Everyone needs a Simple Chilli recipe and this Quorn Vegetarian Chilli is my tried and tested favourite. It's big on flavour but reasonably mild and a delicious one-pot dish the whole family can tuck into. Plus it's ready in just 30 minutes!
Quorn mince is a great meat-free substitute for beef. It's high in protein and low in fat. Swapping beef for Quorn is a simple way to reduce your meat intake. Find out more in my How to Eat and Cook Sustainably post.
Because Quorn mince is so easy to use and means you can still enjoy traditional dishes, you might like my other Quorn Mince recipes Quorn Cottage Pie, Easy Quorn Vegetarian Bolognese or Quorn Lasagne. If you're after a great tasting vegetable-based chilli, my Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chilli is bursting with flavour.
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Ingredients
This Quorn Chilli con Carne is made with simple ingredients. Quorn mince can be kept in the freezer so it's handy to keep some in.
- Quorn Mince is a great standby and can be cooked from frozen.
- Spices The seasoning makes a fairly mild to medium chilli, depending on what you are used to of course. You can always increase the amount of chilli powder if you want to make it hotter.
- Tomatoes - try to use the best quality tinned or canned tomatoes you can afford. The cheaper varieties have more water added which will make your chilli runnier. If so, I suggest adding less stock.
- Chocolate a traditional Mexican Chilli will often use dark chocolate. The dark chocolate gives it a deeper richer flavour and brings out the flavour of the spices.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes until soft.
Stir in the garlic together with the chilli powder, paprika, and ground cumin and dry fry for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Frying the spices helps release their flavours.
Turn up the heat and add the Quorn mince and fry for a few minutes. You can add the Quorn straight from frozen.
Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano, and sugar or chocolate and kidney beans. Stir together and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Bring the chilli to a boil then turn down the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little more water or stock if it looks too dry.
Alternatively, cook in the oven with a lid on at 160C/325F/gas mark 3 for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cooking a chilli for longer will help develop the flavours but if you need dinner fast, then 10 minutes will be enough.
Serve the chilli with the rice, tacos or tortillas and a dollop of soured cream
Hint: A Quorn Chilli can easily be frozen and is perfect for making a batch or meal prepping. Cooking larger quantities and freezing them not only saves you time but is more energy efficient so saves money on your fuel bills too. If you are cooking a larger quantity, like most recipes, you won't need to multiply all of the liquid ingredients. When it comes to adding the stock, just add a little at a time so your chilli is not too dry.
Substitutions
- Quorn Mince - I've tested this recipe with Quorn mince which is a particular brand. You could use other plant-based or meat-free mince products. Quorn is not suitable for vegans, but other plant-based mince products are. Quorn mince is suitable for gluten-free diets.
- Vegetables - adding more vegetables to dishes is healthy and economical. Mushrooms go well in chilli as do red or yellow bell peppers. You could also add celery or diced carrots.
- Spices - the spices in this recipe give a tasty chilli that's not too hot. However, you can vary the quantity of chilli and add more if you like. I suggest doing this a little at a time.
A Fairtrade Chilli
The chilli seasoning can be bought as Fairtrade. Sweet smoked paprika, cumin, and oregano are all available as Fairtrade products. You can also buy fairtrade kidney beans, sugar, and chocolate. Choosing Fairtrade products makes a huge difference in the lives of the farmers and producers. The benefits also go much further than this. The Fairtrade organisation works hard to promote sustainable farming practices and environmental protection. Check out my most popular Fairtrade recipes.
How to Serve
One of the things I love best about a good chilli is that it's one of those meals where you put everything in the middle of the table and let everyone tuck in and help themselves. Serve it with rice, a lovely oven-baked jacket potato, or even pasta. Stuff into taco shells or wrap up in soft tortilla wraps for a meal you can eat with your hands. Tortilla chips are great for dunking. I also like it with Flatbreads. 3 Ingredient Flatbread takes just 10 minutes and goes well with any spicy dish.
Toppings for Chilli
Toppings are an essential part of the whole Chilli experience. A spoonful of soured cream or even natural yoghurt is often served on top. Other toppings you might like are grated cheese, salsa, guacamole, sliced avocado, and some fresh coriander or cilantro leaves.
Sustainability
Reducing your intake of red meat is a significant step you can take toward lowering your carbon footprint. Quorn has a much lower carbon footprint than mince as it uses 90% less land, water, and carbon emissions than animal proteins. Beef has the highest amount of carbon emissions of all foods so substituting beef occasionally will help.
Storage
Quorn mince can be frozen and can be cooked from frozen making this a great standby. If you want to defrost it in the fridge, you should cook it within 24 hours. Once cooked, a Quorn Chilli will keep well in the fridge for 48 hours. You can also freeze it, even if the mince was frozen before. Let it cool and place in the freezer for up to one month. Let it defrost fully in the fridge for 24 hours and reheat it until it is piping hot.
Reheating
Reheat the chilli until it is piping hot. You can do this on the stovetop or in a microwave. You should only reheat the chilli once.
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegetarian Quorn Chilli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil organic, fairtrade
- 1 onions organic, diced
- 2 cloves garlic organic, peeled, crushed
- 2 teaspoon mild chilli powder organic
- 2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika organic, fairtrade
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin organic, fairtrade
- 350 g Quorn Mince
- 100 ml vegetable stock organic
- 400 g chopped tomatoes organic, use tinned
- 3 tablespoon tomato puree organic
- 1 teaspoon oregano organic, fairtrade
- 20 g dark chocolate or sugar organic, fairtrade
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 400 g kidney beans organic, fairtrade, use tinned drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes until soft.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onions
- Stir in the garlic together with the chilli powder, paprika and ground cumin and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoon mild chilli powder, 2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Turn up the heat and add the quorn mince and fry for a few minutes.350 g Quorn Mince
- Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano and sugar or chocolate and kidney beans. Stir together and season with freshly ground black pepper.100 ml vegetable stock, 400 g chopped tomatoes, 3 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 teaspoon oregano, 20 g dark chocolate or sugar, 1 dash black pepper, 400 g kidney beans
- Bring the chilli to a boil then turn down the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little more water or stock if it looks too dry. Alternatively, cook in the oven with a lid on at 160C/325F/gas mark 3 for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Serve the chilli with the rice, tacos or tortillas and a dollop of soured cream.
Notes
Ingredients
- Quorn Mince is a great standby and can be cooked from frozen.
- Spices The seasoning makes a fairly mild to medium chilli. Increase the amount of chilli powder if you want to make it hotter.
- Tomatoes - try to use the best quality tinned or canned tomatoes you can afford. The cheaper varieties have more water added which will make your chilli runnier. If so, I suggest adding less stock.
- Chocolate a traditional Mexican Chilli will often use dark chocolate. The dark chocolate gives it a deeper richer flavour and brings out the flavour of the spices.
Serving Suggestion
Quorn Chilli goes well rice, jacket potato, or even pasta. Stuff into taco shells or wrap up in soft tortilla wraps for a meal you can eat with your hands. Tortilla chips are great for dunking. I also like it with Flatbreads. 3 Ingredient Flatbread takes just 10 minutes and goes well with any spicy dish. A spoonful of soured cream or even natural yoghurt is often served on top. Other toppings you might like are grated cheese, salsa, guacamole, sliced avocado, and some fresh coriander or cilantro leaves.Storage
Quorn mince can be frozen and can be cooked from frozen making this a great standby. If you want to defrost it in the fridge, you should cook it within 24 hours. Once cooked, a Quorn Chilli will keep well in the fridge for 48 hours. You can also freeze it, even if the mince was frozen before. Let it cool and place in the freezer for up to one month. Let it defrost fully in the fridge for 24 hours and reheat it until it is piping hot.Reheating
Reheat the chilli until it is piping hot. You can do this on the stovetop or in a microwave. As with meat dishes, you should only reheat the chilli once.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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