No, I haven’t lost my mind. This tastes incredible. I’m willing to bet that even your kids will like it. In fact, you really don’t even taste the kale over the spices, but you get the benefit of all the nutrients. Kale is my miracle food (see this post) so if I can think of a way to add it in a recipe, it’s going in!
This cooks up very fast because everything except the onion and red pepper is already cooked. I labeled this “Cooking for One” because even though it makes a big batch, it freezes well, so don’t be shy about piling in any leftovers from the fridge, like tomatoes.
If you haven’t used vegan (fake) ground beef before, you might want to give it a try. I use the Lightlife brand of Smart Ground which is available at Whole Foods. It has 11 grams of protein, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 6 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 1 gram of sugar in a 1/3 cup serving. I use this in spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, “meat” loaf, etc. Just open the package and crumble it with your hands. It looks and tastes like ground beef. But if you don’t want to add it, this chili stands on its own without it – just add an extra can of beans to replace it.
You can garnish this with whatever you want. I used avocado slices, but guacamole, pico de gallo, scallions, or anything you like is great. And vegetarians can add cheddar and sour cream.
Ingredients
1 large red bell pepper, large dice
1 large onion, large dice
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups chopped kale (in food processor)
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cans of beans (cannellini, kidney, black beans, chickpeas, etc. – whatever you like)
1 12-oz. package Lightlife Smart Ground (or 1 extra can of beans)
2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
sea salt to taste
avocado slices or guacamole topping
Directions
- Put 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Add chili pepper flakes, onions, garlic and red peppers. Cook 5 minutes until onions become translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, beans and fake ground beef. Cook another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom – adjust heat as needed. If you like your chili thinner, add water or low sodium tomato juice.
- Add chopped kale and cook another 3 minutes.
- Salt to taste.
- Cut avocado in half. Run knife through avocado to create slices of desired thickness, being careful not to cut through the skin. Scoop out slices by running large spoon carefully around edges of avocado skin.
- Garnish and serve hot.
Miss Polkadot says
Mmmh, this sounds so good. I’ve been adding kale to my basic vegan chili, too, but by far not as finely chopped. It was a little awkward to eat at work that way so I should probably try your version even if it means cleaning my mini food processor.
Miss Polkadot recently posted…Never enough randomness [TMI survey].
Amy says
I like chopping it up well because that way people who aren’t kale fans think it’s just parsley. They are pleasantly surprised to learn it’s kale AND that they like it! Thanks for stopping by!