I love this variation on chili. Made with chunks of eggplant, black beans and lentils. It’s both light and hearty at the same time. I added other layers of flavor too in the form of celery, carrots and onion. We used fire roasted tomatos and diced tomatos which made it spicy enough for me (kind of a lightweight 😉 but you could always add chile powder to the level of heat you desire.
I am thinking I might try this in a lasagna as the sauce layers. May be interesting… I’ll keep you posted 🙂
Top with a dollop of vegan sour cream and some parsley to garnish.
Ingredients
- 1 C Lentils cooked to package instructions
- 1/2 Can Black Beans
- 1 small Eggplant cubed
- 1 small Onion chopped
- 1 stalk Celery diced
- 1 large Carrot diced
- Vegetable Oil
- 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes you could also use crushed tomatos
- 1 Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 C Vegetable Broth
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Chile Powder to level of desired heat
- Vegan Sour Cream
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add vegetable oil to a large stock pot. Saute the onion, celery and carrots until tender.
- Add the cubed eggplant and cook until tender.
- Add the Fire Roasted (or Crushed) Tomatoes and the Diced Tomatoes.
- Cook dried lentils to package instructions. You can use vegetable broth instead of water for added flavor.
- Add in the lentils and black beans.
- Add the broth. It will still appear pretty thin at this point. Simmer for an hour or until thickened and cooked down.
- Serve with a dollop of vegan sour cream and/or parsley, if desired.
Jennifer says
Could this be made in a crockpot?
aimee says
Hi Jennifer, the only thing I’d worry about is the eggplant getting too soft and falling apart, but everything else would certainly be ok.
Kalpesh Pandya says
Aimee , / Jennifer
Add Eggplant in the last so that it wont be falling apart
Angie says
This looks like a great recipe but I need a few clarifications. Do you mean one cup of uncooked lentils or a cup of cooked lentils? Also when do I add the chili powder? And approx how much? Thanks
aimee says
Hi Angie, I used uncooked and then cooked them to the package instructions. However, this amount is completely up to you. More or less….it’s just a matter of preference. And the same goes for chile powder. Since I used fire roasted tomatoes, I personally felt it was spicy enough. If you are using them as well, I would taste before adding the chile powder and then add it 1/4 tsp at a time until you reach the desired level of heat. I would wait to do this until after the broth has simmered and reduced down because the flavors will intensify. I hope that helps! 🙂
Sharon says
What size of can for the tomatoes and black beans?
aimee says
Hi Sharon, I use standard 14.5 to 15 ounce cans for this recipe 🙂