This spicy, smoky, savory pulled jackfruit chili is mind-blowing! Not only is this healthy, vegan, easy, budget friendly, it is also the best chili I’ve ever made!
Vegan Jackfruit Chili
So it finally dropped below 62 degrees here in Southern California, so I decided it was time for my Jackfruit Chili!!! This is such a versatile dish, you can customize this to your palette, let’s walk through a couple of options:
- Jackfruit ~ I know this is in the title of the recipe, however, if you are unable to find jackfruit in your neck of the woods, you can always double the amount of mushrooms, add another can of beans, or add a can of corn. Whatever you have on hand! I am lucky to have a Trader Joes in my neighborhood and they always have the green, young jackfruit in brine, canned.
- Beans ~ For this recipe I used black beans and dark kidney beans, they’re the typical chili beans. You can use any kind of beans you prefer: light kidney, pinto, or white white northern.
- Bell Pepper ~ I used green bell pepper in this recipe because it was on sale, you can use whatever color you prefer. You could even use mini sweet peppers, I always seem to have a bag of those around!
- Carrots ~ I always have a bag of carrots, so I try to incorporate them in dishes whenever I can. They give a good taste, texture and add great nutrition. You can omit these if you don’t have any on hand or replace with two stalks of celery.
- Mushrooms ~ I always like to add mushrooms to soups and stews because…well why not?! I love mushrooms and they give an earthly taste to a meal. I prefer to use baby bella mushrooms because they seem to hold up better in cooking. They also seem to last longer in the fridge if you buy the ahead of time. If you do not like mushrooms, you can either add another can of jackfruit or another can of beans.
- Chipotles Peppers in Adobo Sauce ~ Okay, this is my absolutely favorite pepper/spice for chili! It has such a smokey flavor. This recipe calls for one pepper plus one Tablespoon of adobo sauce. This makes for a level 5 heat on a scale of 1 thru 10. I actually double this amount, this is a spice lovin household! You can always start with less spice and add more to each bowl for each spice tolerance level! Also, keep in mind that the spice will increase the longer it sets, leftovers always tend to be spicier.
- Toppings ~ Let’s talk about the fun stuff! Again, we love spice in this house, so of course I add some pickled jalepeno to my chili. My husband loves anything with Fritos chips added to it! Just make sure they are the original Fritos if you are concerned with them being vegan. Some of the new flavors they have come out with are not vegan. Additional toppings, but not limited to: diced onion, avacado, cilantro, sliced olives, chopped tomatoes, tortilla strips, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, lime…possibilities are endless! It would be fun to have a ‘build your own chili bowl’ party!
Let’s get cooking!
Okay! Now that we know how we’re going to top this awesome chili, let’s get cooking! I have included directions for Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, and Stove Top recipe. I’ve tried all versions and they all turn out great and they are all just as easy to prepare!
First, we need to drain and rinse the jackfruit. If you have the jackfruit that is canned in brine, make sure you rinse well to get the brine taste out of it. As the jackfruit is sitting in the strainer, take your hands and ‘pull’ the jackfruit until it resembles pulled pork. Some people will cut off the hard core at the end of jackfruit, I find this is not necessary, it will cook down just fine.
Then I saute the vegetables using the saute mode of my instant pot or slow cooker. If your slow cooker does not have a stove-top function, simply saute in a pan on the stove. If you omit this step, the chili will still be fine!!! Add all ingredients and let it cook! It’s as simple as that! The chili will be fine on warm mode for a couple of hours. This will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for a couple of months. I have made this in the past for meal prep for the week, yes, made all my co-workers very jealous!
Jackfruit Chili
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This spicy, smoky, savory pulled jackfruit chili is mind-blowing! Not only is this healthy, vegan, easy, budget friendly, it is also the best chili I’ve ever made!
Ingredients
1–20 ounce can jackfruit, in water or brine
1 yellow or white onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 package mushrooms (8 ounces)sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 carrots, diced
1 – 15 ounce can black beans
1 – 15 ounce can dark kidney beans
1 – 15 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (diced) + 1 Tbps of adobo sauce
2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (make sure it is vegan brand if you do not want the anchovies in it)
1 1/2 Cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions:
Heat instant pot on saute mode and saute onions until soft about 4 minutes.
Add bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic and carrots and continue to saute for an additional 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining ingredients and give it a stir. Set pressure cooker for high pressure 8 minutes.
Note: the instant pot may take 15 – 20 minutes to come to pressure before it starts counting down.
Once done, manual release and give it a minute to cool.
It can stay in warm mode for up to two or three hours if needed.
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Directions:
Heat slow cooker on stove-top mode and saute onions until soft about 4 minutes. (or use stove top and skillet if your slow cooker does not have this option)
Add bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic and carrots and continue to saute for an additional 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker and give it a stir. Set on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours.
It can stay on warm mode for up to two or three hours if needed.
Enjoy!
Stove Top Directions:
Heat a non stick large pot on medium heat and saute onions until soft about 4 minutes.
Add bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic and carrots and continue to saute for an additional 4-5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining ingredients and give it a stir. Bring to boil. Once boiling, set to a low simmer. Let simmer for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe calls for 1 chipotle chili plus 1 TBSP of the adobo sauce, I actually double this because I love the heat! Feel free to adjust this for your spice tolerance level!
Leftovers go great over rice, noodles or a baked potato.
If you have my Homemade Mexican Spice Blend on hand, you can simply replace the spices listed above with 2 1/2 TBSP of this blend Homemade Mexican Spice Blend
This chili will keep in the fridge for 5 days, it also keeps very well in the freezer for 3 months.
I based the nutritional value for 1 1/2 cup per serving. Prep/Cook time based on pressure cooker directions.
Please make sure and Pin this recipe so you can refer back to us easily! Would love to hear your comments!
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Easy
- Cuisine: Vegan
Keywords: Vegan Jackfruit Chili
