Chop carrots, mushrooms, red onion, and red pepper into ½ inch pieces or smaller. Then measure out the remaining ingredients.
Add all ingredients into a large crockpot, stir and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
Once cooked, use a stand or immersion blender to blend the vegetarian chili. This step is very important and gives this recipe the classic chili texture. If you skip this step the chili will be more like soup. Take 1-2 cups of chili out of the crockpot and add to a stand blender. Pulse until small chunks remain and add it back to the crockpot and stir. If using an immersion blender just stick it in the crockpot and pulse and stir until you reach your desired chili texture.
Serve the chili warm with optional toppers and enjoy!
Leftover Storage: Store leftover chili in a airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat until warm in the microwave or add back into the crockpot on WARM to serve at parties or tailgates.
Freezer Options: You can prep the veggie chili and add all ingredients into a large bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to eat add frozen to a crockpot and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW 8 hours or until cooked through. Or, de-thaw overnight and follow recipe cooking instructions.
Ingredient Substitutions: You could of course add meat to this chili or swap out some of the veggies. Some other veggie options include zucchini, squash, sweet potato, eggplant, some jalapeno pepper for some spice or a different color pepper
Serving Suggestions: Some of my favorite toppers for this vegetarian chili are fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, tortilla chips, plain non-fat Greek yogurt, shredded cheese or oyster crackers.
SEE BLOG POST ABOVE FOR STOVE TOP AND INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS
Nutritional Information does not include suggested toppers