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Oh, baby! There is nothing like a warm bowl of homemade chili in the wintertime. Am I right? This White Bean Chili is a yummy twist to the classic dish that we’ve all grown up on in the colder weather. One of the best parts about chili is that it can easily be personalized to include your favorite ingredients. It’s also incredibly cheap to pull this easy meal together, yet still healthy. It also doesn’t need meat to impress people.
Why You’ll Love White Bean Chili
- Allergen-Friendly: This White Bean Chili is both dairy-free and vegan, making it the perfect recipe when you’re trying to serve a crowd with a variety of dietary restrictions.
- Comforting: A big bowl of chili is the best comfort food on a cold fall or winter day. This recipe will warm you up from the inside out.
- Healthy: This chili is made with wholesome, healthy ingredients so you can feel good about eating it. I love making this for a healthy meal prep on Sunday to have a healthy, nutritious meal for the week.
Ingredients
White Beans – White beans are so good for you. They’re packed with fiber and protein and a good source of micronutrients, including folate, magnesium, and vitamin B6, and with them being budget-friendly, they’re so easy to add to recipes
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
Nutritional Yeast – Nutritional yeast is one of my staples in my pantry. It’s high in B vitamins, it’s especially in vitamin B12, which is energy-boosting. Nutritional yeast can be a great substitute for vegans when trying to add a cheesy flavor to recipes
How to Make White Bean Chili
- Into a large pot add the olive oil and heat on medium heat for 30 seconds before adding the onion. Cook it down for 8-10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning.
- To the pot, add the garlic, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, cayenne and red chili flakes. Stir till the onions are fully coated with spices and reduce heat to low.
- To the pot, add the vegetable stock paste, nutritional yeast, coconut aminos, and beans. Stir till well combined, increase heat to high and add the water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are extremely buttery. Once the beans are perfect, finish the soup by adding the corn and miso. Cook for 5 minutes or until the temperature of the soup is baked to an even simmer.
- Serve hot with all the gorgeous toppings listed above.
Tips and Tricks
- Meal Prep: Meal prep this White Bean Chili and freeze half of the batch to have easy meals to pull out during the week.
- Kid-Friendly: Get your kids involved in topping off the chili with their favorite toppings.
- Roasted Vegetables: Roasting vegetables like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or poblano peppers before adding them to the chili intensifies their flavor.
- Add Greens: Stir in leafy greens like kale, spinach, or collard greens towards the end of cooking for added nutrients and texture.
- Blend Some Beans: Use an immersion blender or a regular blender to partially blend some of the beans. This creates a creamy texture without adding dairy.
Substitutions
Toppings: The best part of this recipe is adding your favorite toppings to it. Cut up some fresh jalapenos if you like a kick, tortilla chips, sour cream, vegan cheese, fresh red onions, fresh herbs, and/or some lime slices to squeeze over top.
Protein: If you aren’t vegan or vegetarian, you can add shredded chicken to this recipe, and it’s delicious.
Beans: If you want to switch up the beans, I suggest any white beans.
Other Comforting Recipes
- Easy Vegan Ramen Recipe
- Chipotle Vegan Corn Chowder
- Creamy Spinach & Mushroom Gnocchi
- Vegetable Soup with Vegan Dumplings
- Bean & Lentil Chili
How to Store Leftovers
This chili will last up to 1 week in the fridge in a tightly sealed container. This White Bean Chili is also freezer-friendly. Let it cool, and add it to an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Common Questions
Absolutely! You can skip the sour cream topping, and most of the ingredients in chili are already vegan or very easy to swap, as seen in this recipe.
Pinto, kidney, white beans, and black beans are the best beans for chili and you can use a combination.
Diced jalapeños, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or a dash of cayenne pepper can provide a spicy kick.
Onions, garlic, celery, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and leafy greens like kale or spinach are excellent additions.
Simmer the chili uncovered to reduce the liquid, or add a slurry of cornstarch or arrowroot powder.
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Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium-sized white onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- dash of red chili flakes
- 1 tsp. vegetable stock paste
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. coconut aminos
- 1 400 ml can of white kidney beans
- 1 400 ml can of roma beans
- 6 cups boiling water
- 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 1 heaped tbsp. white miso
Toppings:
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- handful oof nacho chips
- 1 avocado, cubed or sliced
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese
- ½ vegan sour cream
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
Start Cooking- Into a large pot add the olive oil and heat on medium heat for 30 seconds before adding the onion. Cook it down for 8-10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning.
- To the pot, add the garlic, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, cayenne and red chili flakes. Stir till the onions are fully coasted with spices and reduce heat to low.
- To the pot, add the vegetable stock paste, nutritional yeast, coconut aminos and beans. Stir till well combine, increase heat to high and add the water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are extremely buttery. Once the beans are perfect, finish the soup by adding the corn and miso. Cook for 5 minutes or until the temperature of the soup is bake to an even simmer.
- Serve hot with all the gorgeous toppings listed above.
25 people are discussing this recipe. Join in
Delicious!
Great recipe!! Thank you
thank you so much for the love!!!
Love this!!
Thank you sooo much!!!!
This was the best soup I’ve ever made for me and my husband. Thank you for this delicious, extremely flavorful, healthy soup recipe. It will be a staple in our household
YES!!! what soup recipe are you going to make next hun!?
Question. What’s a Roma bean? My Internet search said it was a green bean but I don’t see green beans in the photo. Maybe I’m just a goof
Roma beans are canned white looking beans but you can use anything you have access to hun!
Is the coconut amino necessary or can it be omitted?
It can be omitted but I would use a little bit of soy sauce or liquid aminos! Just a hint!
I made this for dinner last night with a couple variations : I used shallot in place of the onion and since I had no sweet corn I replaced it with a finely diced carrot that I sautéed with the shallot at the beginning. I only have 1 can of beans so I made half a batch, if you do so I would advise to use less than 3 cups water, I had to let it thicken for quite a while.
This was hand down one of the best meals of my life, very savoury and smoky. I gulped down every bit of it in one meal ! I topped it with fresh cilantro, soy yogurt, grated vegan white cheddar, a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly cracked black pepper, plus a few nachos chips. It was absolutely awesome, I couldn’t stop eating it and I’m glad my bf ordered take out so I didn’t have to share with him haha ! I’m definitely adding it to my list of favourite and regular recipes !
Thank you so much for this wonderful review, Nina! It means so much to me, thank you!
Beautiful flavor, amazing meal- breakfast lunch or dinner!
Thank you so much for the love, Michelle!
Another Ahh-mazing recipe !!
Thank you for doing what you do !
Thank you so much for making our recipes!!!
OH MY GOD *Janice from Friends voice*
Made this over the weekend and it’s by far the best soup I’ve ever had. I ate two huge bowls night one, had some for lunch the next day, and went to eat the rest today only to find out my husband took it to work and I was so sad. Will be making this again ASAP!
*The color in mine was a lot darker, maybe because I added more of the vegetable stock paste? Like a lot more.
It might have just been from the browning of the veg, the stock and legumes! Colour don’t matter when it tastes that good!! Thanks for the love hun!