Name: Authentic Texas Red – Oil Free Vegan Legit Chili
Yield: 12ish
Cuisine: Texan
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Chili Powder (1/4 cup is indeed correct. Texas chili is about spice. You can swap ratios with the Chipotle powder for a different flavor); 1 tbsp Chipotle Chili Powder; 2 tsp Ground Cumin; 1/2 tsp Black or White Pepper; 4-6 Cloves Garlic; 1 tsp Paprika; 1 tsp Oregano (use fresh if possible. It really does make a difference); 1 Yellow or White Onion (do not use red for anything but a garnish); 2 Large Bell Peppers (the more colorful the better); 3 Cups Of Vegetable Broth; 2-4 Cups Your Choice of Meat Substitutes (Dixie Diner Strip Beef Not! is best); 1 Can Tomato Sauce (8oz); 1 Can RoTel or Fire Roasted Tomatoes; 1 can Kidney Beans; 1/2 can Refried Beans (regular or black. make sure they are vegan); 1 can Pinto Beans; 0-8 Tbs Pickled Jalapeños (with juice) (If you can name 4 Alamo defenders or have a favorite Vicente Fernandez movie choose 8. If you find Taco Bell exotic, choose 0.); 2-6 Tbs Masa Harina (if necessary to thicken)(it's usually sporting a tamale on the bag)

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EDIT: It turns out, the meat alternative I highly recommend (Beef Not! from Dixie Diners Club) is indeed oil free. Thanks for the heads up Mike.

Authentic Texas Red – Oil Free Vegan Legit Chili

Jan. 3, 2023

by Scott

Cuisine Texan

Category Diet Food

Authentic Texas red chili, oil free and vegan.

Persons

Notes

Adding the beef strips or soy curls does add in oil potentially. So if you are oil free, just omit them. You can add in a cup of kasha or lentils to give it some "meatiness" but it's not really needed. I add the strips because it makes the chili much more authentic.
Also, once you get the base recipe down, you can also add in spices like cinnamon or tamarind to give it a kick of flavor.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Chili Powder (1/4 cup is indeed correct. Texas chili is about spice. You can swap ratios with the Chipotle powder for a different flavor)
1 tbsp Chipotle Chili Powder
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Black or White Pepper
4-6 Cloves Garlic
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Oregano (use fresh if possible. It really does make a difference)
1 Yellow or White Onion (do not use red for anything but a garnish)
2 Large Bell Peppers (the more colorful the better)
3 Cups Of Vegetable Broth
2-4 Cups Your Choice of Meat Substitutes (Dixie Diner Strip Beef Not! is best)
1 Can Tomato Sauce (8oz)
1 Can RoTel or Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Kidney Beans
1/2 can Refried Beans (regular or black. make sure they are vegan)
1 can Pinto Beans
0-8 Tbs Pickled Jalapeños (with juice) (If you can name 4 Alamo defenders or have a favorite Vicente Fernandez movie choose 8. If you find Taco Bell exotic, choose 0.)
2-6 Tbs Masa Harina (if necessary to thicken)(it's usually sporting a tamale on the bag)

Instructions

Combine all the spices together in a small bowl. Set that aside.
Put a 1/2 cup of veggie stock into your rice cooker/InstantPot.
Mince the onions and peppers into your rice cooker and set it to Saute/Simmer.
Saute until they are clear. [pro tip: stir them occasionally so they don't dry out and burn. If they do burn a little, no problem. Just add more stock]
Mince the garlic and add it to the saute. Stir. Stir for a minute or two until you get that amazing garlic smell releasing.
Stir in your beef stips or soy curls and make sure they are well mixed in.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 2 cups of broth and stir to make sure it is well mixed. (You may use any remaining stock later)
Now you pour in that dish of red spices and stir. The chili should start looking really red.
Rinse the pinto beans and pour in pot. Pour the kindey beans in along with all the bean juice. Scoop out and add about half a can of refried beans. Toss in any jalapenos you are using. Stir the chili in well.
At this point, it is looking more like bean soupish so sprinkle in some masa harina and stir it in. Start with 2 tbsps of masa. Stir in the masa and WALK AWAY[pro tip: blue corn masa will give the chili a much darker look but still get the undertone of tamales.]
Chances are, the mix is boiling. Seal the rice/slow cooker or InstantPot and walk away. Come back in 30 minutes to stir making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Wooden spoons are best for this. If you are really hungry, it's ok to eat now. However, if you really want an authentic Texas Red flavor, switch your device over to slow cooker low mode and walk away. 3-6 hours is optimal for me but that is all up to you.
[pro tip: if you come back and the chili is soupy, add in more masa a couple tablespoons at a time and stir. Give the masa a chance to thicken so check again in 30 minutes. I perssonally enjoy a THICK chili, but that is up to you.

https://fatguyonabike.org/authentic-texas-red-oil-free-vegan-legit-chili/

These Sacred Things

In Texas, there are a few things that we hold sacred:

chili
spring football
fall football
The Alamo
God
country

The order of these things is not by accident. Seriously. You get to know Texans and they take chili very seriously. Real Texas red is a pretty traditional food. Chili is a very traditional peasant food. It’s got rough ingredients and can be made easily and most importantly cheaply. There is a reason it’s practically a religion.

Most authentic Texas chili has no beans but a LOT of meat. That’s disgusting but it does taste good. This recipe is as close to legit Texas Red as I’ve come to find. Like most recipes, it’s a base that you can experiment and play with.

How To Serve

Chili is usually served just in a bowl, all by itself. Good chili doesn’t need anything to accompany it. This isn’t Cincinnati where you hide your shame of the addition of weird seasonings with onions and cheese. This isn’t California so you don’t see it being served with avocado.

That bit of Texas hyperbole being said, there are a few ways I really like to eat my chili.

Over Cornbread – Put some mealy and corn-rich cornbread at the bottom of the bowl and pour your steaming chili over the top. The cornbread will soak up some of the juice from the chili, if there is any, and also can help cut the heat. This also helps enhance the tamale flavor that the chili recipe I gave has. I’m going to upload my cornbread recipe soon.
Rice – You can always serve your chili with rice. This is probably the more traditional way to eat it since boiled rice was traditionally easier to come by than cornbread. Rice is also very cheap and will last longer if you do meal prep and bulk make chili dishes in advance.
Frito Pie – Yes, Fritos are vegan. They are not healthy, but they are vegan. In Texas, you traditionally get an individual sized bag of Fritos slice along the side. The chili is then poured into the Frito bag which now serves as an ersatz chili bowl. This is actually kinda fun and brings back memories of my childhood.
Baked Potato – It tastes great over a baked spud.
Crackers – You can put Saltines on the side. This was how my dad preferred his chili served.
Pasta – I know that some people like chili served over pasta but this chili recipe doesn’t lend itself to that. Go with a less bean filled and more lentil style chili.

Q&A

Can I do XYZ with the recipe

Yes. Chili is really versatile. I really like a bit of tamarind in mine. A Mexican friend introduced me to it in chili and I came to love it. I’ve had it with chocolate as well. It basically becomes a mole at that point in my book. You can also add in sliced avocado for a more CaliMex feel to the recipe.

You can top it with shredded onions, or even vegan cheese.

I’ve seen people put finely shredded carrots over the top to cut the heat as well as things like shredded celery or bok choi.

Note: You can’t top it with ketchup. That is against the law. It’s one of the most common uses of the death penalty in Texas for good reason.

Chili never has beans dangit!

Again, see my earlier comment about Texas chili traditions.

What about [insert fruit name] in the recipe

Please, just get off the internet.

Now.

Never log on again.

Seriously, who the hell puts dates in their chili?! I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen that.

But soy curls or Beef Not! is highly processed...

Yes they are. They aren’t healthy since they are so ridiculously processed but they really do an amazing job replacing meat in this recipe.

If you do WFPBNO then just leave them out and substitute lentils instead.