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!
Oh my heavens!! Soooo yummy. Based on recommendations from previous comments~ I used mild green enchilada sauce, omitted jalapeño, added some corn + puréed a cup to thicken it. Topped w/ tortilla strips, cashew cream + cilantro. Yum- even my 5-year old loved it ☺️.
Love your adjustments! Sounds like it was delicious 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
Made this tonight for myself and will definitely make again!! It is outstanding. Don’t forget the lime juice at the end. Ron in Dallas.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Ron. You are SO right – the lime juice is all important! Thanks for leaving a review. I really appreciate it 🙂
Excellent. So happy I doubled the recipe. Used green enchiladas sauce as a substitute for salsa.
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Sandi! Great idea using enchilada sauce in place of the salsa – I bet that added some great depth of flavor!! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
So delicious!! I topped it off with blue corn chips
Mmmm I love blue chips – the perfect crunchy addition! Thanks for leaving a review, Charly! I really appreciate it 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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!
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 🙂
This is super tasty. I accidentally left the lime juice out this time and I think it’s much better, IMO.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kris! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!!
Great Recipe! I’m 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!
I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed this recipe, Meagan! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
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.
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 🙂
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 “you don’t even miss the cheese!”
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! 🙂
This was delicious! Thank you! The fact that it’s one pot is such a plus. Definitely adding it to the monthly rotation 🙂
WOOHOO! I am so glad to hear that, Meg! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Made this chili today and it is excellent. I also added some other left over vegetables that I had around.
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 🙂
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.
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!!
Fantastic!! I wasn’t so sure about this but gave it a try for something different and it was to die for! I can’t wait to make it again! I followed the recipe to a T and it was just perfect!!
I am so glad that you decided to try something new!! And that you enjoyed this chickpea chili 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
this chili is AMAZING! I upped the spices a bit and added an extra jalapeño, turned out sooo good. Made an almond based vegan cotija cheese for the topping, yum.
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 🙂