October and November, in my opinion, are the best months for soups and chilis. I can’t really get enough of a warm bowl of something tasty during these months. Since I had quite a few leftover ingredients from other meals (e.g. lentils, beans, tomato sauce, cilantro, etc) I figured I should try creating a chili out of what I had sitting around. I kept looking around for more things to throw in and noticed I had some frozen green peppers and jalapenos, so I cut them up and threw them in too. I was very happy with how the chili turned out! This chili does not need an ounce of meat as it is packed with protein from the lentils, kidney beans, and pinto beans. The ground chipotle chilis were great and gave it a more smoky, aromatic flavor. I garnished the chili with sour cream and cilantro, but yogurt would be a good substitute for the sour cream.
Chipotle Lentil and Bean Chili
(Makes 8-10 servings)
Printable Version
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 green bell peppers, diced
- 1 large jalapeno, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 15 oz can chicken stock
- 20 oz. dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 30 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups brown lentils
- 60 oz tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp ground chipotle peppers
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
- sour cream or yogurt (optional)
- cilantro (optional)
Directions:
- In a pan, heat the onion and green pepper with the olive oil and butter until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the jalapeno and garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- In a slow cooker or large stew pot, combine the onion and pepper mixture with the tomato sauce, chicken stock, kidney beans, pinto beans, lentils, honey and all spices.
- Heat on low for 9-10 hours, adding more stock or water if needed.
- Garnish with sour cream or yogurt, and cilantro.