Budget Friendly Black Bean Chili! Nothing fancy to see here, but let me tell you, this comforting chili is sure to make your belly happy with flavor and satisfying goodness.
Easy on the budget, using minimal pantry ingredients, this oil free Budget Friendly Black Bean Chili is hearty, wholesome, and delicious. Serve it up with cornbread, tortilla chips, over baked potatoes, or rice; it’s sure to bring warm comfort that only a great chili can give.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This chili was designed to use minimal, common pantry ingredients to keep the cost down. It’s delicious for what it is and that’s a low-budget chili that still tastes great! You gotta give this budget-friendly chili a try!
If you are looking for a more indulgent-style chili, we have several recipes that are sure to please:
- Vegan Three Bean Chili
- Five Bean Chili
- Vegan Cincinnati Chili
- Vegan Buffalo Chili
- Red Lentil Chili
- Sweet and Spicy Chili
- White Bean Potato Chili
- Aladdin’s Len-Chili Soup
- Oil Free Moroccan Chili
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This chili is a low-fat, low-budget chili, using minimal pantry ingredients. It tastes great for what it is and that is a low-fat, low-budget, easy-to-make black bean chili. We just want our Readers to recognize this recipe for what it is to better understand expectations before considering this recipe.
- Low-Budget Chili: We designed this chili to use minimal pantry ingredients, but still taste great. Obviously, we could add a lot of other ingredients to this chili to make it super flavorful, but we purposefully left them out to keep the expense down. If you are looking for super flavorful chilis, we have quite a few others to choose from on our site.
- Chili Powder: As some chili powders pack quite a bit of heat, we suggest starting on the low end and building up to test the heat of your chili powder. We used 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) of chili powder when making this chili. Additionally, chili powders tend to mellow over time. In other words, as the chili cooks, the heat from the chili powder tends to become less intense.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the petite diced tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity.
- Black Beans Substitutes: Feel free to substitute the black beans with pinto beans or kidney beans or a mix of beans.
- Flavors to Marry: Make sure you allow at least 10 minutes for the flavors to marry. The flavors continue to develop once the chili slightly cools. The longer it sits, the more time the flavors have time to blend together.
- Low-Fat Dish Expectations: This chili was designed to be low in fat. Because it is low in fat, you are not going to experience that endorphin rush associated with eating high-fat foods when eating this chili. It is very tasty for what it is, and that is a low-fat chili. We just want to make sure that our Readers recognize this when contemplating making this recipe.
- Cornmeal: The cornmeal serves two purposes; it thickens the chili, and it adds some extra flavor. You can leave it out if you if you wish. If you decide to leave it out, then remove about ½ cup of the black beans and mash them, then return to the chili to thicken the chili.
- Instant Pot: This recipe can be made in an Instant Pot. Add all the Base Ingredients, Spice/Herb Ingredients, and baking soda into the Instant Pot, except for the cornmeal and lime juice, (no sauté needed) then set to the IP to 8 minutes, then turn off and allow to sit for 2 minutes, then do a quick release. Remove lid after the pressure has been released and stir in the cornmeal and lime juice. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container. Reheating can be done on the stovetop, or in the microwave.
This chili can be frozen.
Pantry Products Used:
- Chili Powder: Use a regular chili powder. Some chili powders have no heat while others have a ton of heat. Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it.
Kitchen Products Used:
- Enamel/Ceramic Lined Dutch Oven or similarly large stock pot (or Instant Pot)
We certainly hope you give this deliciousness a try.
If you try this flavorful chili, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Print
Budget Friendly Black Bean Chili
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 40 Minutes (+Rest Time)
- Yield: 8 Cups 1x
- Category: Chili, Stew
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy on the budget, using minimal pantry ingredients, this Budget Friendly Black Bean Chili is hearty, wholesome, and delicious.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups water
- 1 – [ 28 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes
- 2 – [ 15.5 oz. can ] black beans, drained and rinsed *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- 2 to 3 teaspoons regular chili powder *
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch black pepper (+/-)
Other Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons cornmeal *
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Pinch baking soda *
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped avocados
- Crushed tortillas
- Freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large ceramic/enamel-lined pot or similar stock pot, add the diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat until the veggies begin to soften, approximately 7 to 9 minutes, stirring periodically to prevent burning. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Then add all the remaining Base Ingredients and Spice/Herb Mix, stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the baking soda, stir well. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After simmering for 10 minutes, add the lime juice and cornmeal to thicken, stir well to combine. Simmer for 5 more minutes, then remove from the stove.
- Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
Notes
*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Servings: 4 to 5 (makes 8 cups)
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.