You won’t believe the flavors you get from adding pineapple into your chili. We’re making the perfect Caribbean-spiced chili recipe!
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There’s one thing I know from years of watching my mom cook. There’s nothing that can’t be improved by adding some Jamaican inspiration to a dish.
That’s exactly what I did with this Jamaican lentil and pineapple chili recipe. And I’m making it even easier by putting it all in the crockpot so you can easily bring it together and then it’s ready when you’re ready to eat.
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Why You’ll Love this Dish:
- High Protein – Between the lentils and multiple cans of beans, we’re packing in the protein with this chili. Want even more? Try adding in a block of crumbled tofu like we do in our butternut squash chili.
- Big Flavor with Simple Ingredients – All the ingredients in this recipe are found at your local supermarket or are staples you already keep in your home.
- Meal Prep – I love a good meal prep option that doesn’t take a lot of time from the start either. With only a few chopped ingredients needed and then tossing in the crockpot until finished, this is not only great for the start but also great because it will last all week!
Ingredients for Jamaican Red Lentil and Bean Chili
Gather your ingredients!
Pineapple
I know pineapple seems like an unlikely ingredient in chili, but it really helps balance the spicy and smoky components we’re adding. It works similarly to how apples work in our vegan apple chili.
Tip: You can use fresh or canned pineapple for this recipe. We love using pineapple tidbits since it makes it easier to just toss and go and they are already the perfect size.
Red Lentils
Red lentils when cooked low and slow almost melt down. This helps with texture, thickening, and giving a meaty texture to the chili. All while adding protein to our dish.
Substitute: Green or brown lentils will also work for this recipe, but they don’t break down as much as red lentils. Alternatively, you could swap this with more beans, tofu, seitan, mushrooms, cauliflower florets, or peas.
Beans
We are using black beans and kidney beans in this recipe. The balance of size and texture is great for the overall texture of the dish.
Substitute: Any beans will work – cannellini, pinto, or even chickpeas will work here.
Corn
We love the balance the corn gives in chili. You can use fresh or canned corn for this recipe.
Substitute: Carrots, Butternut or acorn squash, fresh cubed pumpkin, or sweet potatoes are all ingredients that will work in place of corn.
Tomatoes
We’re using fire roasted tomatoes to give a bit more smokiness to the overall dish.
Substitute: You can use any diced tomatoes, fresh or canned.
Chipotle Pepper in Adobo
This is where most of our spice and smokiness comes from.
Tip: Since you only need one pepper, you can freeze the remaining peppers in an ice cub tray for later so they don’t go bad before you use again!
Garlic
There’s not a dish that I don’t want to put garlic in. It adds to much depth and flavor to the dish.
Substitute: While it would definitely be different, chives work in place.
Spices
We’re using a combination of fresh herbs, aromatics, and dried spices in order to bring flavor to all aspects of this dish and layer the flavors.
Other Vegan Jamaican Dishes to Try:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Caribbean Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper more or less to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 15 oz canned kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 oz canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 oz canned corn drained and rinsed
- 15 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes not drained
- 2 cups pineapple chunks fresh or canned
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup dry red lentils
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 lime, juiced
Optional Topping Ideas
- Plantain chips
- Avocado
- Vegan sour cream
- Green onions
- red bell pepper, diced
Instructions
- While prepping all your vegetables, preheat your crockpot on high for at least 15 minutes. Once ready, add in your onions, peppers, garlic, and spices. Let this cook for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant.
- Add in everything else except the lime juice. Stir together really well until all the ingredients are well combined. Let cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
- Remove the bay leaf and stir in the lime juice. Serve in bowls with any optional toppings or your favorite chili toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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Frequently Asked Questions
There are no Top 9 Allergens in this dish as written.
This can be stored once cooled in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes, you can freeze this chili for up to 3 months once cooled.
A simple salad goes well and then we usually serve a grain of choice – quinoa, brown rice, farro, etc, and/or vegan cornbread.
Do you have recipe for Chickpea & sweet potato burgers?
Hi! We have chickpea burgers, but they don’t have sweet potato in the recipe. Here’s that if you’d like: https://makeitdairyfree.com/the-best-vegan-chickpea-burgers/
I made this last night and it was delicious! I mostly followed the recipe, with a few substitutions for convenience. I used one cup canned pineapple (drained) and one cup frozen corn. I omitted the pineapple juice because I like my chili a bit on the thick side. I only used one tsp. of chili powder because I’m a wimp. I topped with cilantro because. The result bright, colorful and well-balanced between sweet, spice and smoke. I will definitely make it again. Hightly recommend.
Awww, thank you! We’re so happy to hear that the recipe was a success! Thank you so much for giving it a try and sharing your experience here with us.
do you soak the lentils? or can they go in the way they are with just rinsing?
Hey! No you do not need to soak the lentils prior to adding them to the recipe. Just rinse them prior to adding them in!