Looking for your next meal to serve while watching Sunday football? This Four Bean Chili is the perfect comfort food for those chilly Fall days while cheering on your favorite team from the coziness of your couch. Packed with four different types of beans, as well as assorted veggies and mushrooms, you can’t deny that this chili is a filling and healthy meal to indulge in. Whether you prefer to top it with cheese, sour cream, or scoop it up with tortilla chips, this chili will not disappoint.

Ingredients:

• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 8oz cans of diced tomatoes and peppers
• 24oz of mixed dried beans (I used a combination of black, red kidney, pinto, and canellini)
• 1 cup of dried lentils
• 8oz mushrooms
• 1 large sweet onion
• 3 poblano peppers
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 can of light beer
• 1 cup of frozen sweet corn
• 1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp vegan sour cream (I use Violife Vegan Sour Cream)
• 1 tbsp vegan cheddar shreds (I use Violife Vegan Cheddar Shreds)

Seasoning Mixture:

• 3 Tbsp Ancho Chili Powder
• 1 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp Mustard Powder
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp of Hot Sauce (I prefer Franks RedHot for chili)
• 3 Tbsp of BBQ sauce

Instructions:

1. Soak the beans overnight in a large pot of water. Alternative quick soak method: add beans to a large pot of boiling water, turn off heat, and let beans soak for 1 hr.
2. Strain the beans. Refill pot with water and a few tbsp of salt. Boil beans for 1-2 hours, until tender (time will vary depending on types of beans you are using).
3. In a separate pot, boil 2 cups of water with 1 cup of lentils for 20min until tender.
4. Dice onion and poblano peppers. Finely shred sweet potato.
5. In a food processor or blender, pulse the mushrooms until they are finely chopped and resemble ground beef (you still want individual pieces, not a mushy paste).
6. In a large dutch oven on medium heat, add a few tbsp of oil, and mushrooms. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. As the mushrooms cook they will let out a lot of moisture. Once all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, add a few tbsp of water to deglaze the pan.
7. In the deglazed pan of mushrooms, add onion, peppers, sweet potato, and seasonings. Sautee for 2-3 min until the onions start to soften. Increase heat to high and add cans of crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and peppers, beans, lentils, 1 1/2 cups of water, and light beer to the pot.
8. Once the chili starts to bubble, lower the heat to simmer.
9. Simmer chili for at least 1 hour. Add more liquid as needed if the chili becomes too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. When ready to serve, add 1 cup of frozen sweet corn, and 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast. Stir until corn is tender and warm.
11. Top with vegan cheddar shreds, sour cream, and cilantro. Enjoy!