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!
Recommended by my sister-in-law. One of my favorite recipes and is on constant rotation. It can be a bit spicy so we sometimes skip the jalepenos but so delicious!!
My family LOVED this recipe! I’ve been looking for a good plant based white chili for a long time and this one is the best by far! It’s on our menu multiple times a month! The only thing I changed was the amount of coconut milk. I double the recipe, use 1 can of coconut milk and an equal amount of soy milk. Partly to cut the fat, up the protein, and cut the cost. Easily adaptable, too! It works with navy beans, one time we didn’t have enough green salsa so threw in some canned green chili’s. I love adding corn and fresh cilantro.
Thank you for this excellent recipe! I am not vegan, but try to eat plant based 90% of the time. This recipe is a great addition to my repertoire, especially since I’m not a fan of cold sandwiches and prefer to take soups for work lunches. I will say the heat level is at the top end of what I like, but not so much that I would change anything next time (it’s good for my sinuses, lol). I only added about half the lime juice called for, but that’s because I was already getting quite a citrus kick from the salsa verde I used. Salsa Verde differs brand to brand, so I recommend tasting the chili before adding the lime juice, as the whole lime would have been too much for mine.
This is an amazing recipe! I am adding it into my staples list and going to make it as much as possible. I love the hint of coconut. Instead of 2 cans of chickpeas I did 1 can of chickpeas and 1 can of great northern beans and it was delicious (not the biggest chickpea fan)
So good! Added a little rice as well.
Thank you for sharing this. My diet is limited (thanks to fibroids), and I have a hard time finding recipes I can eat that my husband enjoys. In fact, it’s rare. I had to alter a couple items (salsa and broth) because of his onion allergy, but it was still very good. Tonight, my husband went back for seconds, which he never does. Thank you!
I LOVE to read reviews like this, Debbie! It is literally what makes my job worth it 🙂 Thank you for sharing – I loved to hear that your partner went back for seconds!! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it.
This was delicious! Had vegan friends come over, and this hit the spot (for us meat lovers too)! I did crush up an additional half can of pinto beans in my food processor and added it to thicken it up. Will make it again!
That’s a great idea to use smashed beans to thicken it up! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Teresa. Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
I have made this a couple of times and it is definitely a winner! I always go back for seconds!
SO good!! Will def make again! The recipe is listed as vegan but calls for sour cream and Mexican cheese to serve it with. Perhaps you could suggest a vegan alternative? Vegan sour cream exists, not sure about cotija?
Thank you!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Pam! There are vegan versions of everything these days – sour cream and Cotija included!! 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
This chili is delicious! I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times over the past couple of months. I make a couple of batches at a time and freeze some it for future meals.
Thank you, Kylie!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this white chili recipe, Jennifer! Great idea to freeze and enjoy later! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe except I sautéed my veggies in water instead of oil. I’ll definitely be making again and will try different combinations of beans and likely add more veggies. Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this vegan chili, Emily! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I’ve made this recipe numerous times and it always turns out great!
I am so glad to hear that, Reagan!! Thanks for leaving a review – I appreciate it 🙂
The best vegan white chili recipe by far! I’ve made it a few times and it’s always a hit, even with my omnivore family. The first time I had made this it was perfect, and then the lime juice addition ruined it for me, I lost that earthy cumin flavor I love, and the other spice layers. Honestly, I probably used a really large lime and didn’t bother to measure out the juice it produced. Easy fix, I just omit the lime completely. I love it and always make a big batch and freeze some to have on hand for an easy dinner, perfect for these cold Michigan winter days. Thanks Kylie!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this chili, Chelsea!! Too much lime juice could definitely overpower it – I’m glad you were able to make adjustments to suit your taste! My recipes are always a blueprint for you to make the meal your own 🙂 Freezing this soup is brilliant! Nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cold Midwestern night!
Absolutely amazing! My non-vegan husband ate the entire thing, plus seconds! It definitely has a kick to it, so if you don’t like spice, I would suggest leaving the jalapeno and chili spice out. It’s super quick & easy to make, even during a work week. I’ll definitely make this again!
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Emily! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Hi Kylie, I tried this recipe. This was my first time cooking/trying chickpeas (I used canned). I was surprised and disappointed at how hard the chickpeas were. So it kind of ruined the soup for us. I did however like the softness of the pinto beans. Is this normal for chickpeas? I also had a can of great northern beans. Do you know if they are closer to a pinto bean in texture and softness?
Hi Lisa! Yes – chickpeas are tender, but they are definitely not as tender as other beans (like pinto, kidney, black beans, etc.). If you’ve never eaten chickpeas before, I can see why this would be surprising for you. I’d recommend replacing them with pinto beans or Great Northern beans if you don’t enjoy the texture of chickpeas. I like the bit of bite that they have because I love the variety of texture (especially in this chickpea chili). That’s also why I like to use chickpeas to replace chicken in many recipes because they have a bit of a “meaty” texture. Hope that helps! Thanks for reaching out 🙂 One more idea – you could try cooking your own dried chickpeas so you can control how tender they get.
I have made the recipe and it’s a winner!!! However, I had to make a couple of changes for my husbands food allergies when making it for him. It still turned out great! I substituted 2 cans of diced tomatoes and pureed one of them. I had to sub this out for the salsa verde and red peppers. I also did 2 cans of garbanzo beans no salt ones, and 2 cans of black beans no salt ones. I added a full tablespoon of Chili powder, since I got rid of the peppers & salsa. It turned out fantastic ! I love the sweet flavor the coconut milk brings to this recipe! Thank you!!!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Cathy! And I’m glad that you were able to customize it to suit your husband’s allergies!! That’s exactly how I intend my recipes to be used – as a blueprint to make a delicious dinner, allowing you plenty of wiggle room to make adjustments!! 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
Would this recipe work in a crockpot?
Yes! I think this would work just fine in a crock pot. I’d recommend just a couple hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Great question, Lindsay!