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Home » Recipes » Soups

Cauliflower Chili

Published: Jan 5, 2022 · Modified: Jan 19, 2023 by Lexi

90 shares
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This hearty Cauliflower Chili with pinto beans, poblano peppers and sweet potato is packed with flavor and happens to be naturally vegan! It's easy to make, perfect for meal prep and a great way to get in a few extra servings of vegetables.

overhead view of bowl of vegan cauliflower chili topped with avocado and red onion.
Jump to:
  • 🍲 Why We Love This Recipe
  • 🌶 Ingredients
  • 📋 Ingredient Notes
  • 🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
  • 💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
  • 🍽 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

🍲 Why We Love This Recipe

  • Perfect for meal prep: This cauliflower chili stores well in the refrigerator for a quick lunch or dinner all week. You can even double the batch and freeze for later!
  • Easy and hands off: Once you chop the vegetables, you pretty much add everything to the pot and let it simmer until your house smells amazing.
  • Lots of vegetables: This cauliflower chili is the perfect way to sneak in a few extra servings of veggies without your kids ever noticing. Since this chili is simmered for quite a while, the vegetables soak up a ton of flavor!
  • Naturally vegan and gluten free: With no dairy or chicken broth, this cauliflower chili is totally plant-based and perfect for those with dietary restrictions.

🌶 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this cauliflower chili:

overhead view of ingredients for cauliflower chili in small prep bowls.

📋 Ingredient Notes

  • Poblano pepper: If you can't find poblanos at your supermarket, feel free to substitute with serrano peppers or jalapeños. Just be aware that serranos and jalapeños are much spicier than poblanos, so you'll want to take extra care to remove the seeds and membranes when prepping them, and be wary that the chili will likely be spicier than if you used a poblano.
  • Pinto beans: We used canned pinto beans, which are already cooked. You can also use kidney beans or black beans in this cauliflower chili.
    • You can't sub in dry pinto beans unless you cook them separately ahead of time, otherwise they will not fully cook in this chili.
  • Tomatoes: We use fire roasted diced tomatoes for an extra smoky flavor that tastes great in this cauliflower chili. You can also substitute with regular diced tomatoes.
  • Cauliflower: Make sure to break the cauliflower up into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Nobody wants a huge piece of cauliflower in their chili!
  • Sweet potato: You can also substitute with butternut squash or another squash variety of choice.
  • Cilantro: If you're not a cilantro fan, you can feel free to substitute with flat leaf parsley.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Add oil to a large dutch oven/soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.

(2) Stir in garlic, poblano pepper and red bell pepper and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until they start to soften.

on the left: sautéed onions in large pot. on the right: sautéed onions and peppers in large pot.

(3) Add in sweet potato, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and tomato paste and continue cooking for 6-8 minutes, stirring often.

(4) Pour in broth, diced tomatoes and lime juice, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Before and after adding vegetable broth and tomatoes to sweet potato chili base.

(5) After 20 minutes have elapsed, stir in cauliflower, pinto beans and cilantro. Return to a simmer (uncovered) and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, until chili is thickened and vegetables are tender.

(6) Serve your cauliflower chili hot topped with avocado slices, red onion, sour cream, shredded cheese, etc.

on the left: adding cauliflower, pinto beans and cilantro to chili. on the right: finished cauliflower chili in pot.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

  • Topping ideas: We topped our cauliflower chili with a bit of cilantro, red onion, and avocado. I also love to add a bit of cheese to top, which starts to melt into the chili, making it thicker and adding a ton of flavor. You can also top with sour cream, tortilla strips, pickled jalapeño, etc.
  • Substitutions/additions: You can swap out the pinto beans for black beans if you'd like, as they have a firmer texture that some may find preferable. You can also feel free to add more chili powder and a few dashes of hot sauce if you like a little more heat in your chili.
  • Storage: Transfer to an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
  • Freezer storage: Let the chili cool to room temperature, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat in a pot over medium-low until warmed through. (Note: you may need to add extra broth.)
  • What to serve with cauliflower chili: There's nothing better than a side of cornbread with a bowl of this cauliflower chili. You can try our vegan cornbread recipe!
  • Since cauliflower can become mushy if it's overcooked, make sure to add it in at the specified step, and no sooner.
How spicy is this cauliflower chili?


Compared to other chili recipes, this one is definitely on the milder side. Poblano peppers are quite a bit milder than jalapeños or other common peppers used in chili. And, although 2 tablespoons of chili powder sounds like a lot, it's not actually that much when you consider the total volume of vegetables, beans and broth.

However if you or your kids are super sensitive to spice, feel free to cut back on the chili powder, or vice versa if you'd prefer more spice.

overhead view of bowl of vegan cauliflower chili topped with avocado and red onion.

🍽 Related Recipes

  • Three-Bean Vegetable Soup
  • Vegan White Bean Chili
  • Vegan Pumpkin Chili
  • Vegan Tortilla Soup

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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📖 Recipe

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overhead view of bowl of vegan cauliflower chili topped with avocado and red onion.

Cauliflower Chili


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This hearty Cauliflower Chili with pinto beans, poblano peppers and sweet potato is packed with flavor and happens to be naturally vegan! It's easy to make, perfect for meal prep and a great way to get in a few extra servings of vegetables.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 tablespoons oil (avocado, olive or another neutral oil)
  • 1 yellow onion, diced (~1 ½ cups)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (2-3 large cloves)
  • 1 poblano pepper, finely diced (~½ cup)
  • 3 cups chopped cauliflower florets (1 small head)
  • 2 cups diced sweet potato (diced into ¼-1/2" pieces, 1 medium potato)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 28 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 15 ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. Add oil to a large dutch oven/soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
  2. Stir in garlic, poblano pepper and red bell pepper and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until they start to soften.
  3. Add in sweet potato, chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and tomato paste and continue cooking for 6-8 minutes, stirring often.
  4. Pour in broth, diced tomatoes and lime juice, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. After 20 minutes, stir in cauliflower, pinto beans and cilantro. Return to a simmer (uncovered) and cook for an additional 30-35 minutes, until chili is thickened and vegetables are tender.
  6. Serve hot topped with avocado slices, red onion, sour cream, shredded cheese, etc.

Notes

Topping ideas: Cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, pickled onion, tortilla strips, etc. 

Substitutions/additions: You can swap out the pinto beans for black beans if you'd like, as they have a firmer texture that some may find preferable. You can also feel free to add more chili powder and a few dashes of hot sauce if you like a little more heat in your chili.

Storage: Transfer to an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. Try to consume within 3-4 days.

Freezer storage: Let the chili cool to room temperature, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat in a pot over medium-low until warmed through. (Note: you may need to add extra broth.)

What to serve with cauliflower chili: Our homemade cornbread!

Since cauliflower can become mushy if it's overcooked, make sure to add it in at the specified step, and no sooner.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Category: Soups
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 427
  • Sugar: 14.9 g
  • Sodium: 1198.7 mg
  • Fat: 8.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 72.4 g
  • Fiber: 22.3 g
  • Protein: 16.1 g

Keywords: cauliflower chili

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More Soup Recipes

  • Pinto Bean Soup
  • Red Cabbage Soup
  • Vegetable Dumpling Soup
  • Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Sarah

    April 11, 2022 at 11:39 pm

    This recipe was delicious! I added some pasta and soyrizo as well

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth

    February 08, 2022 at 6:07 pm

    Hi, I’m planning to make this chili to bring to a Super Bowl party this weekend. How would you (or maybe you wouldn’t!) alter the recipe for a slow cooker or instapot?

    Reply
    • Lexi

      February 09, 2022 at 7:16 am

      Hi! If using the instapot, I think you could probably follow the recipe as is, except you can add the cauliflower and pinto beans with everything else. If using a slow cooker, I would definitely wait to add the cauliflower until later in the cooking process – maybe 2-3 hours in. If the cauliflower gets overcooked, it gets super mushy. Hope you enjoy!

      Reply

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Hi, we're Lexi and Beth, a mother-daughter team from Michigan. The recipes you'll find here are a reflection of how we bring our family together around the dinner table despite various dietary differences.

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