Tempeh Chili

Tempeh has the perfect crumbly texture and savory flavor for cooking up a delicious batch of vegan chili! This tempeh chili also includes hearty pinto and black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, and lots of smoky and spicy seasonings. It’s a flavor bomb that’s super satisfying and packed with protein.

White wooden surface set with bowl of Tempeh Chili, blue pot and half an avocado.

Tempeh is weird. I personally love it, but I know that it’s not everyone’s jam. When I introduced my husband to tempeh shortly after we met and he wasn’t into it, I thought there was something seriously wrong with him.

It wasn’t until I started blogging and getting a million questions from people on how to make tempeh palatable that I realized this is the case for a lot of people. Tempeh can be bitter, and it has an unusual texture that not everyone likes.

But I’ve found that if you’re one of those people who isn’t into tempeh, there are lots of tricks to make it more palatable, like steaming it. (Read my guide on cooking with tempeh to learn more of them.)

Another trick: crumble tempeh and cook it up in a super flavorful sauce. This totally works on my husband, and he loves tempeh prepared this way. This tempeh chili recipe uses just that technique and it’s a big hit with him!

Jump to:

Ingredients You’ll Need

Olive oil. You can swap this out with another high heat oil if you prefer. Whatever you have on hand is fine!
Onion.
Red bell pepper. Prefer another color of bell pepper? Use it!
Carrot.
Tempeh. Tempeh can be found in the natural foods section of most stores, in the refrigerated area right near the tofu. You may find it in different varieties, with added grains or seeds. Any of them is fine for this recipe. You can even use homemade tempeh if you’re feeling ambitious.
Spices. You’ll need chili powder, ground cumin and smoked paprika. Also includes some cayenne pepper if you’d like your tempeh chili to have a little heat.
Garlic.
Fire roasted tomatoes. These add a wonderful smoky flavor to the chili, but you can use regular canned diced tomatoes if they aren’t available.
Beans. The recipe calls for canned pinto beans and black beans, but you can replace them with other varieties such as chickpeas, red kidney beans, lentils or cannellini beans if you’d like.
Salt & pepper.
Toppings. You can use whatever you normally top your chili with here. I’ve got sliced avocado and fresh chives on the bowls shown in the photos. Fresh cilantro, scallions, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, and shredded vegan cheese are more great options.

How It’s Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Start by prepping your ingredients. This includes chopping your vegetables and crumbling the tempeh.

Diced peppers, onions, and carrots cooking in a pot.

Heat your oil in a pot and add diced onion, bell pepper, and carrot. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes, until they start to soften.

Crumbled tempeh and diced vegetable cooking in a pot.

Add your crumbled tempeh to the pot and cook it with the vegetables for a few minutes, until it starts to brown.

Crumbled tempeh cooking with peppers, onions and spices.

Stir in the spices and garlic. Stir everything up well and cook the mixture briefly — about 1 minute, just until it becomes very fragrant.

Now add the tomatoes and beans. Bring the chili to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

Tip: Feel free to let the chili simmer for longer than 30 minutes if you’d like. It can go for up to an hour. Just make sure to add some water to the pot if it gets too thick.

Bowl of tempeh chili with a blue pot in the background.

Once your tempeh chili is done simmering you can take the pot off of heat and season it with some salt and black pepper.

Ladle it into bowls, add toppings and dig in!

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover tempeh chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.

More Vegan Chili Recipes

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2
tablespoons
olive oil
1
onion,
diced
1
red bell pepper,
diced
2
medium carrots,
diced
1
(8 ounce/226 gram) package
tempeh,
crumbled
2
tablespoons
chili powder
1 ½
tablespoon
ground cumin
1
teaspoon
smoked paprika
½
teaspoon
cayenne pepper,
or to taste (optional)
4
garlic cloves,
minced
3
(14 once/400 gram) cans
fire roasted tomatoes
1
(15 ounce/439 gram) can
pinto beans,
drained and rinsed
1
(15 ounce/439 gram) can
black beans,
drained and rinsed
1
teaspoon
salt,
or to taste
½
teaspoon
black pepper,
or to taste

Instructions

Coat the bottom of a large pot the with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, bell pepper, and carrot. Sweat the vegetables for about 10 minutes, until they start to soften.
Stir in the crumbled tempeh and cook it with the vegetables for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until you just start to see some browning in the tempeh.
Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper (if using) and garlic. Sauté the mixture for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
Stir in the tomatoes, pinto beans, and black beans. Raise heat and bring the mixture a boil. Lower the heat and allow the chili to simmer until it’s nicely thickened up and the veggies are tender, about 30 minutes. (see Note)
Remove the pot from heat and season the chili with salt and pepper. Adjust any seasonings to your liking.
Ladle into bowls and serve with toppings of choice.

Recipe Notes

You can let the chili simmer a bit longer (up to 60 minutes total) if you’d like the flavors to meld even more, adding more water if it becomes too thick.

Nutrition Facts

Tempeh Chili

Amount Per Serving

Calories 283
Calories from Fat 94

% Daily Value*

Fat 10.4g16%

Saturated Fat 1.6g8%

Sodium 747mg31%

Potassium 909mg26%

Carbohydrates 36.9g12%

Fiber 11.3g45%

Sugar 4.9g5%