100% vegetarian chili con “carne” recipe

I woke up this morning with the news of Beyond Meat being available now in French Supermarkets and I’m so happy about that. Until now, there was only (to my knowledge) one brand that did this and it was Herta. They kinda have the same product: fake “ground meat”, fake “burger patties”, etc. I recently tried this brand to make a 100% vegetarian chili con “carne” recipe and it was delicious. So I want to share my experiment with you all.

🇫🇷 N’oubliez pas de descendre tout en bas pour la recette en français!

Ingredients

• Veggies: Like any chili con carne, you will need onion, red bell pepper and corn. You will need canned tomatoes & tomato paste.
• Kidney beans: A must, otherwise it doesn’t feel enough chili con carne.
• The fake meat of your choice: I used Herta’s ground meat. It is spooky how similar it looks to the real thing.
• Spices: Chili, paprika and cumin.
• To serve with: Rice and sour cream!

How to cook this vegetarian chili con “carne”?

Honestly? Like the basic one. There is absolutely no secret behind cooking the fake meat. You use it like the real thing and that’s it.

We will start by browning our onion and ground meat with a bit of olive oil for around 5 minutes. We will add the pepper, corn and beans after that. And the spices. The spices are really important.

Once this has been cooking and all the ingredients and flavors have got to known each other enough, you will add the canned tomatoes & tomato paste along with a bit of veggie broth. This will simmer for around 60 minutes with a lid.

As it cooks, you can prepare your white rice to eat with the chili. I did mine in a rice cooker, but feel free to cook it the way you usually do. Once the cooking is over, let it rest for a bit then enjoy with a bit of sour cream on top!

The experience with this vegetarian chili con “carne”

I feel like the texture was the same, but then again chili has so many other ingredients that the meat kinda gets lost in the mix. However, next time I will be adding more meat to the mix (I only used 200g and most chili recipes as for at least 500g of meat). It was my first time using this meat and I also don’t like eating a lot of processed fake proteins like this, but either way, it was delicious and would totally recommend this.

Chili is a meal that, in my opinion, does not really need any meat (fake or real), and adding other type of beans like pinto beans, or black beans, or even lentils, makes it much yummier.

A while ago I featured one mexican recipe that was also delish so if you wanna check that out, head to my easy bean quesadilla recipe here!

📣 Would you like to see more recipes featuring meat alternatives like this one? With the Beyond Meat being available now, the possibilities are endless. Tell me your opinion on meat alternatives and if you would like that in the comment section!

Print Recipe

100% vegetarian chili con “carne” recipe

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 15 mins

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chili

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 250 gr of fake meat I used the equivalent of the beyond meat in France
• 1 can of beans around 400g
• 1 can of corn 200g
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 can of canned tomatoes 500g
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup veggie broth
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp paprika
• Plain white rice to serve
• 1 tbsp Sour cream per serving bowl

Instructions

• Prep all the ingredients: dice the red onion and the red bell pepper. Have the beans and corn ready to be mixed in, and the “meat” package open.
• Add some olive oil in a large pot and once hot, add the onion. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the “meat” and mix well. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes at medium heat.
• Add all the other ingredients: Beans, corn, pepper and mix well. Add in the spices and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.
• Add the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste and mix well. Add the veggie broth.
• Cover with a lid and let it simmer for around 60 minutes.
• Let it cool down a bit, and serve with a bit of sour cream and a side of plain rice. Enjoy!

🇫🇷 Vegetarian chili con “carne” – Version en français