I developed this Vegan Chickpea Chili during a stressful week. This easy slow cooker recipe was exactly what my family needed. It’s comforting, healthy, nourishing and flavorful. Best of all, it’s completely vegan with all the hardy satisfaction of a meat stew.
What was so stressful about that week, you might ask? Our large hyacinth parrot, Solomon, managed to escape from his flight aviary. His wings are clipped to protect him, but he’s a huge parrot with a very large wingspan and he can glide if he catches a breeze. We live in a mountain range above Los Angeles surrounded by large expanses of wilderness. Long story short, Solomon caught a breeze.
After hours of searching we found him several houses up the road between the yards of two neighbors. He was stuck high in a tree on the side of a mountain, confused and unable to make his way down. We spent hours, tried everything to coax him down. Nothing worked. Even the fire department dropped by; they tried to figure something out, but the tree was too high and too far from the road for their equipment.
Both neighbors on either side were tremendously helpful. They spent several hours of their own time throwing around ideas. Solomon wouldn’t budge. He spent the night in that tree, cold and alone. I couldn’t sleep all night for fear of losing him.
One of the neighbors suggested that we call his tree trimmers, who are experts at climbing those very high, hard-to-reach branches. This morning they came and they climbed. As they got close, Solomon spooked and caught another breeze, gliding far into the canyon below. This canyon is difficult to access and filled with wildlife– bobcats, mountain lions.
Solomon doesn’t know how to feed himself, he’s been raised by humans since he hatched. I thought it was the last we would ever see of him. But these tree climbers didn’t give up. They scaled the canyon walls and located Solomon in a small tree in the center of the canyon. Several minutes and a large net later, they emerged from the brush carrying our beautiful Solomon. He ended the day back in his aviary, munching on bananas and peanuts. What an adventure he had.
What does this all have to do with Slow Cooker Vegan Chickpea Chili? Not a whole lot. And yet, during that crazy week I could only imagine cooking something comforting to soothe our frayed nerves. This delicious vegan chili fit the bill. Chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and spices slowly cook together until their flavors meld. The cashews become tender during cooking, giving the chili a hearty texture.
On a holiday week where many are skipping the turkey in favor of a meatless meal, it would be fitting to serve this Slow Cooker Vegan Chickpea Chili. After all, it was developed with a very special bird in mind! This is clean, healthy, meat-free comfort food. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
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Slow Cooker Chickpea Chili
Ingredients
- 5 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans (or 3 cans chickpeas 15 oz. each, drained)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 ribs celery, diced small
- 2 medium onions, diced small
- 2 red bell peppers, seeds and stem removed, diced small
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1 3/4 cups diced fire-roasted tomatoes (1 can)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable stock, or more if needed
- Fresh parsley or cilantro sprigs for garnish
NOTES
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, onions, bell pepper and 1 tsp salt. Cook on medium for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and have nice color. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 additional minutes till fragrant.
- Pour the vegetable mixture evenly to cover the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Return the saucepan to medium heat and add the fire roasted tomatoes and vinegar. Use a spoon/spatula to scrape up any brown bits that remain in the pan. Once the mixture begins to boil, turn off the heat. Continue to scrape up as many of the brown bits as you can. Add the mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients and spices to the slow cooker (reserve garnish), stir to combine and cover. Cook for 4 hours on high setting.
- After 2 hours, check your moisture level and add more stock if desired. Continue cooking for remaining 2 hours, or until chili is cooked through. Serve warm, garnish with parsley or cilantro if desired.
Nutrition
Thank you Looking forward to making this. Will be my First time using slow cooker
It took me quite a while to find temperature setting. Maybe you can put it with the Number of servings and
Cook time at the beginning for slow folks like me ! Also Very Excited that this is VEGAN !
Just saying plan to make this recipe tomorrow but was carried away by solomans tale. Very relieved when you reached the end and he was home safe.
Haha yes he’s home and safe, looking at him right now!
I made this tonight and loved it! It is so flavourful that you don’t miss having more salt (I used 1/2 the amount of salt it called for and used sea salt) or hot spices. I didn’t have the fire-roasted tomatoes, so I used the suggested alternative of diced tomatoes instead. I used half the amount of smoked paprika and added regular paprika plus 1/2 tsp of liquid hickory smoke (I just didn’t know how much spice the full amount of smoked paprika would add! It wasn’t spicy at all, so I’ll just follow the amount called for in the recipe next time). I only had one cup of cashews and added an additional cup of chopped raw almonds. Each of our young kids ate it and liked it, too! I will make this again and pass it along to others. Thanks so much for sharing!
So glad you found your feathered child!
Fantastic recipe! Loved it. Didn’t change a thing, perfect as-is. Thanks!
I made this chili last night, and it’s honestly the best chili I’ve ever eaten! I’m so glad I came across this recipe. Thank you!
Hi Tori,
i wanna make this to take into work next week but 8 servings would be too much for just me, so i want to cut the recipe down by half and wanted to know if i can then cut the cooking time by half?
Thanks
Hi Elena– no, the cooking time will stay the same. Enjoy!
I know this is a vegan recipe, but I am not a vegan. I just love vegetables and want to incorporate more of them in my diet. That’s why I asked about the chicken broth. Sorry. Also, you are an extremely good writer! Solomon looks like he has so much personality and I am happy you were so blessed to have him back. That WAS a harrowing experience!
Hi Diane! You can absolutely use chicken broth, no need to apologize… I am not vegan, but this particular recipe happens to be meat and dairy free if readers wish to prepare it that way. And yes, we are very lucky to have Solomon back! 🙂
Just because I love chicken broth so much, can you substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth?
Great story! Love your blog and the fantastic recipes.
Could this recipe be canned in a pressure cooker?
Hi Susan! I think it probably could be, but I’ve never canned it myself so can’t say for sure. I have a full pressure canning tutorial here if you’re interested: https://toriavey.com/how-to/pressure-canning/
Hi. Made this for dinner, smells wonderful, can’t wait to eat it. I count calories and wondered if that was something you could guesstimate on your recipes?
Thanks
Hi Esther, so happy you’re enjoying the recipes! I have recently updated nutrition information for all of my recipes, see above.
Always teach your bird to come …start with just walking to you . Clipping wings gives a failse sence of security …if scared enough they can and will fly! If it is twilight or almost dark or dark…then she won’t fly off and ….she will roost in the tree all night and only then should you use this time to go home and work on the computer , put out flyers etc .
Be sure you bring with you when you go back to the tree she is in your cell phone water for yourself and food for yourself as well as for her ( bring a backpack) have everything you will need for the day …the trick is to NOT have her loose sight of her favorite person . If she is shy it is better to keep everyone else away so she is more brave to climb down the scary tree she has found herself in .
Get up BEFORE dawn and make sure her favorite person is already under that tree when she wakes up . Have her WATER BOWL as well as food make sure you also have a WATER bottle and make a lot of noise pouring the water into her water bowl …and also make a lot of noise with her food feed bowl. too .. you know make lots of yummm noises yourself .. . .. . make a lot of eating noise …. .it is a waiting game and she will climb down the tree to you .. I promise …especially when she becomes hungry/thirsty ! What works like a charm is have your immediate family bring pizza .. that will get her motivated to overcome her fear and climb down !
Have his cage / carrier nearby … and oh if he likes bananas have a great visual effect at as well.. but trust moi … get the PIZZA !!!
How can they become so invisible in the tree shadow is a mystery but they seem to disappear .. but he will stay there .. as long as he sees you there …. after a while ( and this is for sure by the 3 rd day ) he will climb down from the tree to you …. the trick is to locate him .. . so if you loose sight of him then get children involved and keep looking
Make your flyers at night to have ready just in case if you do loose sight of him then post them up at night only do things at night
Remember have your cell phone with you at all times and have your message machine at home with the outgoing message give out your cell number so people can call you … because this is really for you and your bird an emergency .
As I said ( again and again ) if you know where he is stay close right near the tree he is in and make sure he sees you are there …. remember this is a waiting game and what ever you do do not let him know you are upset stay calm and act happy so he thinks it is safe to climb down to you .
Don’t ask how I know this BTDT … sigh .
So DO NOT GIVE UP if you still see him up in that tree ! ! Keep saying his name to him … keep saying whatever you do when you give him a drink or a treat … and if it is starting to become evening and beginning to get dark then try and say whatever you say to him just before you tell him it’s time for bed etc .
Angela, you have SO been through this before. 🙂 Sadly this was a somewhat impossible situation due to the tangled undergrowth below the tree (he tried to come to us but couldn’t work his way through it) and the fact that the tree was on a very steep hillside, making it difficult to approach. We were very lucky that it worked out the way it did. I’m sure your tips may help someone else!
So glad you had heroes and your beloved pet is home
I made this today. It took me a long time to get it into the crockpot, but it is worth every second. Oh my gosh, this is absolutely delicious!!! Very filling, though, so it’s great for a serving a lot of people, and it’s good for my diet! It’s got so many veggies in it, and with the cashews, I didn’t miss meat at all. The only change I made was I used chicken stock, since I don’t care for vegetable stock. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Happy to hear that Marsha! I agree it is super diet-friendly.
Made the Chili today and it was perfect. All that dicing took a bit of time, but it was worth it. Added just a pinch of cayenne for a little more heat.
Great David! Thanks for reporting back
Have a Happy and Meaningful Tu B’Shevat
Aww, thank you Tamar! Nice to know I’m not the only Jewish convert with a parrot and Madonna Inn glasses out there. And here I thought I was unique! LOL 😉
I truly emphasize with your macaw hunt, glad it was successful! 25 years ago we had a green severe macaw(Kona the Barbarian) who took an unauthorized flight(BTW she had just been clipped!!) out of our apartment and into the yards of three different neighbors-who were soooo gracious in helping us retrieve our sweetie. We ended up climbing a grapefruit tree where we grabbed her and proceeded to slowly fall out of the tree-holding our bird wrapped in a sweater. (further coincidences-I’m a convert and have Madonna Inn goblets as well-neeeener neeener) Anywhoo -thanks for your amazing recipes and ideas on your site-I refer my friends who are beginning challah bakers to your site for your detailed instructions.You’re a gem!!!
Yummy dish. I used northern beans and less pepper and onion – modified the spices a little bit to our liking – really good!
I have just received my chana dal beans aka small chick peas and was thinking how I would use it.
Tori……chana dal beans are supposed to have a low carb load. My only problem is my son was here and took all my cashews, which might be a good thing because I WILL cook some beans to see if it is a different texture or taste to chick peas.
Glad Soloman is ok 0-)
Just made this for dinner with garlic bread. I was a little nervous about the combination of spices, but it was absolutely delicious. I made it in a pot rather than a slow cooker. I did cook it the full 4 hrs. No prob.