Vegan Poblano White Bean Chili
on Oct 10, 2024, Updated Feb 16, 2025
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Smoky and spicy, this hearty vegan white bean chili is loaded with corn and hominy. Poblano peppers give it nice heat. I thicken it by mashing some of the beans. Once the chili finishes simmering, I top each bowl with diced avocados, chopped cilantro and broken tortilla chips. This is a nourishing fall-winter meal or an easy game day chili recipe.
For a creamier corn soup, try this vegan corn chowder made with coconut milk.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tomato-based chili is always great, but it’s good to change it up with a white chili recipe. From the start of fall through the chill of early spring, I am making soups and stews nonstop. Lots of them use a can of tomatoes, so I like having variety in my rotation.
This is a vegan white bean chili recipe. More often you see white chicken chili. Here I keep it plant-based, mashing beans to thicken the broth and roasting poblano peppers to add smoky heat.
Besides white beans, you get corn and hominy in each spoonful. All of these elements make this chili filling and satisfying with a good balance of texture, flavor and bite.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- White beans: I like cannellini beans because they are bigger. Then you end up with a combination of small, medium and large components in the chili including the beans, corn and hominy. You can substitute with smaller navy beans or great northern beans.
- Corn: The recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of sweet corn. If you use frozen corn, it will make the soup take longer to get to the point of boiling and simmering.
- Hominy is corn that has been soaked in a mineral bath, which removes the hull and germ of the corn. As a result, the kernel grows twice its original size.
- Poblano peppers are smoky, and on the heat scale, they are mild.
- Dried spices: I season the soup with ground cumin, chili powder, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Garlic: In addition to the seasonings, I include 2 minced garlic cloves.
- Vegetable broth: For soups, stews and chilies, I use low-sodium veggie broth, so I can control the salt level.
- Olive oil: I sauté the onions, garlic and spices in extra virgin olive oil.
- Cilantro, diced avocado and crumbled tortilla chips: I use all of these to garnish bowls of the chili.
Optional Toppings
Keep in mind that the recipe is a vegan chili as written. If you do add one or more of these, use the dairy-free/plant-based versions as needed to suit your dietary preferences.
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Shredded cheddar and/or monterey jack cheese blend
- Fresh lime juice
How To Make The Vegan White Bean Chili
1. Broil the poblano peppers. Preheat the broiler on high with the rack in the top of the oven. Put the poblano peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil the peppers, about 2 minutes per side, until they are charred all over. Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover, letting them sit for 10 minutes. Then use a towel to rub off the skins. Remove the stems and seeds and chop the peppers.
2. Sauté the onions in a large pot with oil warmed over medium high heat. Give them 5-7 minutes to get soft and translucent.
3. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Keep cooking for a minute until the onions become very fragrant.
4. Add the corn, hominy and beans (except for 1 cup), vegetable broth and water. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer the chili.
5. Mash 1 cup beans with a fork and stir them and the chopped poblano peppers into the chili.
6. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chili has thickened a bit and reduced. Ladle the chili into bowls and top with diced avocados, cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips.
Serving
You can keep it simple and serve this chili with chips or warmed corn or flour tortillas. As mentioned, this recipe is very filling and definitely works as a main dish. With those smoky peppers, you can serve it as a side dish with something Tex-Mex such as chipotle roasted cauliflower tacos or sheet pan vegetarian fajitas.
Storage, Leftovers & Freezing
Allow the chili cool to room temperature before you move it to an airtight container to store it. You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 4 days and in the freezer up to 1 month. Thaw it before warming it on the stove over low to medium heat. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
Recipe Tips
Use a large soup pot. Since you are cooking with hot liquids, you don’t want to have a saucepan filled to the top. It needs a couple inches clear to bubble and simmer.
If you like a thicker chili, simmer it longer. This is where you can cook it to your desired consistency.
Taste the chili to see if you need to adjust the seasonings. You might want to add a little more salt and pepper to get it to the right level for you.
Recipe FAQs
The easiest way to do this is to add more chili powder. Taste the chili as it simmers, to see if you think it needs more heat.
Canned beans are one of my favorite pantry ingredients. They are my go-to for soups and chilis because they are so convenient. If you do prefer dried beans, you will need to cook them first before you make the chili.
More Chili Recipes
Black Bean Chili
Vegan Quinoa Chili
Chile Verde with White Beans
Pumpkin Chili
Three Bean Chili
Sweet Potato Chili
Vegan Poblano White Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can sweetcorn kernels, rinsed and drained
- 1 28-ounce can hominy, rinsed and drained
- 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- Diced avocado, chopped cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler on high with the rack in the top of the oven. Place the poblano peppers on a foil-lined sheet pan. Broil the peppers, about 2 minutes per side until charred. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover. Let the peppers sit for 10 minutes before using a towel to rub off the skin. Remove the stem and seeds from the peppers and roughly chop them.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onions until they start to turn soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper and continue cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the corn, hominy and beans, reserving 1 cup. Pour in the vegetable broth and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer the chili.
- Mash the reserved cup of beans with a fork and stir it into the chili with the chopped poblano peppers.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chili has reduced and thickened slightly.
- Spoon the chili into bowls and top with diced avocados, cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You forgot to say when to add the poblano pepper.
Thanks for catching that! You add the chopped poblano peppers with the corn, hominy and beans. The recipe is updated.
This is delicious! I haven’t cooked with hominy previously and really enjoyed the new addition to white bean chili! Do you use a particular brand? I just bought what was available at the grocery store and it seemed okay. And I love poblanos!!! I will be making the 3 bean chili next. Have made a version of my own forever and am excited to try yours! Glad I found you! 🙂
Hi Carol. I usually do the same with hominy, and I just use whatever brand I find at the grocery. Depending where I am shopping, that’s La Preferida or Juanita’s. I’m so happy you enjoyed the chili!