Chilli Non Carne
This Martin Shaw recipe is a Viva! classic – it’s been fed to tens of thousands of people at Viva!’s Incredible Veggie Roadshows and ticks all the boxes: cheap, easy, freezes well and is enjoyed by meat eaters and veggies alike! The original recipe uses frozen veggie mince, widely available but we also offer a wholefood option using whole lentils. Make it mild for kids and other chilli-haters by using just a small amount of mild chilli powder – just serve hot pepper sauce on the side for heat-lovers!
Budget options: use dried savoury TVP (soya mince) or home cooked whole lentils.
Serving suggestions
- Guacamole – mash up 1-2 ripe avocadoes with a little salt, a little crushed garlic and a squeeze or two of lime or lemon juice – taste as you go! A little chopped chilli; chopped tomato; fresh chopped coriander also good… Or try our Pea Guacamole recipe!
- Brown or white rice; quinoa; tortillas or wraps
- Tomato salsa, from a jar, chilled tub or home-made
Gluten-free
- Omit veggie mince and use a tin of lentils/beans (approximately 250g drained)
- Replace wheat tortillas with Warburton’s GF wraps or a similar GF and vegan product
Soya-free
- Use lentils/beans, as with GF option
Nut-free
- Omit peanut butter OR use another nut or seed butter if the allergy is specific to some nuts but not all (eg cashew, tahini would work)
Diabetic/reduced-fat
- Replace oil with oil spray or use 1 teaspoon oil only
- Omit peanut butter – but remove about a small ladle’s worth of chilli from the pan, blend it then return to pan – this will thicken the sauce and make it a bit more creamy
- Replace frozen veggie mince with dried veggie mince or lentils/beans
- Omit guacamole – replace with our Pea Guacamole recipe: low-fat, protein-rich and budget
Total time
30-40 minutes
Cuisine
Mexican, Central and South American
Meal
- mains
- lunches
Servings
4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ red pepper, chopped
- 1 medium courgette, chopped in half lengthways, then sliced into semi-circles
- 110g/4oz mushrooms, chopped roughly
- 225g/8oz veggie mince (eg Fry’s, Linda McCartney or supermarket own-brands in the freezer – not Quorn as it’s not vegan. See note above about alternatives)
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp vegan bouillon powder OR 1 Green Oxo
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- ½ tsp mild chilli powder (or more to taste)
- 1 tsp paprika OR smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp peanut butter – magic ingredient. Try it. Really. Other nut butters are good too, eg cashew or almond
- 110g/4oz sweetcorn, rinsed and drained
- Half a tin (100-120g cooked) of beans: black, kidney or pinto
- Salt if required (bouillon/stock cubes are quite salty)
Plus any of the serving options above
Instructions
- Fry onion and red pepper in oil until soft.
- Add garlic, courgette and mushrooms and cook till mushrooms are golden brown.
- If using veggie mince option, add it now plus the spices and fry 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. (If mixture sticks, add some of tinned tomato juice.)
- Add peanut butter and stir until it has melted in. Add the tinned tomatoes, stock cube/bouillon and tomato purée, stir well and simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat.
- If using cooked lentils (instead of veggie mince) add them now plus sweetcorn and kidney beans to chilli and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Serve hot with options of your choice.
Optional extras / notes
-
30-40 minutes, depending on how quick you are!
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