Slow Cooker Three Bean & Quinoa Chili

Name: Three Bean & Quinoa Chili
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 h
Yield: 10 bowls
Ingredients: 1 cup quinoa (rinsed ); 1 tbsp olive oil; 4 cups vegetable broth (substitue chicken or beef stock if desired); 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce; 3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (rinsed and drained); 2 15 oz cans black beans (rinsed and drained); 1 15 oz can white beans (rinsed and drained); 1 15 oz can pinto beans (rinsed and drained); 1 15 oz can corn; 1 large purple onion (chopped); 3/4 cup cilantro (chopped); 4-5 cloves garlic (minced); 2 tbsp chili powder; 1/2 tsp cayenne powder; 3 tbsp salt; 2 tsp white pepper; 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 1/2 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp garlic spice blend (optional); 1 tbsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ancho chile powder; 1 tbsp onion powder; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp chipotle chili powder; 3/4 cup honey; 1 tbsp liquid smoke

Posted on March 6, 2018March 22, 2018 by Stephen

This is the kind of project I enjoy. There was a bit of a time crunch, I was home alone with our two year old, and had only the ingredients already in the house at my disposal. Sometimes “limitations” are the driving force behind creativity. That was certainly the case with this hearty three bean & quinoa chili.

A chance to cook creatively

I’m not a hero. Lots of people do what I do. So last Monday when the emergency “bat phone” dinged with a text, I was there to answer. It’s what I do. It seems a citizen was in need of chili for an event and had forgotten about it until the last minute. Immediately I sprang into action. This Three Bean & Quinoa Chili is the result of what some, not me, would call my heroic action.

Ok. I’m not really a superhero. The “citizen” was Melissa. She was planning on making chili herself later that night. Her office was having a fundraiser for a food drive in Salem and I kind of had to beg her to let me make it. (Those begging texts are not a part of this post. I can’t seem to find them. My phone must have a bug and deleted them on its own). But lets not lose sight of what’s really important: this chili turned out to be really good and I’m excited to share it with you.

Using what’s on hand

Knowing that I couldn’t run to the store to pick up ingredients, I made a quick sweep of the cupboards and pantry. Since I was home alone with Benjamin I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of “hands on” cooking and decided right away to use the slow cooker. Melissa is a vegetarian and wanted the chili she contributed to the fund raiser to be vegetarian as well. With all of that in mind, I started grabbing things without overthinking any particular step.

My only real concern was to not go overboard on the spicy heat of this chili. My approach was to use smaller amounts of several different spices rather than larger amounts of select spices hoping that they would work to balance each other out while combining in the slow cooker. You can adjust the spices and amounts to your particular liking. I also took the precautionary steps of adding honey and a generous amount of salt to help balance the heat and I added sugar to neutralize some of the acidity from the tomatoes and tomato sauce.

I’m really pleased with how this turned out and I hope you enjoy it. Its a healthy, delicious, easy chili you can put together and allow the slow cooker to do the work for you. Best of all, you don’t need to be super hero to make it. Adding cheese, avocado, and sour cream are a nice way to compliment the flavors.

Three Bean & Quinoa Chili

This is a vegetarian chili that is packed with delicious, healthy ingredients. If you prefer meat in your chili adding some is simple enough: replace one can of the black beans with your meat of choice. Enjoy.

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

5 hours

Servings

bowls

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth substitue chicken or beef stock if desired
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes rinsed and drained
2 15 oz cans black beans rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can white beans rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can corn
1 large purple onion chopped
3/4 cup cilantro chopped
4-5 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
3 tbsp salt
2 tsp white pepper
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp garlic spice blend optional
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
3/4 cup honey
1 tbsp liquid smoke