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Emma Hartwell

High-Fiber Three-Bean Chili (14g Fiber)

A thick vegetarian chili with 14g of fiber a bowl, thickened by half a cup of red lentils that dissolve completely instead of by cornstarch or masa.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 6 bowls
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Calories: 305
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 red bell peppers diced
  • 2 medium carrots diced small
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 3 tbsp chili powder the mild American blend, not cayenne
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 400g can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup dry red split lentils rinsed — these are the thickener
  • 2 cups vegetable stock plus more if it tightens too far
  • 1 400g can black beans low sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 1 400g can red kidney beans low sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 1 400g can pinto beans low sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup sweet corn drained
  • 1 lime juice only, or 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • salt and black pepper to taste, at the very end

Method
 

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, peppers and carrots with a pinch of salt for 8–10 minutes, until softened and starting to colour at the edges. Add the garlic for the last minute.
  2. Push the vegetables to one side, add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and tip the chili powder and cumin straight into it. Stir constantly for about 40 seconds, until the smell turns darker and toasted, then stir it through the vegetables. Do not go past a minute — chili powder contains paprika and it turns bitter if you push it. Frying the spices in fat rather than dropping them into liquid is what stops the finished chili tasting dusty.
  3. Add the cocoa powder, crushed tomatoes, rinsed lentils and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring now and then so the lentils do not catch on the bottom. The lid stays off: the pot needs to lose water, and lentils will not thicken anything they are swimming in.
  4. By now the lentils should have disappeared entirely and the base should be visibly thick. Add all three cans of drained beans and the corn, and simmer another 10 minutes just to heat through and take on flavour. Longer than that and the bean skins start to split.
  5. Test the thickness by dragging a spoon through the middle — the channel should hold its shape for a second rather than flooding back. If it is still loose, simmer a few minutes more; if it has gone too far, loosen with a splash of stock.
  6. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice or vinegar. Then taste and season. Salt goes in last because three cans of beans carry more of it than you expect, even the low-sodium ones.

Notes

Fiber: 88.5g across the pot, so ≈14.8g per bowl of six, computed from USDA values — 17.3g black beans, 13.8g kidney, 13.8g pinto, 10.7g lentils, 8.4g chili powder, 7.6g tomatoes, 6.3g peppers, 3.4g carrots, 3.3g corn, 2.6g onion, 1.6g cumin/garlic/cocoa.
The lentils are not optional. They are the whole reason this is thick without cornstarch or masa, and they vanish — nobody who eats it will identify a lentil. Use split red lentils, not green or brown; those hold their shape.
Three beans, not three cans of one. The fiber difference between them is under a gram, so this is about texture: black stay firm, pinto go creamy, kidney give you something to bite.
Adding meat: brown 500g of turkey or beef mince first and drop one can of beans to keep the volume sane. That lands near 12g of fiber a bowl.
Storage: 5 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen, and genuinely better on day two. It thickens in the fridge — reheat with a splash of water.