there are few things i enjoy more than a warm and grounding bowl of chili paired with crispy tortilla chips, a lil bit of sour cream, avocado, jalapeño and hot sauce. oh man, i’m getting hungry again. luckily, lunch is coming up so i can have more of my Easy Homemade Veggie Chili!
who loves an easy weeknight dinner. i’m assuming that’s going to be 100% of the amazing people reading this.
simplifying dinner and cooking time while maintaining optimal nutrition is everything to me and this recipe does not fall short. in fact, it’s probably going to become a weekly staple in your house- it’s that goooood.

so when i say this recipe is easy, i mean EASY. it’s truly hassle free. all you have to do is cook some quinoa and then whip up the zucchini and mushroom mixture.
you throw everything together, add the liquids and spices, and then just let the chili do it’s thing.
you may think chili takes a long time, but not if you cook some things ahead of time. cooking the quinoa separately makes a huge difference so the chili itself cooks in about 30 min!

chilis like this one are fantastic because you can absolutely use other veggies or add something that i didn’t.
while i only used mushrooms and zucchini, you could totally make a swap or add bell peppers for example. beans would be a great addition and instead of quinoa, you could use farro or rice!
you may have to add a bit more liquid depending on how many other ingredients you add, but shouldn’t change things up much!

here’s everything that you need!
- avocado oil
- zucchini
- cremini mushrooms
- tomato paste
- cooked quinoa
- vegetable broth
- barbecue sauce
- chili powder
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- sea salt
soooo easy right?! there’s a good chance you have everything that you need in your fridge + pantry right now. it’s budget friendly too!
as far as the toppings go, i went with vegan sour cream, jalapeño, hot sauce and taco shells that i broke into pieces.
for the taco shells, i used my favorite, siete and the sour cream is forager! siete also has amazing hot sauces, but the one i used is from Trader Joe’s.

are you going to make Easy Homemade Veggie Chili?!
if you make one of my recipes, i would LOVE to see your creation! be sure to leave a review in the comments section, it is so appreciated and helps my small business.
also, you can follow upbeetandkaleingit on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more vegan recipes!

do you want to save this recipe for later!? you can add the recipe to your recipe board on Pinterest!
it brings me so much happiness to see your beautiful recreations on Instagram :). tag me so that i can see and repost your food on my stories!
Easy Homemade Veggie Chili
Recipe by MaryCourse: Lunch & Dinner, Main Dishes, ProteinDifficulty: Easy3
servings30
minutesdepending on portion sizes, might serve 4!
Ingredients
2 tbsp tbsp avocado oil
1 large zucchini cut into small pieces
8 ounces cremini mushrooms cut into small pieces
6 ounces tomato paste
2 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (about 1 cup uncooked)
Directions
- cook the quinoa according to package directions.
- sauté the zucchini and mushrooms in avocado oil for two minutes on medium heat, then add all remaining ingredients. i recommend adding the dry ingredients first and then wet ones.
- stir gently until well-combined and once the chili comes to a bowl, you can turn the heat down to medium low.
- cook about 28 minutes until the chili has thickened and then enjoy with your favorite toppings!