healthy, delicious. These easy Crock Pot Refried Beans are a happy new staple around here.

Oh, and here’s a little cost comparison for giggles.

• 1 pound of pinto beans = 6 cups of refried beans = $1.50 (roughly $1 per pound of beans + 50 cents for other ingredients)
• 3 15-ounce cans of vegetarian refried beans = $4.50 (assuming a decent price of $1.50 per can)
• Homemade from-scratch refried beans only cost 33% of what canned beans cost – a 66% savings!

I love saving money – not to mention knowing exactly what goes into my food.

Oh, and the Crock Pot. Gosh, I love my Crock Pot.

Print

Easy Vegetarian Crock Pot Refried Beans (without Lard!)

Creamy refried beans from scratch, right in your Crock Pot! With a simple list of ingredients, these lard-free vegetarian and vegan refried beans are a cinch to make.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 cups

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry pinto beans
• 3 cups vegetable broth + a little more for thinning if desired
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4-5 medium cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 fresh lime optional

Instructions

• Rinse beans under water and pick through, discarding any weird broken bean pieces or other debris. Place beans in a 3-quart or larger Crock Pot and fill Crock Pot with water to about 2 - 3 inches above the beans. Cover and let sit overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
• Discard soaking water by pouring beans into a colander. Rinse beans. Return beans to the Crock Pot.
• Add vegetable broth, olive oil, garlic, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and salt.
• Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours, until beans are cooked through.
• Turn off Crock Pot and remove lid to allow beans to cool a bit so that they're safer to handle. Using an immersion blender, blend beans to desired consistency (you might like your beans to be 100% smooth, or chunky with a few beans still left whole). A note on liquid level: Crock Pots can vary, so if before blending, the liquid is still above the level of the beans, you may want to skim a little off and reserve the liquid for possibly thinning later on. Mine cook down and end up at the perfect consistency with exactly 3 cups vegetable broth, and I don't need to remove any of the liquid before blending.
• Turn Crock Pot back on to low and let pureed beans sit and cook for another 30 minutes or so. This will help the beans to thicken up and the flavors to develop.
• Taste and add additional salt if desired. I actually like to use 2 teaspoons kosher salt up front, but I like mine a bit salty. If beans are too thick, add additional vegetable broth and stir. If beans are too thin, let sit for a little longer and they will thicken up nicely.
• Squeeze half a lime over the top of the beans before serving, if desired.
• These keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 - 3 days, or you can keep them frozen for several months. They will thicken after sitting. Just thin with vegetable broth or water to the desired consistency.

The post Easy Vegetarian Crock Pot Refried Beans (without Lard!) appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

With tender pinto beans simmered in curry spices, ginger, brown sugar, and coconut milk, they’re creamy, rich, tangy, and just a smidge sweet. Best of all, when made in the slow cooker, this curried beans recipe is easy AND mostly hands-off to make!

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Why You’ll Love These Curry Baked Beans
• Curry Baked Beans Ingredients
• How to Make Them
• Side Dish Ideas
• More Bean Curry Recipes

• Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
• Read Reviews & Comments

The Story Behind the Recipe

The scrambled eggs were a unique color. They were sort of beige, but … even paler than that.

“Oh, did you just scramble the whites?” I asked my guy, as he prepped the rest of breakfast. I was busy photographing a batch of banana muffins fresh out of the oven.

“Nope!” he chirped.

I shrugged to myself and kept snapping. He finished setting the table.

We finally sat down and I peeled the liner off a muffin, plopping it next to the eggs. I peered closer. Tiny little brown flecks? “These are … interesting,” I said. “Did you use a new kind of spice? What did you use?”

“Guess!”

I took a bite. Was that … “cinnamon??”

“Yes! I thought I’d try cinnamon!”

They weren’t half bad, really. I took another bite. I’m not sure I’d say they were half good but they were surprisingly edible, if … different.

Then his face fell a little, and the confession wasn’t far behind.

“I started shaking cinnamon into the eggs, and as it landed, I thought to myself, ‘WAIT. Is this right? Do we put cinnamon in scrambled eggs??!’ But it was, like, ‘well, too late,'” He smiled and shrugged. “So I just decided to go with it.”

It was one of those moments that starts out as amusing and then keeps getting funnier. So we laughed between bites of cinnamon eggs and I remembered past blurry-eyed  mornings when I’ve brewed up entire pots of coffee without the coffee beans; when I’ve spooned salt on top of my oatmeal instead of sugar; when I’ve accidentally gargled shampoo instead of mouthwash. Yeah, that happened.

Sometimes strange food combinations don’t work, but sometimes they really, really do. These curry baked beans aren’t the result of a brain glitch, but the first time I decided to throw this particular combination into the Crock Pot, I knew they could go either way. Luckily, they went the right way.

They’re a little better than cinnamon scrambled eggs. In fact, they’re awesome.

Why You’ll Love These Curry Baked Beans

These curried baked beans have all the best properties of baked beans – rich, tangy, a touch of sweet and a bit of heat – without getting too weird. The curry spices definitely stand out, and a bit of heat builds with every bite. The flavor of the coconut milk is mostly lost, but it does lend a wonderful creamy texture that can’t be beat.

They’re different, but good different.

Curry Baked Beans Ingredients

• Pinto beans – Use canned pinto beans or already cooked beans.
• Olive oil – for sautéing the onion, garlic, ginger, and spices.
• Onion, garlic, & ginger – For loads of flavor.
• Curry powder, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, & salt – Use your favorite curry powder – mild all the way to hot.
• Coconut milk – I like using lite coconut milk for this recipe, but you can use full-fat if you prefer.
• Tomato paste – Adds a rich, umami note.
• Brown sugar – The touch of sweetness really rounds out the flavors.

How to Make Them

There are two steps to this slow cooker curry baked beans recipe. First, you saute the aromatics, then you add everything to the slow cooker and let it simmer.

First, saute the onions in a skillet in the olive oil, Then add the garlic and the spices. It might seem like a fussy step in a slow-cooking recipe, but added step really helps to develop the flavors in these curry baked beans.

Add to the Crock Pot along with the beans, coconut milk, tomato paste, brown sugar, and mix well, then cook on low for 8-10 hours.

That’s it!

Side Dish Ideas

• Easy Chickpea Burgers
• Summer Fruit Salad
• Mango Sorbet or Mango Lassi Popsicles for dessert!

More Bean Curry Recipes

• I have two similar slow cooker red lentil & curry recipes that I love equally. This lentil and chickpea curry with potatoes and peas, and a more seasonal pumpkin lentil chickpea curry.
• This chickpea & tomato curry is super easy and the perfect summer curry recipe.
• With zucchini and corn, this summer chickpea curry is creamy yet light and perfect for the warmer months.

Oh, and I know, I know – a Crock Pot recipe in June? But if you haven’t discovered the beauty of the slow cooker in summer, I daresay it’s time you do. On intense summer days, the Crock Pot helps you avoid the hot stove and, overall, creates very little heat in an already-sweltering kitchen.

Plus, Crock-Pot-enabled lazy cooking should never be out of season. Cinnamon eggs, on the other hand … well. (Love you babe!)

Print

Crock Pot Curry Baked Beans

Curry spices, coconut milk, ginger, and brown sugar help make this easy Crock Pot baked beans recipe shine. These beans are SO full of flavor! Perfect for your next potluck or barbecue.

Keyword curry baked beans, vegetarian baked beans

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 128kcal

Author Kare

Equipment

• 1 3-quart or larger slow cooker

Ingredients

• 3 15-ounce cans pinto beans drained and rinsed [about 4 cups cooked beans]
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 medium clove garlic minced [about 1 teaspoon]
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger about half of a thumb-sized piece
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
• 14 ounces lite coconut milk can sub full-fat coconut milk
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar light works too

Equipment:

• One 3-quart or larger slow cooker

Instructions

• Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the ginger, curry powder, cumin, crushed red peppers, and salt.
• Reduce heat to low and stir in the coconut milk, tomato paste, and brown sugar until tomato paste is evenly distributed. Pour it into the Crock Pot.
• Stir in the beans and toss gently until the beans are coated.
• Cook on low 8 – 10 hours until thick, rich, and bubbling.
• Taste and add additional salt if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 476mg | Potassium: 348mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Crock Pot Curry Baked Beans appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

The beans (I start with dried pinto beans) are first cooked simply – with onion, bay leaf and black peppercorns. Then the cooked beans are placed in the Crock Pot for some nice low-and-slow action, infusing every last bite with the rich sauce made with pure maple syrup and the spicy kick of everyone’s beloved Sriracha.

These baked beans are perfect, of course, as a side dish, but they’re also plenty hearty enough to act as a main dish too. Both my meat-eating guy and I love ’em with a side of buttered cornbread for a nice, simple, delicious dinner. And they’re even worthy of special occasions. This past Christmas Eve, I brought these along as a side to be served alongside a big smoked ham. They were a hit.

Adjust the Sriracha depending on your tolerance for heat. And remember, a little goes a long way!

Print

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Maple-Sriracha Baked Beans

Vegetarian baked beans recipe that slow cooks to perfection right in your Crock Pot. Pure maple syrup and the spicy kick of Sriracha make them special - and absolutely delicious.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 hours hours

Total Time 15 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 1- pound bag pinto beans
• 1 medium onion cut into eighths
• 1 bay leaf
• Small handful of black peppercorns
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce for a nice subtle kick or up to 3 tablespoons for more heat
• 2 teaspoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Rinse and sort the beans and add them to a large pan. Soak them in two quarts of cold water overnight. You can also bring two quarts of water to a boil, add the beans, and soak them for a couple of hours. Pretty much every bag of dried beans will have specific instructions for soaking.
• After soaking, drain the beans, add them back to the pan and fill the pan with enough water to cover one or two inches above the beans. Place beans over medium heat. Add the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low. Simmer the beans for about two hours, or until tender. Drain.
• Add drained beans to Crock Pot. Add the maple syrup, ketchup, brown sugar, sriracha, Worchestershire sauce, ground ginger, and salt. Stir.
• Cook on low for about 10 hours.

2.2.6

The post Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Maple-Sriracha Baked Beans appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.