Vegan "Beef" Chilli Recipe

Traditional beef chilli gets a little makeover - no beef here, just lentils and vegetables in this plant-based, vegan version. It's budget‑friendly, healthy and every bit as hearty and delicious as the original. Serve with lime wedges, tortillas and avocado for a comforting, crowd‑pleasing meal.

I love this chilli because it is just as hearty and rich as the beef based version but it's just made up of lentils and vegetables. It makes enough for 6 people or 6 meals so I didn't have to cook every night and also freezes really well. I love the challenge of making a meat dish vegan or vegetarian and although Mr NQN ate it for dinner for close to a week, he never got tired of it.

Tips For Making Vegan Chilli

1 - Vegan food has to have a lot of flavours added to it as vegetables have a milder flavour than meat. I always double the onions and garlic to give it a flavour boost and add more spices than I would to a meat dish. Always season your food once cooked.

2 - Make sure to rinse the red lentils very well (I rinsed them 6 times).

3 - This chilli freezes well. This quantity makes enough to serve 6 people so it is a large serve. Freeze it in single serve portions where it will last for 6 months in the freezer.

4 - Serve this chilli with: lime, avocado halves and tortillas. Cornbread is also a delicious accompaniment to it. Try this chilli cheese cornbread or classic cornbread.

5 - If you really do want to add some meat and don't need it to be vegan, you can add 250g/8.8ozs. lean beef mince, turkey or chicken mince.

As I mentioned, I made a batch of this and this fed Mr NQN for almost a week's worth of dinners. It was easy to take with us on our dinner picnics. It's amazing how much joy they bring me. After a long day of work, they give us a nice break and something to look forward to.

I thought I would come up with a name for a dinner picnic in the same way that brunch is breakfast lunch. The most obvious were "Pinner" and "Dicnic" and I put it in a poll on my Instagram stories and waited to see which one people preferred.

There was one winner: dicnic it was! So now I've got to keep calling my dinner picnic "dicnic"! When I packing everything in our picnic bag Mr NQN asked, "Dicnic tonight?" And that's how things that perhaps need explaining to others, become part of a couple's lexicon!

So tell me Dear Reader, would you have voted Pinner or Dicnic? And do you have any made up words that you use with your friends or family?

Healthy & Hearty {No} Beef Chilli

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

• Oil for frying
• 2 onions, peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
• 1 red capsicum/pepper (around 300g/10.6ozs), diced
• 3 carrots (around 300g/10.6ozs.), diced
• 300g/10.6ozs mushrooms, sliced
• 2x400g/14oz tins tomatoes, diced
• 3/4 cup/150g/5ozs tomato paste
• 1 cup/210g/7ozs red lentils (rinsed very well)
• 2 cups/500ml/16.9flozs. beef or vegetable stock
• 2 beef or vegetable stock cubes
• 6 dried chillies (or to taste)
• 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 400g/14oz tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper to season
• Limes, tortillas, yogurt or sour cream and avocado to serve

Step 1 - Add the oil to a large pot on medium heat and add the diced onions, garlic, capsicum and carrots. Sauté for 5-6 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, red lentils, stock, stock cubes, chillies, paprika, cumin and oregano.

Step 2 - Place the lid on the pot and bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and cook for another 20 minutes. If it dries out too much, add a little more water or place the lid back on. In the last 5 minutes add the drained kidney beans. Taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper. Serve with lime wedges, sour cream (or yogurt), tortillas and avocado.