Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili Recipe

Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili taken by Renée Comet

Looking for an easy recipe to use your heirloom beans in? My Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili Recipe is a great place to start and you can substitute other beans you have on hand for the vaqueros!

Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili is one of the recipes from The Great Vegan Bean Book. This chili and the new book are both packed full of heirloom beans.

In this recipe the heirloom star is vaquero beans. They are black and white and a relative to the anasazi bean and they are very tasty.

What Beans Can I Use in Place of Vaquero Beans?

The best conventional beans to sub would be pinto or black beans. There are tons of other heirloom beans you could use like cranberry beans, rojo beans, lila beans, moro or rio zape just to name a few.

The most important part is that you choose a bean that will stay somewhat firm after cooking.

Vaquero Bean Tempeh Chili Recipe From The Great Vegan Bean Book

This chili has a very rich, dark flavor from the combination of chiles. If you decide to buy heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo, be sure to order some of their yummy chili powders.

2 tablespoons olive oil (*use water or broth)
1/2 small onion (minced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
8 ounces 225 g soy tempeh, diced (**use seitan)
6 cups 1500 g cooked Vaquero beans or 3 cans (15 ounces, or 420 g each) pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup 235 ml water
1 can (14.5 ounces, or 406 g diced tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups (270 g) chopped fresh)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pasilla chile powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
Salt (smoked or plain)
Vegan sour cream **or Cashew Cream (for serving)

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.
Add everything else except the salt and sour cream.
Cook over medium heat and turn to low as soon as it starts to simmer.
Cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until piping hot. Taste and season with salt.
Serve topped with vegan sour cream.

This chili also has 3 different kinds of powdered chilies and tempeh in it to make it perfect for a cold not-quite winter’s day. You can also just substitute some pintos or black beans that you have in your pantry. The beauty of beans is that you can use fancy, special beans or more budget-friendly ones.