Vegetarian chili con carne means no meat, plenty of chili, and great flavour!

Chili con carne but without the carne? Thanks to Quorn it is possible and we will tell you why!

If we say beef mince, what is one of the first recipes that would come to mind? Chili con carne of course! We have a healthy chili con carne recipe, but without the carne. By using Quorn mince meat we got from Whatsinstore, we have a Quorn recipe that any chili con carne lover would approve of, regardless of whether you eat meat or not. 

Quorn is a meat free brand which promises to do its part in bringing taste, nutrition, variety and being kind to our planet. Their ingredients are all gluten free as well. Quorn mince meat is not only lower in calories and saturated fats than beef meat, it also has a much smaller carbon footprint. Meat consumption requires a lot of water, land and produces many greenhouse gas emissions. 

Quorn produces meat free products which have the texture and taste of meat by making use of a protein called mycoprotein. It is naturally occurring and has a low amount of calories, fat but yet high in fibre. Since Quorn products ingredients include mycoprotein, we can enjoy many meat free dishes without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

This vegetarian chili con carne only takes 30 minutes to prepare and has around 275 calories and 9g of fat in each serving. This healthy chili con carne makes 4 servings and is very easy to make. You can pair these with Santa Maria Nacho chips but keep in mind that these chips are not gluten free.

What we love about chili con carne is how perfect this recipe is for those cold, chilly nights. This is the perfect comfort food for when you’re having a bad day as well. You can serve this dish as a meal on its own, or serve it as a series of many other dishes to share. It is also very filling for a reduced number of calories and fat per saving making it a great choice for going on a low calorie or low fat diet.

In this article we lay out how to make chili con carne. So, let’s get started with the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 packet Quorn Mince

500ml tomato sauce passata

400g chopped tomatoes

400g kidney beans

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion

1 red pepper

2 fresh chillies

2 garlic cloves

1 Novi Chocolate cube

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp smoked paprika

Chopped parsley for garnish

Method:

1. Dice the onion and fry in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until brown. 
2. Dice the red pepper and add. Cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Cut the chillies in half and remove the seeds. Dice and add to the pan.
4. Chop the garlic cloves finely and add to the pan.
5. Add the ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder and paprika and cook for two minutes. Stir thoroughly. 
6. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce passata, and tomato paste. Melt the stock cube into the mixture. Stir well. Cook for 8 minutes on low heat.
7. Add in the kidney beans, chocolate cube. Stir.
8. Stir in one packet of Quorn Meat Free Mince and cook for 10 minutes. 
9. Serve with Santa Maria Nacho chips and garnish with chopped parsley.

If you prefer to keep this recipe gluten free, you can swap out the nacho chips for rice. Just as delicious. Feel free to add more seasoning and spice to your recipe if you prefer. 

If you’re interested in other recipes to try out with Quorn mince meat, why not try Quorn cottage pie, Roasted Pumpkin Chilli or perhaps a nice and comforting Quorn mince lasagne. All vegetarian and all great for the colder seasons.