An oldie but a goodie. Our five bean chilli recipe is one that we come back to time and time again. In fact, in winter months, it’s a regular on our meal rotation. We always make big batches so that we can divide it up and freeze it for a later date. There’s nothing better than coming home after a long day and reheating a delicious, heart warming bowl of chilli for dinner.
For this recipe we use five different types of beans, but you could use the basis of the recipe for a vegetarian or meat mince chilli too.
This recipe is for approx. 10-12 servings, as like I said, we like to make lots of portions to have at a later date. So you may need to adjust the quantities.
Top Tip!
Our top tip, to make this chilli really smokey in flavour, is to add a bit of dark chocolate for the final 5 minutes! Honestly, it transforms the dish.
Ingredients (serves 10-12)
- 3 small brown onions, chopped
- 2 green peppers, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1-2 red chillis, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2x 400g chopped tomatoes
- 2x 400g can red kidney beans
- 1x 400g can butter beans
- 1x 400g can black eyed beans
- 1x 400g can black beans
- 1x 400g can pinto beans
- 250g red or green lentils
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Approx. 60g dark chocolate
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh coriander, soured cream and lime to serve
Method:
- Place a large sauce pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes, before adding the peppers, garlic and chilli. Fry for a further 2-3 minutes until softened.
- Add all of the ground spices – cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cinnamon and oregano. Fry for a further minute, ensuring everything is coated in the spices.
- Stir in the tomato purée and add the chopped tomatoes.
- Add the beans and lentils and stir thoroughly.
- Finally add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the temperature to a simmer, place the lid on the pan and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Check on it regularly to ensure it’s not sticking.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 mintues uncovered. Your chilli should reduce and thicken.
- Add approx. 60g or 2/3rds of a 100g bar of dark chocolate. Stir thoroughly to ensure it’s completely melted.
- Season with salt and pepper, and serve with soured cream, fresh coriander and lime.
