This vegan apple chili is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy! One of the easiest vegan crockpot chili recipes that you will taste! It will quickly go in your meal plan rotation! Top 8 Allergen Free!
If you are looking for the best vegan chili recipe, then I’m happy to tell you that your search is over. This delicious vegan chipotle apple chili is amazing and a huge hit even amount the little ones.
Chili is one of those dish that you make for two reasons. It’s either freezing outside or you are trying to feed a crowd. Whatever your reason, people are going to line up to ask you what the secret is to making this delicious vegan chili recipe!
This vegan apple chili recipe is actually an inspiration from my friend over at Snacking in Sneakers. Her Turkey Apple Chili sounded delicious and I knew that I needed to recreate it to be a plant based chili as soon as possible!
Apple Chili Recipe Ingredients
This Vegan Apple Chili does need 17 ingredients to make, but before you click that X because you think that’s too many, most of the ingredients are spices!
When you make any type of a vegan chili recipe you are going to need a variety of spices for it to really come together. Still, I would call this an easy vegan chili recipe.
The ingredients that you need for this vegan apple chili are:
- red onion
- garlic
- chipotles in adobo (*See notes below)
- tomato paste
- salt
- pepper
- cumin
- smoked paprika
- chili powder
- cinnamon
- red apple
- low sodium vegetable stock
- apple juice
- lentils
- kidney beans
- pinto beans
- fire roasted tomatoes
How to Make The Best Vegan Chili
One of the best things about making a vegan crockpot chili recipe is that you can pretty much dump and go! Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and then stir is until very well combined. Once combined, cook it on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Stir to combine again at the end and serve.
Do I have to use red apples in this vegan chili?
You do not. We like the flavor the red apples give; however, you can use another apple that you have on hand also. We like something that is slightly sweet with a little tart with this recipe.
Red delicious apples are easy to find and great; however, golden delicious or pink lady apples would yield a very similar flavor. But feel free to use any other type of apple also!
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Can I make vegan crockpot chili on the stove instead?
Yes! Whether you don’t have a crockpot or you need to make this easy vegan chili recipe in a shorter amount of time, you may need to make on the stove. To do that you need just a few different changes to the recipe.
To start, you will need to peel the skins off the apples if you are making this way. Add 1 tablespoon oil to a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes until translucent. Add in the garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If the chili is too thin after 30 minutes, turn the heat up slightly and let evaporate until desired thickness is achieved.
Can I make Vegan Apple Chili in the Instant Pot?
Yes! Add a little of the stock into the bottom of the Instant Pot and hit the Saute method. Add the apples and onions and let saute for 3 minutes. Then, add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Turn off the saute function.
Add all the remaining ingredients + an extra ½ cup vegetable stock and stir together well. Push down the ingredients into the broth.
Place the lid on, making sure the valve is set to seal. Cook on High Manual Pressure for 15 minutes.
When done let naturally release for 15 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
Serve.
Can I make this a Top 8 Allergy Friendly Apple Chili recipe?
This recipe as written is already Top 8 Allergen Free. No changes need to. be made to make this a top 8 allergy friendly chili.
Dairy Free Chili Recipe Serving Suggestions
This vegan apple chili is literally delicious all on its own, but there’s also a variety of ways to serve otherwise. We love pairing with vegan garlic bread. But another way we love chili is over baked potatoes or even served over rice (try this cauliflower rice). You could even serve over some warmed plain pasta.
How do you tone down vegan chili that’s too spicy?
Typically, when someone has something too spicy, they reach for dairy. Obviously, we aren’t doing that here. We don’t think this vegan chili recipe is too spicy, but everyone is different.
Still, there are some ways that you can tone down chili if you made it too spicy. Some ways you could do that here are:
- Add more vegetable stock – thinning out the recipe can help
- Put more tomatoes in – tomatoes are acidic and balances out spice.
- Throw in another can of beans. More ingredients tend to spread out the heat, so it can help. You may need more liquid if too thick after adding
- Add in some sugar – sweetness can tame spiciness, but be careful of adding too much. No more than a tablespoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is usually a small can that you will find in almost any grocery store in the Mexican/Spanish aisle. Chipotles are smoke dried jalapeños. You can find them in a can of adobo sauce. It leads to the spiciness of the dish.
You don’t need many for any dish that you make, but the sauce and adobos can be frozen for later use since you won’t use the whole can.
Other Chili Recipes You’ll Love:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Chili Recipe with Apples
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large red apple, diced (*See post notes for other apples)
- 15 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed (270g)
- 15 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed (260g)
- 15 oz fire roasted tomatoes (425g)
- 2 cups vegetable stock (480g)
- 1 cup apple juice (240g)
- ½ cup dried brown or green lentils (100g)
- 1 6oz can tomato paste (170g)
- 2 chipotles in adobo + 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, chopped
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika (sub for regular, we just like the smoky flavor)
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Additional Toppings:
- green onions
- avocado
- dairy free sour cream
- vegan shredded cheese
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a slow cooker and stir well. Place lid on slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Serve warmed with any sides and add any additional toppings.
- Let leftovers cool and store in air tight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
**See post about cooking this recipe to perfection.
Video
Nutrition
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The chili was great. My one issue is that I tried to follow the Instant Pot instructions and the burn alarm went off after a bit, I assume because of the sugar in the apple. But luckily I was able to transfer it into a pot on the stove to finish it and it tasted great.
Weird, that shouldn’t happen, but glad it worked out!
can I use red lentils instead of green/brown? that’s all I have
You definitely can. With the cook time, it’s important to note that they will basically disintegrate, but they work.
I made this with every intention of it being split into a few meals, but it smelled so good that my non-veggie roommate asked to have some. Between us both going back for seconds there was nothing left. He didn’t even want to add anything to it. Fantastic dish!
This is awesome! Thank you so much for giving it a try. Happy to hear that you and your roommate liked it enough to keep going back for more!
Hi Mr. Bernard. Longtime fan and follower of your TikTok and YouTube videos. I made this chili recipe today for a chili cookoff contest at work and won first place. I love that it’s easy to make, delicious, and healthy. That’s a home run! It doesn’t get any better than that. Great depths of flavor and very filling, too. I’m excited to make more of your recipes very soon. Thank you!
Winning first place at your work chili cook-off is fantastic! So happy to hear our recipe brought home the trophy for you. Thanks for the kind words about the flavors and how easy it is to make. Can’t wait for you to try more recipes! Appreciate you being a longtime follower!
ibenjoy all the great recipes. thanks
Awesome!
This looks amazing. Im planning on trying it but Im in Sweden and we do not have the fire roasted tomatoes. Can I replace them with regular canned tomatoes?
Yes you can! If you happen to be able to get liquid smoke, you can add a splash of that to make up for it (or smoked paprika, or a splash of soy sauce/coconut aminos/tamari)
Unbelievable recipe!
Best chili ever!
Yay, so happy you enjoyed
I am eager to try out this recipe. I live with since picky eaters that do not enjoy kidney beans. Whichwo?
You can replace with black beans