Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili (Gluten-free)

What?! FAT-MELTING chili?! Yup. According to Dr. Oz…

“Eating the right foods is crucial to weight loss. This vegetarian chili is hearty, tasty, and has all of the right fat-fighting ingredients to help you slim down. The protein-rich beans help build muscle, while the hot spices boost your metabolism to burn fat. Perfect for a family meal or to freeze and eat later, this recipe will help you drop those extra pounds.”

Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili Gluten-free

Sign me up! I didn’t know hot spices could boost your metabolism. If that’s the case, Hubs should be skin and bones cuz he eats a LOT of spicy food. Once when we had company over, I asked him to refill the salsa bowl. Well, he snuck ‘a little’ hot sauce into the bowl, too.

When a few of us unknowingly dipped our chips and took a bite, our mouths were ON FIRE. I had a FIT! He ruined the whole bowl of salsa! And he acted like it wasn’t hot at all. (Insert lots of eye-rolling and head-shaking.)

When I found this recipe on Dr. Oz’s website, I almost passed it up because of the very long ingredient list. But at second glance, I realized I already had most of them. And it’s all basic stuff – no special trip to the health food store required.

I will say, though – make sure you look at the quantity of each spice (like 3 TABLESPOONS of cumin) to make sure you don’t need to add those to your grocery list as well.

I’m glad I decided to make it because this chili turned out GREAT! It’s got some heat, but not too much. Tons of flavor. Very hearty, very filling. And I could feel the fat just melting off my thighs as I ate it. Not really. But, it doesn’t hurt to visualize, eh?

Yields about 14 cups

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Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili (Gluten-free)

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Veggies:

  • 2½ cups diced red onions
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 2 peppers, diced
  • 1 medium sweet potato, diced
  • 2 cups diced mushrooms
  • 1 (10 oz) bag frozen corn

Flavors:

  • 3 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 4 Tbsp. chopped garlic (I only used 2 Tbsp.)
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeños
  • 2 Tbsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 

Canned Goods:

  • 3 (14.5 oz) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
  • 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
  • 1 (15 oz) black beans
  • 1 (15 oz) can Adzuki beans*
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle in adobo sauce*
  • 3 Tbsp. tomato paste

Optional:

  • 1 to 2 cups vegetable broth or vegetable juice (You can also just use water.)


Topping Suggestions:

sliced or diced avocado, vegan sour cream, vegan shredded cheese, tortilla chips/strips, chopped scallions/green onions/cilantro, lime juice

Notes

Yes, all of the portions above are correct, there are no typos. I know that’s a ridiculous amount of onion/cumin/chili powder/garlic/oregano, but I trusted Dr. Oz and followed it exactly (except for the garlic, which I cut in half)… and it tasted great.

The only thing I might change next time is the cumin – I might do 2 Tbsp. instead of 3. You can find Adzuki beans at most health food stores, but you could also substitute another bean-like chili or northern. If your grocery store has a Hispanic or ethnic aisle, you’ll likely find the little can of chopped chipotle in adobo sauce there.

Just a thought – you could use the leftover tomato paste, chipotle, and jalapeño as part of a marinade.

Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili Gluten-free

No cooking process photos this time. It’s pretty basic stuff…

Instructions

STEP 1
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes and mushrooms, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften about 10 minutes.

STEP 2
Stir in the cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic and jalapeño and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

STEP 3
Add the tomatoes, beans, oregano, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and cinnamon. At this point, you can add a little vegetable broth, vegetable juice or water if you like your chili a bit thinner. (I added about 2 cups of vegetable broth because it was REALLY thick.)

STEP 4
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the corn; cook 5 more minutes, until corn is heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili Gluten-free
Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili Gluten-free

Time to go melt some fat away while I eat a bowl of chili and watch Michigan slaughter Massachusetts. GO BLUE!

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24 thoughts on “Vegan Fat-Melting Veggie Chili (Gluten-free)”

  1. How spicy is this for little ones? I love heat but the kiddos do not! Also you got me hooked on the brown rice tortillas! I changed up your previous quesadilla recipe. I use hummus (home made) saute mushrooms, red peppers and kale and that is it! Oh so good and even toddler approved!!!

    Reply
    • I would say it’s definitely too spicy for little ones. Maybe you could split it into two batches and do one spicy, one mild? I love those brown rice torts!!! Your quesadilla sounds delish!

      Reply
  2. Hah, don’t you love ‘fat-melting’ foods? Yeah, riiiight. Well, the chili looks amazing, no matter what it does to your thighs. Yay for hearty chilli!

    Reply
    • The chili is not meant to be a diet plan. It’s just a healthy, vegan recipe with some metabolism-boosting spices and muscle-builing protein (which together will burn fat).

      Reply
  3. Amanda told me about your site, and I love it!! Just made the chili today. It is exceptional:) Thanks for checking processes out and then passing on the good (or bad) word.

    Reply
  4. Hello Livvy,
    First time visiting your blog. Your well-chosen recipes, writing style and photos.. all make me wanna try (and devour!) the dishes, pronto!

    Reply
  5. This is a perfect chilly/rainy gameday food!!! Love the Go Blue comment at the end! Hoping they can beat Nebraska tonight!! :D

    Ali Reyher
    South Carolina

    Reply
  6. I just made this recipe for my whole family for dinner! I loved it and it had just the right amount of spice. I too only used 2 tablespoons of garlic, and couldn’t find the chipotle in abode in the grocery store so we left it out but didn’t seem to miss it! I’m happy I have so much left over to freeze and have later! Great recipe thank you!

    Reply
  7. Made this over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I only used the 2 Tbl of garlic at your advice. I think next time I may add a bit more but I’m a garlic LOVER. Will probably also cut back on the cinnamon a bit (tasted more of a Cincinnati chili to me. Not a bad thing, just isn’t my usual) and add a little salt. But I used low sodium everything to try and control the amount of salt in the dish. I’d rather use low sodium then add a little salt as needed to enhance the flavors. If anyone is curious, this works out to about 220 calories per cup. Not bad at all considering how filling this is and rich in vitamins. I paired 1 cup of this with a sandwich thin, 3 oz turkey, and lettuce. VERY good and kept me full all through the afternoon. I also used the food processer and processed it a bit to make a little less chunky. Pregnancy brain sometimes is turned off by chunky veggies so I do what I have to do to make sure I get in my veggies. Worked like a charm. :)

    Reply

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