Black Bean & Quinoa Chili
Well the people have spoken… Mexican it is! I am quite pleased you picked this one. Although yesterday was officially the first day of Spring, I think we can allow ourselves one last wintery comfort food meal before diving into some Springtime goodies (asparagus… I’m coming for you…!), and this Black Bean Quinoa Chile is just the ticket.
This is fast becoming one of my favourite simple staples, it’s a great winter warmer and its also packed to the brim with protein and fibre. I love the texture of the quinoa in it too… yum! So delicious. Although I have been making this for a long time, it took me a while to pin down an exact recipe. For me, chili is one of those dishes where you throw in all the spices and you just know its going to be good. Therefore I encourage you to use the seasonings in the recipe below as more of a guide… experiment and tweak it to your taste!
Do you have a secret Chili ingredient?
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tin (14oz) black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 2 tins (14oz) chopped tomatoes (including all the liquid)
- 1 cup/175g of quinoa (uncooked)
- 2½ cups/750ml water
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- pinch of cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
- avocado and fresh coriander (optional, for topping)
- Saute the diced onion over medium heat for about 2 minutes
- Add minced garlic and cook for another minute, stirring so the garlic doesn't burn
- Next add the spices and give everything a good mix
- Finally add the beans, tomato, water and quinoa, put a lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
Notes
Like all good Chili, this one will get tastier if you leave it for a day, however you may need to add more water as the Quinoa soaks all the liquid up.
Great food! Tastes just as good as those pictures look!
Ooh, I love the idea of this quinoa based chili! It’s definitely still winter around here, so I’m sure I can squeeze this recipe in before the seasons change!
Yes its definitely a great way to incorporate some texture to veggie chili! Hope you like it 🙂
This was such a great recipe. I used half the recommended cayenne to make it so it wasn’t too spicy for my kids, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. It was soooo tasty! Thank you!
So happy you liked it Emily!
Hi did you use black turtle beans?
Hi Cheryl, yes! Same bean slightly different name 🙂