I have always been a “kitchen sink” type of cook. I used to be a little embarrassed to read the posts of the “Food Preppers,” those bloggers who actually plan a whole week of meals ahead of time. I, on the other hand, tend to stand in front of the fridge at 6:00 and think, “hmm, what’s for dinner?” Because of that, creating a Pantry Staples Recipe is a snap for me. Today we have One-Pot Vegan Lentil Chili!
One of the great things about a pantry staples recipe is that it is not set in stone. If you’re out of one spice you can skip it or substitute another. Have some veggies that are nearing their end date? Toss ’em in! For example, I don’t currently have lentils in my cupboard but I do have a package of Trader Joes Lentils, so that’s what I’m using for this One-Pot Vegan Lentil Chili.
Pantry Staples Recipe: Vegan Lentil Chili
Your pantry staples may be different than mine. In addition to canned beans, tomatoes, and frozen corn, I also always have potatoes, chilis, onions, and garlic on hand. If you don’t you can use garlic or onion powder, and canned chilis for this pantry staples recipe.
- 1 tablespoon avocado (or other vegetable) oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 Serrano chile pepper, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed. Or 1 can lentils, drained. Or 1 pkg TJs cooked lentils
- 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen or fresh
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
- Condiments: Avocado, Cilantro, Vegan cheese
- In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and chile and cook until soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add chili powder, cumin, red pepper, salt
and pepper. Mix in well. - Add tomatoes and their liquid and vegetable broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a low boil.
- Add the lentils and beans and bring back to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until the lentils are cooked (about 40-45 minutes).
- Add the hot sauce and corn, simmering a few more minutes until the corn is cooked.
- Serve with avocado, cilantro, vegan cheese or other favorite condiments.
Any kind of beans.
Any kind of vegetables
Fresh, frozen, or canned.
Adjust the seasonings to your taste.
If you use pre-cooked lentil beans cooking time will be shorter, but allow to simmer to allow flavors to intensify.
What are your pantry staples?
Weekly Linkups
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Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
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Tuesday Topics with Kim and Zenaida
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What a good idea for pantry staples! I’m not a food prepper either, so I like hands-on kind of recipes!
I really love putting things together with what I have on hand. That’s really why I started posting recipes so that I could remember the things that came out really well!
We have 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground, so chili sounds pretty good to me right now!
Wow, snow! Yes, chili would be good right now!
Well I am a fan of this bowl of goodness! It really is still soup season and you can never go wrong with a bowl of veggie comfort food
I make pantry staple soups throughout the year!
This vegan chili looks so hearty and delicious! The flavors are warm and rich :). Yum!
Lentils are a great addition to a vegan chili!
I thought it was just me that decided what they would be cooking for dinner by scanning the contents of the fridge/pantry (& freezer sometimes) and wondering what could be thrown together – quickly.
Anyway, this looks like a tasty and easy meal to russle-up. Thanks for sharing.
Ha! You may be my soul mate! 🙂
Great minds think alike…
Give me all the comfort food!
If only I had everything stocked before it hit. We were clearing out the fridge and freezer for my son’s first birthday and my 40th. By the time I got to the store the 16th it was pretty much empty.
Thankfully we have food but just not a lot of our usual staples and pantry staples.