This Smoky Aubergine Vegetarian Chilli Recipe Is A Vegan-Friendly Flavourfest

Recipes
(Image credit: Unknown)

In our minds, no healthy cooking repertoire is complete without a go-to veggie chilli. You can pack it with enough veg to hit your five-a-day in one sitting, and ramp up the flavour with all sorts of spices. Furthermore, it’s easy to cook extra portions of this kind of meal to store in the fridge or freezer – and it tastes just as good when reheated as it did the first time around.

If you don’t have a chilli in your apron pocket already, give this recipe from the new WW Veggie & Vegan cookbook (£8.95) a whirl. It’s vegan-friendly, takes 40 minutes to make and packs even more veg by including cauliflower rice in the serving suggestion. You can buy cauli rice ready-made in microwaveable packages these days, or blitz up a cauliflower at home using a food processor (fast, easy) or a grater (slow, hard).

Ingredients (serves four)

  • Calorie-controlled cooking spray
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1tbsp tomato purée
  • ½tbsp ground cumin
  • ½tsp mild chilli powder
  • 1tbsp sweet smoked paprika, plus extra to serve
  • ½tbsp dried oregano
  • 2 large aubergines, cut into 1½cm pieces
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 400ml vegetable stock, made with 1 stock cube
  • 400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • Grated zest and juice of ½ lime, plus lime wedges, to serve
  • 500g cauliflower rice
  • 100g plain soya yogurt, to serve
  • Small handful fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method

  1. Mist a large nonstick pan with cooking spray and set over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for six to eight minutes until soft. Add the garlic, tomato purée, spices and oregano, and cook for another two minutes.
  2. Stir in the aubergines and cook for one minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and stock. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until the aubergine is tender.
  3. Add the kidney beans and the lime juice, then season to taste. Simmer for another five minutes, until the beans are warmed through.
  4. Meanwhile, mist a large nonstick frying pan with cooking spray and set over a medium heat. Add the cauliflower rice and cook, stirring, for five minutes until tender.
  5. Put the yogurt in a small bowl and sprinkle over the lime zest and extra paprika. Serve the chilli with the cauliflower rice, yogurt and lime wedges, with the coriander scattered over the top.
Nick Harris-Fry
Senior writer

Nick Harris-Fry is a journalist who has been covering health and fitness since 2015. Nick is an avid runner, covering 70-110km a week, which gives him ample opportunity to test a wide range of running shoes and running gear. He is also the chief tester for fitness trackers and running watches, treadmills and exercise bikes, and workout headphones.