Quinoa Chili
This vegetarian, protein-packed chili is the perfect bowl of comfort food that you can eat guilt-free!
It’s been a bit warm here in San Francisco but I’ve been wanting to make chili for weeks now. Chili gives me the perfect excuse to have oh-so-crumbly cornbread on the side, except I overdo it and make it a main course. Either way, I still wanted a piping hot bowl of chili. Desperately. But this time, I tried something very different with my batch of chili – I added quinoa, and lots of it!
The quinoa added such a fun texture, soaking up all the flavors and goodness of this chili. It’s also loaded with kidney beans, black beans, tons of veggies and just enough lime juice to give you a subtle kick in the pants. Plus, this batch will make enough to feed an army so it’ll keep you and your family well fed for days!
Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 4.5-ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder, or more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Juice of 1 lime, optional
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in quinoa, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and 1-2 cups water, making sure to cover most of the ingredients; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice, if using, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately with avocado, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Chungah (would love to know how to pronounce your name?) I love your site. The Beef Enchiladas are to die for love love love them. I have been looking over your other recipes also and find so many I want to try. Your pics are beautiful. Can you tell us what camera you use and lighting?
Aim to work my way through your recipes!
Thank you, Rita! My first name is actually pronounced Chung-Ah. I am currently shooting with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a 100mm f/2.8L IS. I only use natural lighting, and I utilize Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 to edit.
I’ve done this dish several times and in each time my friends and family just love it. This time I want to make sure I put the topping which I see in the picture but don’t know what it is. Could it be sour cream? Can you please let me know what it is?
Thank you
I’m so glad you were able to give this a try! This is my absolute favorite chili yet. And yes, this is topped with sour cream. Sometimes I top it off with Greek yogurt too for an extra healthy touch. And it tastes just as good!
This might be a stupid question, but when you say 2 cups of cooked quinoa, do you meassure this as two actual cups of cooked quinoa or just cooking two cup of uncooked quinoa?. How much uncooked quinoa would I then need to have two cups of cooked quinoa.
Saskia, 1 cup uncooked quinoa = 2 cups cooked quinoa.
Thank you. I cooked to much quinoa, but I will use the rest for the pastasauce I am planning to make tomorrow, since I forget to buy minced beef.
I couldn’t find canned green chills where I live, so I just used a fresh one.
Pingback: Quinoa Chili « Project Refined Life
Oh my gosh! THIS WAS DELICIOUS. I don’t ever comment on blogs I just scroll around looking for awesome recipes and cool stories! But let me tell you this was by far the best chili I have ever had! I have only been a vegan for about year, so I have had my fair share of chili with beef but it does not come close to this recipe! This was amazing! Thank you so much!!!!
I didn’t see that it said 2 cups of COOKED quinoa so I cooked two cups and then realized it did not look the same…I ended up doubling the recipe! I am not complaining 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that you had such success with this recipe!
AMAZING recipe …. numnumnumnum … even the quinoa haters loved it!
Do you make it exactly like the recipe if planning on freezing? Or do you make it without the quinoa and then add that after you thaw it out and reheat it?
Freezing sounds like an amazing idea but unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
How much is one serving? I want to make this for my work Earth Day party and Just want to make sure I make enough. This looks so tasty!
I’d say about 2 cups should be sufficient for one serving.
I printed your ingredients and took to the market, when I got home and looked at your delicious photo again before I began putting this together, I’ve noticed you didn’t include cheddar cheese! You’ve used this as a garnish with that delicious looking avocado and cilantro.
Unless I’ve missed it somewhere in the ingredients list?
Tina, the cheese is simply used as a garnish and for photographic purposes. It is not a crucial ingredient that is needed in this recipe. It’s just a little added bonus 🙂
Your food styling is fabulous! Yes I did notice that and the sour cream were ‘extras’. Thank you! Delicious recipe!
I am printing some of your recipes. I just discovered your site and totally love it! I go very often on the popular sites but yours is very very attracting, easy and seems soooo yummy! I like the personal touch that you bring to it, it’s not only a site but a sharing place, friendly in all the ways. Will try your food soon! All this for a heart-warmed thank you for sharing!
That was the best chili ever! My super picky, junk food loving teenager loved it!!!!
Best veggie chili EVER! Followed directions except added extra cayenne. Husband loved it and taking to lunch tomorrow as well.
This chili is REALLY good! I did make a few changes because I needed to put it in the CROCK-POT. So instead of putting in canned beans, I put in dried, unsoaked beans, 1/2 cup kidney and 1/2 cup black beans. Instead of putting in the cooked quinoa, I put in 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, and I didn’t have fresh cilantro so I put in 1 tsp. dried cilantro. It takes 5 hours on high and approximately 8 hours on low. Definitely do the avocado and cheese on top. The whole family loved it!
Hey Holly – Thank you for the crock pot tips! Did you cook the onions or garlic prior to adding to the crockpot or just put them in raw?
Made this tonight and me and my hubby loved it! Thanks for this recipe! Bon apetit.
This was AMAZEBALLS! My husband and I loved it!
I am making this on Sunday and will enjoy it for lunch all next week!!
Made this yesterday. It was my first time making chili with quinoa. I loved it, everyone loved it. It is a versatile, and easy recipe. We will be making much more. Thanks!
I made this for dinner tonight. I was unsure how my family would react. My 4 kids went back for seconds! This definitely will be a regular on our menu. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious recipe!
I’ve made this three times in 6 weeks. We LOVE it! It makes great leftovers.
I’m so glad! You’ve just reminded me that I need to make this again!