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 30 minute dinner!
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You Will 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 enjoy classic red chilis (as evidenced by the wide variety of chilies on my site including Shredded Short Rib Chili, Creamy Enchilada Chicken Chili, and Vegan Black Bean Chili) but 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!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Yellow Onion – You can use white or red onion in place of the yellow onion if you prefer.
- Red Bell Pepper – You can use any color of bell pepper for this chickpea chili. I love the flavor of red bell pepper.
- Jalapeno – You can omit the jalapeno if you don’t have any on hand but it adds delicious flavor. If you like a real spicy chili, don’t remove all the seeds and ribs.
- Garlic – I like to use fresh garlic but if you don’t have any in the pantry, you can use about 3/4 of a teaspoon or more in place of the fresh garlic.
- Spices – Cumin, chili powder, ground coriander, and dried oregano combine to create a delicious layering of flavors.
- Garbanzo Beans – Also known as chickpeas, the garbanzo beans replace the chicken breast that is usually used in white chili.
- Pinto Beans – You can use any type of bean for this recipe – black beans, kidney beans, or even Great Northern beans, but I love the flavor and creamy texture of pinto beans.
- Salsa Verde – I like to use green salsa (salsa verde) for this recipe because it has a little kick. You could also use red salsa in this chickpea chili recipe.
- Coconut Milk – The coconut milk is going to give this chili a deliciously creamy texture. If you aren’t worried about this soup being vegan, you can substitute about half the amount with heavy cream.
- Vegetable Broth – If you aren’t keeping this chili vegan or vegetarian, use chicken broth in place of the veggie broth.
Instructions
Sauté 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!
- 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.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezing, Reheating Instructions
- Make Ahead: This chickpea chili is a delicious make ahead meal! It’s perfect for Sunday night meal prep and will taste great throughout the week!
- Storage: Store this chili in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Before eating, thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: I like to reheat this chili in a saucepan over medium heat. You may need to add a bit of broth to loosen it up. Cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Try these easy soups next!
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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
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
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- 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 ground 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!
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!
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this chili recipe, Angelina! Your additions sound delicious 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it!
I’m so bummed. I followed the directions to the T but it’s 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?
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
I followed this recipe exactly and it is so good!!! A keeper for sure.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Susie! Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Easy to make and delicious!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this chickpea chili, C! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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! 🙂
Hominy would be delicious in this soup – great idea! I love the description that your family came up with!!! 🙂 Thank you so much for leaving a review, Jessi. I really appreciate it!
Just made this, I followed the recipe exactly and it was great! I haven’t had anything that tastes like this before…will make again! 🙂
I am so glad to hear that, Amy! This is one of our family’s favorites 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
Amazing flavor and super easy to make! My new favorite chili recipe.
Woohoo! I love to hear that, Nikki! I’m so glad you enjoyed this chili and thank you for leaving a review!
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!
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!!
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.
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 🙂
Delicious!!!!!
I have been searching for a white chili recipe. This is the best One I’ve tried. Simple, yet complexed in taste.
Thank You
YESSSSS! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Michelle! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Will the coconut milk make it sweet?
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!
This was SO good. Honestly when I was making it I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it, but it turned out delicious. I’m not vegan, but just felt like my family and I needed a break from meat. I omitted the jalapeño and chili powder and added corn and another bell pepper. My whole family loved it. Can’t wait to make again!
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 🙂
I like chili but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite meals. However, my brother requested it for his birthday. I tried your recipe and I’m 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!
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 🙂
WOW!! I have been vegan for 3 years and haven’t been able to find a white chili recipe I love – this is the answer!!! Omnivore husband loved it too. Thanks!!
YESSSSSSSS – I am so glad to hear that. And so happy to see another Kylie who spells her name the right way 😉 Thank you so much for leaving a review. I really appreciate it!