I love good chili, but I am picky about it. I don’t like kidney beans (I generally use black beans) and many chilis I’ve tried only taste like chili powder or are so hot that you can’t taste a depth of flavor.
A friend of mine likes all beans but they no longer like him so he asked for an easy no bean chili recipe with added vegetables for some substance. So here you are!
This is a quick recipe, so gather and prep all your ingredients before you start cooking.
In a large pot, start browning your meat. When it is about half way cooked through, add the onions, bell peppers, carrots, and dry seasonings. Mix those in and cook for about 5 minutes stirring a couple of times.
Next you’ll add the broccoli, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir that around and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
Finally stir in the spinach and corn and simmer for a couple more minutes until the spinach is wilted.
And now it’s time to Enjoy! Eat is as is or top it with your favorite chili toppings like sour cream, cheese and green onions. For an added depth of flavor, sprinkle on some crispy bacon bits, because as you know, everything is better with bacon!
And what better to serve with chili than cornbread.
No-Bean Chili
Equipment
- 4 - 5 quart stock pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean or extra lean ground beef or meat alternative (Gimme Lean works great!)
- ¼ cup onions diced, yellow or red
- 1 each bell pepper diced, your choice of color
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 2 cups broccoli chopped
- 3 handfuls spinach fresh
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 tbsp garlic fresh, minced
- 2 cans diced tomatoes in sauce 15 ounce
- 2 cans tomato sauce 15 ounce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ - ½ tsp chipotle powder depending on how much heat you want
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, start browning the ground beef. When almost cooked through, add the onions, bell peppers, carrots and dry seasonings. Continue cooking until onions are translucent – 3 or 4 minutes should do.
- Then add the broccoli, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Add the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and corn. Keep stirring until the spinach is wilted. Taste. Add more salt or pepper or other seasonings to your taste.
- It’s important not to overcook or the broccoli will turn brownish and be too mushy.
- Top with your favorite chili toppings e.g. sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, tortilla chips or my favorite, bacon (trust me on this!).
- Enjoy!
Fantastic recipes! Awesome, rich, flavor!