Pinto and Black Bean Chilli

The Flavours

This Pinto and Black Bean chilli is a vegan friendly version inspired by a traditional Beef chilli. Healthy with out sacrificing on the taste! Mexican dishes are renowned for their use of beans and this chilli plays in to that. With a lot of flavour and spices used in Mexican cuisine it fills your belly and your heart. One of my favourite things I’ve learnt to add to my chilli’s is a little cocoa power. It might seem odd at first but it adds a lot of depth to the dish. It compliments the other spices really well and I hope you find it makes the chilli more enjoyable like I do.

Ideas.. thoughts.. Pinto and Black Bean Chilli remix

The first one that comes to mind is obviously you could turn this back into a traditional beef just by replacing one or both the beans with beef, the sauce works just the same and so do the spices. If you are a vegan though that isn’t going to work for you. It would work with a meat-free mince though and I have cooked that before in the past with success in this dish. You can also try experimenting with different types of beans. I would imagine kidney and borlotti beans would both work well in this dish.

The spices are pretty flexible and I know you might not have all of them in your cupboard. You can easily leave out the Ground Coriander. I would also say you can drop one type of paprika but keep the amount of total paprika in the dish the same. You could also use a hot paprika if you want more spice in place of one or both. The basil could be switched for oregano as well, they have a similar taste.

If you don’t have cocoa powder to hand, you can also use a couple of squares of dark chocolate in it’s place. It has to be dark chocolate though as milk chocolate wouldn’t have the same effect. It’s cocoa content is just too low.

Pinto and Black Bean – Recipe time!

Pinto and Black Bean Chilli

• Author: Recipe Drop
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 25
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4-5 1x
• Category: Vegan, Healthy
• Method: Hob
• Cuisine: Mexican
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

A tasty and healthy take on a traditional beef chilli.. using Pinto and Black beans instead!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Red Onion

1 Red Chilli

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

1 tsp Ground Corriander

1 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Corriander Leaves

1 tsp Basil Leaves

400g Tomatoes

400g Pinto Beans

400g Black Beans

1 Vegetable Stock Pot/Cube

100ml Water

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Instructions

1. Start by preparing the vegetables. Peel and slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the Chilli into thin strips(remove seeds if you don’t like the heat) and crush and dice the garlic.
2. Heat a large wide-based pan over a medium high heat. When it is hot add the oil. Once the oil hot add the onions with a pinch of salt. Once the onions have started to soften add both the Pinto and Black beans and cook for a minute.
3. Now add the garlic and chilli, mixing in and cooking for another minute. Then add the Cumin, Ground Coriander, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Paprika, Smoked Paprika and Cocoa Powder. Mix in thoroughly and let it cook for a minute.
4. Now add the stock cube or pot and mix in and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Then add the Tomatoes and water with a pinch of salt and stir together thoroughly. Lower the heat to a low temperature and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. When it is ready serve over boiled rice, in tacos, a burrito or with nachos!

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Notes

• Try different types of beans in the recipe! I recommend kidney or borlotti
• Add a little cayenne pepper if you want more heat, add this along with all the other spices
• No cocoa powder? Try a couple of squares of dark chocolate instead

Keywords: vegan, healthy, mexican, chilli, beans

Closing Words

Remember to let us know how you got on making this recipe and if you enjoyed it! Also be sure to tell us of any changes you made to mix things up!

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