Meatless Monday: Three Bean Slow Cooker Vegan Chili
By Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN; Reboot Nutritionist
Using a slow cooker is a great way to prepare healthy meals in large amounts quickly and easily making it an excellent choice for the busy work week! You can save leftovers for later on in the week or freeze in individual glass containers for a super-fast nutritious meal anytime.
This week’s recipe will warm you up and fill you up with plenty of protein, fiber and phytonutrients including the powerhouse antioxidant, anthocyanin. Anthocyanin lends a blue or purple color to foods and is found in black beans, blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes and red/purple cabbage.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (1 cup) of dried black beans
- 8 oz (1 cup) of dried kidney beans
- 8 oz (1 cup) of dried white or cannellini beans
- 4 Leeks
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 red, green, orange or yellow pepper
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- 4 jalapeno peppers (more as desired for spicy flavor)
- ¼ tsp chipotle spice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup dried wheat berries (substitute quinoa for gluten free)
- 26 oz (3 cups) of crushed or strained tomatoes (look for one in box or glass jar, not a can)
- ¼ tsp sea or Himalayan salt (to taste)
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- 1 avocado
- Optional: Parsley for garnish
Directions
- Rinse dried beans then soak overnight in slow cooker (do not heat slow cooker, just cover). To make morning prep fast, chop veggies (onion, peppers, garlic, leeks, kale) the night before and store in the refrigerator.
- The next morning, drain and rinse dried beans. Add olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker, then add beans, chopped onions, peppers, garlic, leeks, kale, water, tomato, spices, wheat berries. Add additional water or tomato sauce as needed to fully cover the beans and veggies in the crock pot, up to the “fill line”.
- Set slow cooker to high for 6 hours – then re-set to high for 4 hours or cook on low for 10-12 hours if you won’t be home during the day.
- Chop avocado and serve on chili as a garnish with parsley.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 hours
Servings: 12
Substitutions
- Wheat berries – quinoa
- Leeks – scallion, onion, chives
- Onion- leeks, shallot
- Kale- spinach, beet/mustard/collard greens
- Beans – use any variety including pinto, navy bean, etc.
Calories: 190
Fat: 4.5g
Trans Fat: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 280mg
Carbohydrates: 33g
Fiber: 8g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 8g