So…it snowed here AGAIN today. Seriously…this is getting crazy. Too much winter and not enough summer make Courtney go crazy. *hah* I’m longing for lounging on a patio and spending the day at the beach reading a good book. *sigh* Alas, the forecast states we will finally be in positive digits by the weekend. Fingers crossed!!! :)
Even though the snow made me a tad cranky today, this delicious veggie chili mac was perfectly warm and comforting. A few weeks back, my mom made this veggie chili mac for my dad, Jesse and me for Sunday dinner. We all loved it. Such a simple one-pot dish with so much flavour. I’m generally not a fan of vegetarian ground crumbles, but they worked perfectly in this dish to add some texture. The veggie crumbles and the beans made this dish a protein power house and was incredibly filling. This dish has become a go-to meal in our home. We’ve already made it a number of times. It’s great if you are looking to have some left-overs available for lunches and such.
Hope you are all having a great week! Any plans for the upcoming weekend? If it’s nice out, I plan on going for a few long walks. It’s been too long since I properly spent time outside. We are also going out for dinner with some good friends on Saturday. And, i’m hoping to spend some time in the kitchen over the weekend as well. I have so many recipes I want to try and share :)
Ingredients
- 1 pound of veggie ground
- 1 tablespoon of canola oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1-28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1-19 oz can of white or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of vegan Worcestershire sauce (such as The Wizard's Vegan Worcestershire Sauce)
- 1 pound of whole wheat pasta (radiatore or your favourite fun-shaped pasta)
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese or vegan cheddar cheese
- sour cream or vegan sour cream
- diced avocado
Method
- In a large saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until the onions are slightly translucent and soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add vegetarian ground and break up with a wooden spoon. If using frozen vegetarian ground, sauté until cooked through (about 5 minutes).
- Add garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, dried thyme and pepper followed by the crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add brown sugar and vegan worcestershire sauce followed by the canned kidney beans. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- While your chili simmers at a low-heat, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Once pasta is al dente, drain the pasta and add to the chili. Remove from heat.
- Serve the chili mac with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese or vegan cheddar cheese. Garnish with sour cream and avocado slices if desired.
Note: For my Canadian friends, I highly recommend using the President’s Choice Blue Menu vegetarian ground crumble. In my opinion, it has great texture. Also, if you cannot find vegan worcestershire sauce, you can omit it or add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the chili.
Source: adapted from Canadian Living Magazine
this is the perfect meal to have when you need comfort from the snow outside. boo for snow in spring ;( i hope it’s 70 degrees soon and you can eat chips and salsa all day long ;)
Make 4 me!
This looks delicious. I love the cute little pinwheel pasta.
Sorry about the snow! I think I remember getting snow in mid-April when we were in Wisconsin, but never the end of April–that just isn’t right! But this is definitely the kind of hearty meal to help get you through a snowstorm. :)
We had snow on Wednesday down in London too – crazy! Thankfully the weather here has warmed up since then, hope yours does too! In the meantime this is a great comfort dish to keep you warm!
this sounds so wonderfully flavorful!! i’ve gotta try this! hope your weather starts to get warm soon :)
This does sound so good and I would be perfect for lunch the next day! Since the weather has been so nice Justin and I have been spending as many of our waking hours outside getting the Garden and Yard ready for summer! I love this time of year :)
I’ve never tried chili and pasta together, but it sounds like the perfect combination of two hearty comfort foods! Hope you got some sun this weekend – Saturday here was beautiful and I sat outside reading in shorts for the first time!
Mmm, sounds perfect! The weather has been so up and down here… snow, then really warm, then rainy and cold again… ugh! Luckily the weekends have been nice enough. I love spending time outside while it’s nice out, before it gets too hot to move. Hiking, biking, playing frisbee, you name it, I’m game! :)
Oh Court – you poor little monkey… sure you don’t want to move to Toronto? ;) This week I’ve started running outside in the mornings. It’s nice enough now I can get away with a light jacket (if I need a jacket at all). Great looking mac though!! I love me some mac!
I keep thinking of moving! *hah* But now the weather is improving…so I’ll wait to move….for now. *hehe*
Oh yummy! Kaston would absolutely die over this! I’ll have to make it ASAP! Hope you’re well!
This looks great, but I’ve never heard of veggie ground… What would it be called in the UK? Thanks!
It’s like ground beef but made of soy :) maybe like hydrated tvp?
This just looks like the ultimate comfort food! I love the pinwheel pasta! :-)