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This White Chickpea Chili is a vegan twist on the ever popular white chicken chili. It's loaded with veggies, beans and plenty of spice in a broth of coconut milk, vegetable broth, and salsa verde. Make room in your monthly meal rotation for this 30 minute dinner!

You'll Love This
- If you're a chili lover like me, it's fun to try something a little different than your traditional tomato-based chili recipe. Although I love classic red chilis, as evidenced by the wide variety of chilies on my site including Shredded Short Rib Chili, Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, Creamy Enchilada Chicken Chili, and Vegan Black Bean Chili, I love the unique flavors that this white chickpea chili has and it's fun to switch it up with some plant-based meals.
- You won't even miss the chicken, I promise! This type of white chili is typically made with chicken breast, but in this recipe, I've replaced the chicken with chickpeas, and I'm telling you - it's AMAZING. Chickpeas can literally replace any meat in any of your favorite dishes and they really shine in this chili. A few of my other favorites that showcase chickpeas instead of meat include my BBQ Chickpea Sandwich, Creamy Chickpea Noodle Soup, Greek Chickpea Gyros, Sheet Pan Chickpea Fajitas, and BBQ Chickpea Pizza. If you're looking to add more vegan meals to your family dinner rotation - try switching out the meat in the dish for chickpeas!
- It's perfect for meal prep and it just gets better with time! If you're curious about meal prep, but it sounds daunting, start with soup! Soup is one of the easiest things to meal prep because you can make a big batch and eat it all week. This chickpea chili can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, and frozen for up to 2 months. If you do plan to enjoy this soup at a later date, just be sure that you season to taste with salt after reheating it!

Instructions
Saute onion, red pepper, and jalapeno in oil along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper for 5 minutes.

Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and oregano and cook, stirring frequently for another minute.

Add a splash of vegetable broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom.

Add garbanzo beans, pinto beans, salsa verde, coconut milk, and vegetable broth along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.

Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in fresh lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish with your favorite toppings - don't forget the homemade fried tortilla strips - and enjoy!

Tips
- This chickpea chili has a bit of a kick to it! Our family enjoys the amount of spice, although for our daughter we added a scoop of sour cream and mixed it in just to mellow it out a bit. If you'd like a more mild chili, try using mild green salsa and omitting the chili powder.
- If you like a thicker chili, try adding less vegetable broth. The coconut milk will make the chili super creamy and then the vegetable broth helps to thin that out a bit, but if you want a creamier chili, add less vegetable broth - you can always add more later!
- Use whatever beans you'd like in this chickpea chili. I like the creaminess and flavor of pinto beans, but light or dark kidney beans or black beans would be delicious in this recipe as well! You could even just add an extra can of chickpeas in place of the pinto beans. Use up what you've got in your cupboard - the flavors are going to be pretty similar regardless of what kind of bean you use.
- Be sure to moderately salt this chili! The ingredient list is simple, and while it does have a few spices in it, salt is going to go a long way in boosting the overall flavors of the dish. I recommend using Kosher salt to season as you have more control over how much you add. It's easy to get heavy handed with traditional table salt and add too much.

Family Favorite Soups
- Homemade Fried Tortilla Strips
- Vegan Lentil Tortilla Soup
- Vegan Black Bean Chili
- Vegan Spicy Black Bean & Rice Soup
- Vegan Creamy Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup
- Easy Curry Lentil Soup
Vegan White Chickpea Chili

This White Chickpea Chili is a vegan twist on the ever popular white chicken chili. It's loaded with veggies, beans and plenty of spice in a broth of coconut milk, vegetable broth, and salsa verde. Make room in your monthly meal rotation for this family favorite!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, petite diced
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 16 oz. salsa verde (green salsa)
- 1 (13.5 oz.) full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Serve with:
- tortilla strips
- sour cream
- crumbled cotija cheese
- fresh chopped cilantro
- sliced jalapeno
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add onion, red pepper, and jalapeno along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and oregano and cook, stirring frequently for another minute.
- Add a splash of vegetable broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom.
- Add garbanzo beans, pinto beans, salsa verde, coconut milk, and remaining vegetable broth along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in fresh lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with your favorite toppings - don't forget the homemade fried tortilla strips - and enjoy!
Keywords: white chili recipe, vegan white chicken chili, garbanzo bean chili
Luke
Wow, this was amazing! My daughter ate this in record time, thank you!!
★★★★★
Myiea
Whole family loved it!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am SO GLAD. This is one of our family's favorites too. Thanks so much for leaving a review, Myiea! π
DeeDee
This is so good! The coconut milk helped calm down some of the spice. I added half the amount of my husbandβs homemade βmildβ salsa and it was still a little too spicy. Maybe just add a couple of spoonfuls next time! Still very good!
Kylie Lato
So glad that you enjoyed this recipe, DeeDee! I can only imagine how good this was with homemade salsa π Thanks for leaving a review!
Molly
Honestly I made this thinking it looked good but as I was making it I wasn't sure how it would be - however, it has ended up being one of the best things I have made in a while! So much simpler to make than I initially thought and so delicious.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I love this! I'm glad you stuck with it and were happy with the results! This is one of our family's favorites - I think the salsa is what really gives it that extra flavor. Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Stefany
I was skepticalβthis is the first vegan dish and the first white chili dish Iβve attemptedβbut it was absolutely delicious! Will def make again and highly recommend!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Stefany! It's always fun to try something new and I'm glad that this one was a hit. Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Kaci
Made this last night, such a yummy vegan/gluten friendly option for dinner! I don't LOVE garbanzo beans whole, but they could easily be swapped out for any other kind of bean. Will be adding this to my little recipe collection I'm gathering.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
So true - you could use any of your favorite beans in place of the chickpeas! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for leaving a review, Kaci!
Rachel
This soup is soooo good!! Itβs spicy (which I love) but perfect with some sour cream!! Easy to make and will last a few days!! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Rachel! Sour cream is the perfect way to mellow out the spice π Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Roberta
Yum, yum, yum! My non-vegan family loved this chili. I made the tortilla strips using both flour tortillas and corn ones. I liked the flour ones better, my daughter liked the corn - said they tasted like Frito corn chips. The corn ones were harder to work with, they crumble a bit.
Thank you for the delish dish!!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Roberta! I'll have to try the tortilla strips with flour next time! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate π
Nicole Frederica Stovall
What is a serving size?
Kylie Lato
1/8th of the soup is one serving.
krystal little
Hello, I will be making this over the weekend as my meal prep recipe. I see it makes 8 servings can you tell me the serving size please?
Kylie Lato
Unfortunately, I don't have exact measurements for those. Each time I test the recipe I mostly pay attention to how large of a batch it makes and how many servings we are able to get out of it. I don't have an actual measurement for the serving size other than 1/8 of the recipe.
Kristin
Itβs almost 8 cups- a little short- so 1 cup each
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Perfect! Good to know - thank you so much!
Cecilia
Delicious, great flavors and a bit of a kick.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Cecilia! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Misty
This was absolutely delicious! Definitely making again, omitting the jalapeΓ±os for my 16 month old, but so hearty and warming! Used my Ninja Foodi and it turned out amazing!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! So glad that you enjoyed this chili, Misty! This is one of our family's favorites too! Great idea on leaving out the jalapeno. Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Paul Sweeney
Really excellent. Simply the best white chili I've ever eaten. We used great northern beans with chickpeas, because that's what we had on hand, but no matter. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
WOW - what a compliment, Paul. Glad you were able to use what you had on hand!! Thank you so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Paul Sweeney
You're welcome! We also used Glucommanan to thicken the chili to suit us. It's an awesome thickening agent that will thicken most anything while only adding fiber to the dish. Thanks again.
Kylie Lato
I haven't heard of that before - I will definitely check that out, Paul! Thanks!
Jessica
Excited to make this for the Halloween celebrations this weekend! Can it be done in a crockpot?
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Yes! I think this would do well in a crockpot for sure! I'd recommend 2-3 hours on high for 4-5 hours on low!
Denice
This turned out SO good! I will be making again and I loved that this is vegan!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am SO glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Denice!! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Holly
This is AMAZING!! So delicious and so quick and easy. We LOVE it!!
Thanks!!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Holly! Thank you for leaving a review π
Kylie
WOW!! I have been vegan for 3 years and havenβt been able to find a white chili recipe I love - this is the answer!!! Omnivore husband loved it too. Thanks!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
YESSSSSSSS - I am so glad to hear that. And so happy to see another Kylie who spells her name the right way π Thank you so much for leaving a review. I really appreciate it!
Ada
I like chili but I wouldnβt say itβs one of my favorite meals. However, my brother requested it for his birthday. I tried your recipe and Iβm SO glad that I did. I would say this is much better than the traditional red chili. In fact, it will be my go to chili recipe from now on. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed this recipe, Ada! I would agree that this white chili might even be better than a classic red chili too! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Emily
This was SO good. Honestly when I was making it I wasnβt sure that I was going to like it, but it turned out delicious. Iβm not vegan, but just felt like my family and I needed a break from meat. I omitted the jalapeΓ±o and chili powder and added corn and another bell pepper. My whole family loved it. Canβt wait to make again!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! So glad to hear that your family enjoyed this chili, Emily! Your substitutions sound delicious. Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Terrilyn Douglas
Will the coconut milk make it sweet?
Kylie Lato
Good question, Terrilyn! No, it does not. There are so many other flavors going on that the coconut milk makes it slightly creamy, but it does not taste sweet!
Michelle
Delicious!!!!!
I have been searching for a white chili recipe. This is the best One Iβve tried. Simple, yet complexed in taste.
Thank You
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
YESSSSS! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Michelle! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Greta
I think this is going to be my forever go to chili recipe because I honestly think it's the best chili I've ever had- it's got such a kick of flavor without the heat getting too overwhelming and my favorite recipes are the vegan recipes that if you blindly served it to someone, they probably wouldn't even notice it's vegan.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I could not agree more, Greta! The flavors are so great that I think most people wouldn't even realize the meat is missing!! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Rebecca
Oh my gosh! This was A-Maz-zing!!! Fast and simple and such great flavors. I served over rice and me and hubby are are full and happy!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Rice would be perfect with this chili - great idea! I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed this chili. Thanks for leaving a review, Rebecca!!
Nikki
Amazing flavor and super easy to make! My new favorite chili recipe.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! I love to hear that, Nikki! I'm so glad you enjoyed this chili and thank you for leaving a review!
Amy
Just made this, I followed the recipe exactly and it was great! I havenβt had anything that tastes like this before...will make again! π
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that, Amy! This is one of our family's favorites π Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Jessi Doshier
This recipe was INCREDIBLE! I used 30 oz of hominy instead of chickpeas and then a single 15 oz can of chickpeas. No other beans. My family and I described it and we came up with a "posole meets tortilla soup with an indian twist" kind of thing. Phenomenal flavors all around, will be making again for sure! Thanks for sharing! π
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Hominy would be delicious in this soup - great idea! I love the description that your family came up with!!! π Thank you so much for leaving a review, Jessi. I really appreciate it!
Kara
Delicious! I made a cashew cream instead of using coconut milk and added a can of rotel. Also used cannelini beams instead of chickpeas because we like them better and it was all so yummy! Making it again not even a week later! Yum! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I'm so glad that you were able to use up the ingredients you had on hand!! Rotel would be delicious in this! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
CHill
Easy to make and delicious!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this chickpea chili, C! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
susie flynn
I followed this recipe exactly and it is so good!!! A keeper for sure.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Susie! Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Chrstie
Iβm so bummed. I followed the directions to the T but itβs just not good like all the comments say. It taste like it has too much salsa verde. I was looking for a more creamy taste. Not salsa taste. What did I do wrong?. I only had unsweetened coconut milk. Would that make a difference?
Kylie Lato
YES! Unsweetened coconut milk will not work for this recipe. Unsweetened coconut milk typically comes in a carton (like almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, etc.) and will give you a completely different, very thin texture. You want to use full-fat canned coconut milk as mentioned in the recipe post and recipe card. Here's the link for the coconut milk that I recommend: https://amzn.to/3pOJu6r
Angelina
This was such an easy recipe to follow and it came out delicious! I ended up adding some textured vegetable protein & kale and they both worked really well with the other ingredients. I would definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this chili recipe, Angelina! Your additions sound delicious π Thank you for taking the time to leave a review - I really appreciate it!
Chelsea
this chili is AMAZING! I upped the spices a bit and added an extra jalapeΓ±o, turned out sooo good. Made an almond based vegan cotija cheese for the topping, yum.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
OH YUM - almond Cotija??!? That sounds DELICIOUS!! I am so glad that you enjoyed this chili, Chelsea. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Meg
Fantastic!! I wasnβt so sure about this but gave it a try for something different and it was to die for! I canβt wait to make it again! I followed the recipe to a T and it was just perfect!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you decided to try something new!! And that you enjoyed this chickpea chili π Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Rebekah
What do you recommend I could use in place of salsa verde? The country where I live unfortunately does not sell salsa verde. I've been seeing some suggestions for homemade salsa in the comments, but I was wondering if people have other recommendations.
Kylie Lato
Do you have access to green enchilada sauce at all? I think that would give you a similar texture. Otherwise even just a regular red salsa would work as well if you have access to that!!
Renee Rivera
Made this chili today and it is excellent. I also added some other left over vegetables that I had around.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Renee! And that you were able to use up some leftover veggies too! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Meg
This was delicious! Thank you! The fact that it's one pot is such a plus. Definitely adding it to the monthly rotation π
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
WOOHOO! I am so glad to hear that, Meg! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Abbey
Such a great recipe!! After it was cooked, I let it simmer for around half an hour and then used my immersion blender to make the consistency more chili-like. My non-vegan friends said βyou donβt even miss the cheese!β
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
LOVE IT! Great idea to use the immersion blender to make it thicker. I'm so glad that you and your friends enjoyed this chili, Abbey. Thank you for leaving a review! π
sandi
This is going to be one of my go to soups! Tons of flavor and easy to make. I took a cup of the soup and pureed it to give it a thicker consistency. I might add another red pepper for more substance next time. Not only did it taste good, it looked good! I wish I took a picture.
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that Sandi! Great idea to blend part of the soup to make it thick and creamy!! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Meagan
Great Recipe! Iβm always looking for yummy vegan meals to cut down on our meat consumption. This was quick and easy to make for the whole family on a cold winter evening. Totally adaptable to add other ingredients too!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed this recipe, Meagan! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Kris
This is super tasty. I accidentally left the lime juice out this time and I think itβs much better, IMO.
★★★★
Kylie Lato
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kris! Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!!
Marla
This was great! I was a little thrown off by the broth quantity. You only mention adding a splash to deglaze but the recipe calls for 2 cups. I used 1 cup and it was still a bit soupy. I think next time I will try just doing a splash and maybe it will be thicker! Otherwise, it was delicious!! Easy to add extra veg or beans and adjust to our taste. Thanks!
★★★★
Kylie Lato
So glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Marla! The remaining broth is mentioned in step 5. First you add a splash, then you add the rest with the other ingredients. Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π
Jo
This recipe was delicious and easy! Did not have coriander so I used a cheap curry powder instead w/ coriander in the mix. Will definitely be making again!
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this chili, Jo! And that you were able to use what you had on hand! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it π