This vegetarian chilli is cheap, a breeze to whip up from pantry staples and tastes great. In fact, it’s my go to recipe for clients wanting to try meat-free Mondays or to eat more legumes.

Ingredients

Serves 8
1 tspns Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbspn smoked paprika
1 tbspn ground cumin
1 tbspn ground coriander
1 tbspn dried oregano
1 tspn dried chilli flakes (optional, more if you like it hot)
1/2 tspn cinnamon (trust me)
1 tspn sugar
300 g dried lentils/beans (I use 100 g each of red lentils, green lentils and black beans)
2 cans (400 g) diced tomatoes
1 can (400 g) kidney beans, drained
750 ml vegetable stock*, reduced sodium (I like vegeta)
250 ml water (standby)

To serve
Wholemeal Lebanese wraps (or flat bread)
1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup natural or Greek yoghurt

How to

1. Heat the oil in the pan on a medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Stir until soft, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the herbs and spices and stir until the house smells delicious. Add a splash of water (not more oil) if it gets a little dry.
3. Add the beans, lentils, canned tomatoes and stock and give it a good stir.
4. Cover until it boils, about 10 minutes.
5. Keep the lid on, reduce heat to low and let it lightly simmer for as long as you can, 2 hours is ideal.
6. Check it every 15 minutes and give it a good stir each time to stop the beans from catching on the bottom.
7. Add more water towards the end if it needs it.
8. Serve the chilli on warmed wraps and top with the corn, avocado, cheese and a dollup of plain yoghurt.

Freezes and reheats beautifully. Defrost it in overnight in the fridge or in a saucepan over low heat. Serve on a taco, burrito, baked potato, bed of brown rice etc.

This recipe is one of my $10 Family Meals as seen on Today Tonight. The chilli costs $6.74 and makes 2 batches; so if you’re only feeding 4, freeze half for another night. Half of the chilli to serve 4 plus the wraps and toppings and is $7.05. 

To buy all of the ingredients for the chilli would cost around $21. If you’re already stocked, it works out to $6.74 for these portions of the ingredients.

Sarah Moore is a Registered Nutritionist in Perth, Western Australia. She offers group education sessions and private consultations.