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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Yummy!
Thank you!
Hi, was just wondering about the measurements – I’m UK based so was going to go off the metric ones, but there’s different grams for the same ounce measures? Unless I’m mistaken 15oz is about 450g, is there something I’m missing? Also the cup measures are in grams which is a little confusing 😅
Great question… you’re not missing anything
The confusion comes from drained vs. undrained weight.
15 oz ≈ 425–450 g, but that’s the weight of the entire can including the liquid. In this recipe, the beans are drained and rinsed, so the liquid is discarded.
Once drained, a 15-oz can of kidney beans weighs about 240–260 g, which is why the gram amount is lower.
Hope that clears it up, and thanks for cooking along from the UK!
Going to try this after all the good reviews for myself and my vegan father. I have celiacs and have been unsuccessful in finding lentils in my area that are truly gluten free (no cross contamination). Do the lentils add the thickness to this chili? Would this recipe turn out fine with subbing more kidney beans or something else for the lentils?
Protein and some thickness. You could definitely just add more beans – kidney, black, cannellini would all work. We have seen before (we haven’t tried) people mashed half a can to help with the thickening so you could try that as well. One tip is that the amount of liquid in this is used to cook the dried lentils but you wouldn’t need that much since you aren’t cooking them. I would reduce to 1 1/2 cups of stock and 3/4 cups of apple juice. You can always add more if it looks like it needs it at the end. Enjoy!
Yum
Thanks!
I made this chili and it was amazing! I will definitely be keeping this recipe and making it again. I made enough to be able to freeze it and have for later and it was delicious.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the Vegan Dairy Free Chili! We are so happy to hear that it turned out amazing and we totally agree about it freezing well for leftovers! That is always a win!
This is, by far, the best chili I’ve ever had. I’ve made it several times already this fall and winter and it never disappoints. I did add sweet potato to it the last couple of times to make it a little more filling, but I think it’s delicious as is.
Thank you so much for this kind message! We are thrilled to hear that the Vegan Dairy Free Chili has become a repeat favorite for you through the fall and winter. Knowing it never disappoints is such a compliment.
I’ve loved all of the recipes of yours I’ve made so far, but this one is just unforgetable. I made the quicker version on the stove (with precooked lentila and beans it was done in 20 minutes) and used just chili powder for heat which was enough for me. It’s really such a rich and warming dish that’s so easy to make. Apple is a must in this recipe, do not skip it, as it really makes it something special.
Thank you! We are so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit. Thank you so much for giving it a try!