An easy dairy free meal, this vegan white bean quinoa chili is delicious and warming on a cold night. Serve it with vegan cornbread for a complete meal.
What do you make when you’re racing home at dinner time, and you know that your pantry and fridge is almost bare? Do you just order a pizza?
You don’t have to order in. You can make this super simple white bean quinoa chili – it’s made from ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
This chili is a great quick meal for a busy week night – it only takes about 20 minutes to make, and most of that is hands off time. Throw the ingredients together in a pot, bring to a boil, and then let it simmer until the quinoa is tender. It couldn’t be any easier.
Ingredient Notes
- Beans – I used cannellini beans and garbanzo beans. You could also use pinto or navy beans.
- Quinoa – Quinoa is a gluten free ancient grain. It’s a great substitute for couscous or rice. I used white quinoa in this recipe.
- Spices – This recipe uses onion powder, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. It’s somewhere between a mild and medium spice level. If you’d like to make this chili hotter, add more chili powder, or even some of your favorite hot sauce.
Preparing Quinoa
- You do need to rinse the quinoa prior to cooking. Simply place it in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water.
- Quinoa has a coating on it called saponin, which has a bitter taste, and can cause indigestion. Rinsing it removes the saponin. Once you rinse the quinoa, you will add it to the pot of chili.
- The quinoa will be cooked when you see the little edge of each grain loosen. Since it is a quick-cooking grain, it should only take about 15 minutes or so to cook in this chili.
Top Tip
- Make sure you choose a green salsa that’s the right level of heat for you! Mild or medium is a good choice.
- Rinse your beans and quinoa before adding to the pot
- Adjust the spices according to your taste. This recipe is fairly mild as written.
Serving Suggestions
If you want to round out your meal, you can definitely make some vegan corn muffins, or even some light and fluffy vegan breadsticks. You could also serve this with a simple green salad or some chips and homemade guacamole.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Vegan White Bean Quinoa Chili.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 15 ounces garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- â…” cup quinoa
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup mild salsa verde use medium if you want it hotter
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Put the olive oil and the onion in a soup pot and cook over medium heat.
- Add the drained beans, salsa verde, and spices. Stir.
- Add the quinoa and broth, and raise the heat to high.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender.
- Taste and add more seasoning as needed.
- Serve topped with green onions, avocado, red peppers, tortilla chips, or any other favorite topping.
Notes
Nutrition
Darryl
This is great with guacomole as a topping!
Jen
Do you know if any substitute for salsa? I can’t have tomatoes or any nightshades.
Kelly Roenicke
What about a chimichurri sauce with garlic, parsley, cilantro, olive oil, and vinegar? That would add a lot of flavor!
Emily
I used vegetable (low sodium) broth instead of water, to add more flavor since I didn’t have the salsa. Hoping it turns out just as delicious! I also only had garbanzo beans, next time I might to 1 garbanzo and 1 pinto bean.
Emily
I just ate it for lunch today and it was delicious and homey :)
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
jujomom
I made this in my InstantPot… oh my it was good. Also added a small can of chili peppers. My family loved it!
Kelly
Yay! Thanks for letting me know!
Mani (A New Life Wandering)
This sounds great!
Kristine's Kitchen
This soup looks like the perfect way to warm up on a cold day! I love the ingredient list, and that it’s meat-free and so easy to make! Pinned!
Kelly
Thanks, Kristine!
Mary Frances
I’m a total soup addict too. I love it in the winter; it’s so cozy and comforting! What a great way to use quinoa too!
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven
I just love the idea of a white chicken chili with quinoa! It’s definitely one of my favorite soups out there! This looks sooo warm and cozy. :)
Kelly
Thanks, Sarah!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance
I am a total soup addict as well and this has just been bumped up to the top of my list!
Kelly
I hope you enjoy it!
Julia
Chili on a chilly day is pure perfection if you ask me! It’s been cold (and snowy finally!) here, too, so I could absolutely cozy up to a healthy bowl of white bean quinoa chili. Hope you had an excellent Christmas, m’dear!
Kelly
I know, it’s my favorite cold weather meal! Thanks, Julia!