Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili! Bursting with robust chili flavors, this dish is inspired by the beloved picadillo, seamlessly blending traditional ingredients with an exciting twist.
Get ready to tantalize your taste buds with this vibrant Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili, a delightful fusion that takes the classic chili you know and love to a whole new level! Imagine tender golden potatoes adding a hearty texture, while briny pimento olives introduce a pop of flavor that elevates every bite. To sweeten the deal, luscious golden raisins bring a hint of natural sweetness that perfectly balances the savory elements. Perfect for cozy nights or meal prep, this Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili is sure to impress family and friends alike!
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
If you’re on the hunt for a fun and flavorful dish that will have everyone raving, look no further than this delightful Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili! As a pimento olive enthusiast, I can confidently say that this recipe hits the spot. The combination of savory ingredients and that briny burst of pimento olives makes every spoonful a joyful experience.
You gotta give this one a try
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili is a Whole Food Plant Based nod to Picadillo. Perfectly seasoned, this tasty and thick chili is an usual and flavorful twist on chili. Potatoes and lentils make it hearty.
- Lentils: We used canned lentils. Feel free to use dry lentils, but they will need to be cooked separately, then added to the chili later.
- Lentil Substitutions: Feel free substitute the lentils with your favorite bean; however, you may need to use less beans if selecting a bean other than lentils.
Potato Substitutions: We used Yukon Gold potatoes. Feel free to substitute with your favorite potato. - Potatoes and Tomatoes: Whenever a dish has both tomatoes and potatoes, because they have differing acidity levels, this impacts the cooking times, in other words, making it take longer for the potatoes to become tender. The baking soda reduces the acidity level of the tomatoes allowing the potatoes to cook somewhat faster.
- Cooking Time: The cooking time for the potatoes to get tender will vary greatly based upon the type of potato and if baking soda was used or not.
- Texture of the Chili: Initially, the chili broth will appear thin, but as the potatoes begin to soak up the broth, the chili will begin to thicken the longer it cooks.
- Next Day: As with most chilis, this chili tastes even better the next day as the spices begin to infuse into the rich, thick broth and soak into the potatoes and lentils.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, Drained: Be sure to drain off the liquids from the fire roasted diced tomatoes.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomato Substitutions: Feel free to substitute the fire roasted diced tomatoes with regular petite diced tomatoes and add a pinch of smoked paprika.
- Regular Chili Powder: 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.
- 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 fire roasted diced tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. The baking soda also allows the potatoes to tenderize more quickly. If you prefer that tinny taste that is typically associated with canned tomatoes, feel free to leave it out or only add a pinch.
- Pimento Olives: The pimento olives are traditional to Picadillo, and we love them; however, if you are looking for a tasty, low-fat chili with great flavor, just leave the olives out or add a few as a garnish.
- Raisins: The raisins are totally optional. We loved them because it added a tiny bit of sweetness to the chili. Many picadillo recipes use raisins. We preferred golden raisins simply because of the color. They blend right into the sauce.
- 10 Minute Resting Period: The 10 minute resting period allows the chili to rest and the spices to marry and slightly mellow out.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container.
This chili freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
- Canned Lentils: We used Delallo Imported Italian Lentils. They come in a 14 oz. can. Most grocery stores carry them in the specialty aisles. If using dry lentils, select lentils that hold their shape after cooking like a brown lentil such as small brown lentils called Pardina lentils. Cook dry lentils separately, adjust time accordingly. If cooking dry lentils, you want to end up with 1 2/3 cups of cooked
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large stock pot
- Fine mesh sieve (or colander) to drain the fire roasted diced tomatoes
If you try this comforting 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
Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 65 Minutes
- Yield: 7 Cups 1x
- Category: Stew, Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Get ready to tantalize your taste buds with this vibrant Vegan Picadillo-Style Chili, a delightful fusion that takes the classic chili you know and love to a whole new level!
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 large yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, fine dice
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 – [ 14.5 oz. cans ] fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained *
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoons regular chili powder (+/-) *
- 1 teaspoon cumin (+/-)
- ¼ teaspoon coriander (+/-)
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Other Ingredients:
- 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] lentils, drained and rinsed *
- 16 oz. gold potatoes, peeled, 1/4-inch cubes (3 ½ cups) *
- ½ cup sliced pimento olives
Optional Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons golden raisins (or regular raisins) *
Instructions
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large stock pot, add the diced onions and jalapeno peppers; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
- Add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute.
- Add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the baking soda) and Spice/Herb mix, stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
- Add the baking soda, stir well. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Add the cubed potatoes, simmer for 25 minutes, then add the lentils, continue simmering until the potatoes are perfectly tender (about an additional 10 to 15 minutes).
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the sliced pimento olives (and golden raisins), simmer for several minutes to heat through, remove from the stove and 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 7 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.