I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but Fall is definitely potluck season around here.
Every year, not a weekend goes by in late September and October that I don’t have to cook up a dish for a crowd; I’ve got some favorite pot luck fare and this kidney bean crockpot chili recipe fits into that category.
Chili can be made with many types of beans. I usually make chili with black beans, but this time I used kidney beans (I’m blogging the letters of the alphabet this month and it’s “K” day after all). To make things simple, I like to cook chili in a crockpot- I love how you can throw all the ingredients in the crock pot in the evening and your meal is ready the next morning!
This is a vegetarian chili; you can brown 1 pound of organic grass-fed turkey or beef and add it to the recipe, if you like, but my family prefers vegetarian chili, so I don’t usually add meat.
Because I’ve been intrigued by the idea of adding chocolate to chili as of late, I added some cocoa powder as well as dark chocolate to the chili at the end; the chocolate adds a rich and somewhat mysterious flavor that I really like. If you don’t fancy the idea of chili with chocolate, just leave it out.
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This post is linked to Miz Helen’s Texas Star Chili Cook Off!
Recipe for Vegetarian Crockpot Chili with Chocolate
Ingredients
- *1 onion chopped
- *3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- *3 carrots peeled and chopped
- *2 stalks celery chopped
- *2 green or red peppers or a combination, diced
- *two 15 oz. cans kidney Beans with liquid
- *two 28 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice
- *1-2 tsp. paprika
- *2-3 Tb. chili powder
- *1-2 tsp. cumin
- *1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- *1 tsp. Himalayan or sea salt
- *1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon- optional
- *1 Tb. organic unsweetened cocoa powder- optional mixed in before serving
- *1-2 oz. 60-70% dark chocolate grated- optional, mixed in before serving
Instructions
- 1. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, green peppers, beans, tomatoes, and spices to your crockpot. Stir and break the tomatoes into smaller chunks.
- 2. Cook on high for an hour or two, and then reduce to lower temperature setting for 8 hours or overnight.
- 3. Taste and adjust seasonings, and add optional cinnamon and chocolate before serving.
- 4. Top with organic sour cream or creme fraiche, shredded organic raw cheddar cheese, minced green onions, minced cilantro, diced avocado, fresh salsa or your garnish or choice!
