Slow cooker veggie chilli recipe

Learn how to make this mouthwatering slow cooker veggie chilli. It's bursting with flavour and is the perfect choice for the vegetarians in your family.

This slow cooker recipe is the ultimate vegetarian chilli – so packed with flavour that you’ll never miss the meat. If you’re a chilli lover, serve a small dish of thinly sliced chillies or some pickled jalapeños alongside for that extra kick. This chilli will take around 4hrs to cook and is well worth the wait. This recipe serves 4-6 people and is just perfect served with a generous helping of guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

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Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 aubergine, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tbsp mild chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 courgette, diced
• 2 peppers, diced
• 100g green beans, cut into 3 cm lengths
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Pinch of sugar (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and diced
• 10 cm piece of cucumber, halved, seeded and finely diced
• Few sprigs of coriander, chopped
• Few sprigs of mint, chopped
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• Zest and juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the aubergine and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and fry the onion, garlic, carrot and spices for 5 minutes over a medium heat until slightly softened. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further minute before adding the cocoa, courgette, peppers, green beans, tomatoes and kidney beans. Allow to heat through then transfer to the slow cooker. Season well, adding a pinch of sugar (if using) and cook for 4 hours on the high setting or 8 hours on low.
3. While the chilli is cooking, make the salsa by mixing together all the ingredients in a serving bowl. Taste and add a little extra lime juice, if you like. Chill until required. Serve the chilli with some rice, baked potatoes or wedges, with the salsa on the side.