Lentil chili with pinto beans

Lentil chili with pinto beans

This chili is perfect for pretty much everything; nachos, vegan hot dogs, chili cheeze fries, tacos, smothered on top of a burrito, taco salads and so much more! It also pairs excellent with my Cashew Chipotle sauce recipe (see previous blog post). 

Ingredients for first step: 

• 1 small - medium cooking onion, diced or julienned.  
• 2.5 - 3 cups of sliced mushrooms 
• 1 yellow pepper, diced small 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced 
• 2 TBSP tomato paste 
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/2 cup veggie broth 
• 1 tsp avocado oil 
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper 

Instructions for first step: 

Sauté onions in 1 tsp avocado oil until slightly caramelized.  Once caramelized add veggie broth, mushrooms, yellow pepper (you can also use a green or red pepper), finely diced garlic and ground pepper. Stir all ingredients together and once veggies have softened add tomato paste, cilantro and stir items all together. Take off burner and move onto the next step. 

Ingredients for step two: 

• Crushed tomatoes, large can (796 ml)
• 1/2 cup green lentils
• One can of pinto beans 
• 2 TBSP Franks Red hot sauce (I forgot cayenne pepper at the store, so this was my substitute; however, I would have also added 1/2 tsp of cayenne if I had it). 
• 2 tsp's chili powder 
• 1 tsp cumin 

Instructions for step two: 

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir together. Once stirred, add ingredients in step one and mix in well. Once everything is all stirred together put slow cooker on high and cook for 3.5 - 4 hours. Or if you are planning on cooking the chili during the day, leave for 7 - 8 hours on low. 

**Note: I used a small slow cooker. If you are using a larger one, all ingredients should be doubled.** 

**Optional: I had jalapeño's in a jar and I used 2 TBSP's of the juice in the chili. **

Enjoy!!! 😋

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