I love a good chilli & this plant-based one is so tasty, meat-eaters will hardly notice the difference! Healthy, vegan, gluten-free, inexpensive, quick to make & deliciously satisfying. This chilli freezes really well too; I often double up the recipe with the idea of freezing some for another week.

This recipe is enriched with chia seeds to add omega-3s, protein & fibre. To make a creamier sauce, I love to add protein powder (soya bean, pea or whey varieties work well), but this is optional. As this chilli contains carbs in the beans & sweet potato, I often enjoy eating this as a meal in its own right, but you can serve it with quinoa, cauliflower rice , wholegrain rice or a simple side salad if preferred.

Serves: 4

Preparation: 10-12 mins

Cooking time: 20-26 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 red onions
• 250g sweet potato
• 3 plump garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 fresh chillies or 1-2 tsp hot chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 can (400g) of chopped tomatoes
• 250ml stock (I use vegetable bouillon powder)
• 2 X 400g cans of beans of choice, drained: kidney, chickpeas, butter beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, black beans all work well. (In the photos I have used kidney beans & chick peas
• 1.5 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp soya sauce or tamari
• 1 tsp honey or agave
• 100g mushrooms, chopped
• 4 tbsp chia seeds
• Optional: 2 tbsp protein powder (pea, soya bean or whey work well).

Method:

• Peel the red onion & sweet potato & roughly cut into chunks. Place in a food processor or blender along with 3 peeled cloves of garlic. Whizz to coarsely chop. (This gives great texture to the chilli).
• Melt coconut oil in a deep pan. Gently brown the chopped onion, garlic sweet potato mixture for about 3-4 mins.
• Then add the spices, oregano, fresh or dried chilli & stir for a 2 mins until the aromas of the spices fill the air (be careful not to burn them though as this will impart a bitter flavour).
• Then add the diced red pepper, chopped tomatoes, stock, beans of choice, tomato purée, soya sauce, honey or agave & chopped mushrooms. Cook for about 15-20 mins until the sauce thickens.
• Then stir in the chia seeds & protein powder. Mix well to thicken up & serve.
• I love to serve this chilli with parmesan (vegan if required) or nutritional yeast, a wedge of lime and a healthy portion of home-made guacamole.

Don’t forget you can find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.