1-Pot Red Lentil Chili

I made this tonight for the first time. I used carrot in place of the red bell pepper and added some tamari, otherwise made as written. The spiciness is just right. I think this is going to be at least 10 servings rather than the 6 noted – not a complaint, just an observation. We’ll freeze most of it for future work lunches. thank you!

This didn’t work for me – it was insipid and terrible on day 1 and then aggressively spicy from both chilli and just too many dried spices. All I changed/swapped raw lentils and beans for a pot of cooked green lentils and extra vegetables for less protein/less heavy chilli. After making small modifications (shout out to the reviewer who mentioned soy sauce!), I actually enjoyed the chilli. I currently have 8 portions in my freezer, so I’m likely to change my mind but I think I would make it again. So thank you for the starting point/template.

This was delicious and very hearty. I did, however, make a number of modifications to the basic recipe. These adaptations included adding a finely diced carrot, some Mexican oregano, epazote, a bit of cocoa powder, and a few tricks that I learned from Cook’s Illustrated to enhance the “meatiness” of a vegetarian chili which is adding some soy sauce and dried ground porcini mushrooms. I used a tablespoon of honey to balance the heat. At the end I finished with some cilantro, scallions, and the juice of a lime. I did find it too thick with only 1 3/4 c. water (and I only had 1/2 c. red lentils). I ended up using 3 c. water and this worked well. For the beans, I used some heirloom black and some rio zapes. It made 8 big bowls!

Very good! I didn’t do the jalapeño thing, just minced a lot of garlic and sprinkled a little cayenne in. Didn’t have red pepper so used carrot instead. Still came out great! I’ve the thickness and smokiness. We ate it with lime tortilla chips.

I live on this chilli. I make big batches and freeze it to take to work and that works great. Thank you for this recipe!

I made this and cooked it for what seems like 2 hours. Some of the lentils were still firm. Can I get sick if the lentils didn’t cook thoroughly? Delicious btw!

Love this recipe as does my family. I tweak it each time to add some variety.

Instead of sugar, I use a bit of dark chocolate. Adds a whole other level plus some sweetness. And this time I added in a few canned chipotle peppers to up the spice a bit, plus some fresh corn.

Always a hit over here!

Wow, so, so good. I also added zucchini, liquid smoke (because I only had sweet paprika), and maple sugar (just what I had on hand). So, so good!!

I had a request for vegan chili and chose this recipe. It did not disappoint!

Even the picky eater that requested chili heartily approved this hearty and healthy chili.

It takes a while for it to all come together but is worth the effort and time for a true chili experience (minus meat, of course). It wasn’t too spicy but flavorful and satisfying. Thank you!

Love this recipe. It’s now an all time family favourite!! Thank you Dana

I made this chili with modifications tonight. I used what I had on hand, so. . .
I used brown lentils. I added chopped carrots instead of sugar. I used white kidney beans instead of red, and I omitted paprika and instead used cinnamon.
I served it over pasta with greek yogurt and shredded cheese.
Fabulous!

This chili recipe ticked all the boxes for my family – not too tomato-ey, nice and thick, tons of flavor but not overly spicy. We played a game of “guess the thickening ingredient” and nobody could detect the red lentils!

Thank you! This turned out absolutely delicious and I had zero doubt! I should’ve used lentils in a Chili a long time ago. I always go for Indian or middle Eastern when cooking lentils.

So I just made a huge batch for the next 4 days. I made a few adjustments to get a bit more nutrients: I used a mix of red kidney, pinto and black beans, added 4 cups of Kale and 2 cups of broccoli!

I love chili and wanted to try using lentils – thanks so much for the advice! I was afraid it would need extra cooking but it worked just fine adding lentils straight to the pot.

OUTSTANDING! Made this last night and my taste buds were dancing with joy. Note: make sure to cook the lentils long enough so they get soft. Mine was not quite there, but still great nonetheless. For toppings I added cheese (sorry vegetarian only), chopped onions and cilantro. Next time I will also include avocado. This is definitely a winner. My only question was why the chili powder and cumin were divided?

Love this. Didn’t have tomato paste but did have 3/4 of a can of leftover pumpkin purée that went in instead. So good with cilantro and avocado on top!

Really fabulous hearty chili recipe! This will definitely be in my fall/winter rotation! Made it for the first time last night and yummm I love the lentils in the chili…why did I never think of that?!?! I did add some mushrooms and used frozen corn instead of canned….And just FYi I plan on having a bowl for breakfast! :)

I come back to this recipe every fall to kick off soup season! One of my favorite Minimalist Baker recipes and simply the best vegan chili recipe out there!

Simply beaut!

Loved it.
I like my chili more hearty and spicy though, so I added an extra jalapeno and a tablespoon of corn starch. Served with some habanero hot sauce and cream.

I have been making this recipe for years now and decided to leave a comment to say how awesome it is. I am a vegetarian and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a food group with a delicious hardy meal like this :) I followed the recipe except I use half a jalapeño. I can’t handle the whole lol.
Thank you!

Today is my second time making this chili because it got great reviews from a group of teenagers the first time. I used home canned hot peppers instead of the fresh jalapeno, because these home grown peppers turned out a lot hotter than we expected. Added some liquid smoke, just a few drops. The rest of the spices, I kept about the same ratio. Loved how garlic-y this is! One need not be afraid of the generous garlic, chili powder, cumin, and paprika! This mixture works! I added a bit of Better than Bouillon vegetarian soup base instead of some of salt because that’s something I keep on hand and think it really improves soups. I also used a whole package of red lentils (1 pound), increased the water to 4 cups and added an extra can of tomatoes and an extra can of black beans because I wanted a fuller pot (using an 8-qt. cast iron Dutch oven ).

Have already shared this link with a couple of friends

I made this for our Super Bowl party. I was very skeptical of this this recipe since it calls for a can of corn. Who the heck puts corn in chile? Well now I do! because this was great!!! Instead of making the chile powder, I used a whole can of Chile Adobado (with liquid) taking care to de-seed the chiles and chop the chiles in to very small pieces. Did not add the jalapeno. I put everything in to an instant pot for 5 minutes on high with a quick release and it turned out wonderfully. I also added 8 oz. of well chopped baby bella mushrooms (added when onions were cooked), 1 Tablespoon paprika (instead of 1 teaspoon) and the whole can of tomato paste. Super delicious!!!

This was super easy to make and very tasty! Even my selective 6 year old had seconds! I did make some small changes like omitting the jalapeno and adding in some chopped celery. I also only used half of the chili powder as my daughter doesn’t like spicy food. Thanks for the great recipe, this is going into our weeknight recipe rotation!

Great chilli recipe. Didn’t have the jalapeño or cocoa, still tasted great. Love that the lentils kind of smush in, my partner didn’t even notice they were in the dish!

This makes heaps so perfect for batch cooking.

We paired this with the twice baked cauliflower stuffed baked potatoes and it was chef’s kiss!

I couldn’t find my red lentil chili recipe so I searched and found this one. Boy, am I glad. This lentil chili is scrumptious: hearty, filling, flavorful without being overly spicy. The addition of the beans to the lentils ups the health benefits. Changes I made: used yellow instead of red pepper due to availability, left out the corn and ate tortilla chips with it instead, and used a 28 oz. can of salt free tomatoes along with the 15 oz. can of fire-roasted, and used vegetable broth for sauteing and instead of water.

This is great, I make it often. Would you consider including the ingredients for the spice mix individually rather than having a link to another recipe? I find it a bit annoying to have to reference another recipe and I’m not making the spice mix in larger quantities in advance just for this recipe.

I’ve made this several times and think it’s great as is! I did get a little crazy with my most recent batch though, and liked the results. I doubled the water and added 1/2 quinoa, 2 tbls of coco powder, 2 tbls of apple cider vinegar, 1 tbls woshister, and omitted adding any addition sweetener. Instead of cooking the lentils at a low simmer, I got more aggressive with the heat, yielding a different, somewhat hearty consistency to the chili. Thanks for the recipe…

A staple in my house! So good.

Absolutely, THE BEST Chilli I’ve ever made! And ive made a lot, thank you so much for sharing this xx

I tried this recipe for my vegetarian daughter, it has become a staple in my house and is enjoyed by everyone!

So impressed with this recipe! It’s probably the best chili recipe I’ve come across – with or without meat. We’re trying to reduce our meat consumption and save some money so this will definitely be on our regular fall/winter menu.

Wow, this is so good! Supposed to be meal prep for dinners this week but I ended up eating a bowl of it immediately for lunch. I was making your black eyed peas and greens at the same time so added a little liquid smoke to this recipe as well but otherwise followed the recipe exactly

Loved this recipe. We are a family of 3 and especially love a meal that gives us leftovers for lunches or easy dinners. I left out the chilli for the toddler and he loved it with some pasta. Husband and I ate it as is. It’s very adaptable (have also made it with carrot when red pepper isn’t in season) and have used it for nachos and burritos. Highly recommend!

Incredible. What an amazing dish!

The recipe is solid and delicious! I added some TVP to amp up the protein and just added a bit more water to compensate. The flavors were so well balanced. I would definitely make this again!

I only made half a recipe since there are only three of us and I made some substitutions based on what I had on hand. I used small white beans, part of a poblano pepper instead of the jalapeño and a small zucchini since I didn’t have any corn. I also only used 1 tablespoon of chili powder since two of the people I cook for can’t handle spice. I’m looking forward to making this again when I have the corn.

I knew when when I saw this recipe that I would have to make it. But I have a hard time making recipes without a few tweaks to my tastes (= I’m on a low-fat diet so I sautéed the veggies in water. I didn’t add any salt because all my canned beans and tomatoes had salt. Also I subbed 1 tablespoon of chipotle powder and 1 tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Chile lime seasoning for two of the three tablespoons of chili powder. Yum! I also topped my bowl with a handful of finely chopped greens that wilted nicely when I mixed them in. Delicious! And with the sweet corn, I didn’t find the need for the sugar. I’ll be saving this recipe to make again.

Absolutely loved this recipe. I didn’t have chili powder, I used a pinch of cayenne instead. That was enough for our taste. The cumin gives this dish a wonderful deep flavor. I will make it again adding corn and use it as salsa. I may use tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes to make it easier on picky eaters. Thank you for this great recipe!

This site never disappoints! I made this as written except I didn’t add corn, I added diced zucchini instead. I served it with avocado & a squirt of fresh lime. Had some black bean corn chips with it. It is amazing! I wish I could freeze it though because it makes a ton and I will never eat all this in a few days.

I absolutely loved the smokiness of this chili. I shared it with a friend of mine and she loved it so much she made it too! The only ingredient I did not include was the corn. This recipe is going into my favorites folder!

This chili must be magic! A friend brought a big bowl of this chili when I was sick with ‘rona and it was so delicious, hearty, and comforting! I made another batch and put half in freezer bags – it froze and reheated perfectly. Thank you for posting this recipe. I love the addition of lentils (an ingredient I seem to always have and never know what to do with). I made cornbread to go with it. 😋

The most perfect chili I’ve ever had! Perfect, smoky chili spice blend I’ve always been looking for. (Also, I subbed beef in for my husband and he loved it).

My husband said this was as good as any meat version. Loved it! Loved the chili powder too!

This is the best recipe!! I recently discovered lentils and came across this recipe. I tweaked it a little bit with some additional spices; extra smoked paprika and turmeric. I also added a quarter cup more lentils and only one cup of black beans. I don’t care for kidney beans. It came out amazing. My whole family loves it. I will be making your red lentil curry next.

I just can’t stop making MB recipes! This chili is another winner! Made a large batch for my family and shared with sick friends – loved by all. I followed the directions exactly but didn’t make the chili powder blend and instead used a premade powder. Added the whole jalapeno with seeds – truly not that spicy, especially the next day. And like another review said, the next days makes it even better!! This will be on rotation. Super easy, healthy, flavorful, all with pantry staples. Added some avocado and fresh lime at the end. I so appreciate all the confidence I have gained in the kitchen by using your recipes!

Easy to make and delicious! Will definitely make again

Made this exactly as written and it was fabulous. Those who never take seconds absolutely did…even though it was vegan.

Wouldn’t hesitate to make it again. Probably will make it with a little less heat.

Kudos!