Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipes

If you haven't already gotten out your slow cooker to make homemade applesauce, we bet these chili recipes will tempt you. As the weather cools off, it's a pleasure to come home to a hot dish waiting in the slow cooker. An added bonus of going meatless on occasion is that it's easier on your wallet. Dust off your slow cooker and check out these simple, tasty slow cooker vegetarian chili recipes.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipes: Lentil Chili

This chili from Two Peas & Their Pod is similar to traditional chili, with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, red beans and chili powder, of course. Replace the ground beef with lentils, which are not only highly nutritious, but also sustainable to produce worldwide.

Feel free to add extra carrots, onions and peppers. We'd shred the carrots instead of dicing them to help make sure they're soft when the rest of the chili is finished cooking. If you have children with sensitive tastebuds, go ahead and leave the jalapeño out (but add it to your own bowl when serving).

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipes: Quinoa Black Bean Chili

Quinoa is a protein-packed addition in this chili from Jessica in the Kitchen. Not only does quinoa give this dish plenty of substance, a little goes a long way. The recipe only calls for half a cup of dry quinoa.

Jessica notes that she'd been concerned about whether her chili might be too dry. While her ingredient proportions worked out fine, you might consider tossing in some shredded zucchini which will add moisture too.

Even if you want to top this vegan chili with cheese, we suggest giving the cashew sour cream a shot. It may surprise you how delicious cashew cream can be. Finally, unless your slow cooker is on the small side, we suggest doubling the recipe and freezing the leftovers.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipes: Chickpea Curry

While this dish from A Spicy Perspective isn't technically chili, it is vegetarian, and it's made in the slow cooker. That's good enough for us. Plus, we love Sommer's story of learning to cook authentic Indian dishes while she worked in India one summer. It gives us even more confidence that her recipe is the real deal.

To make this curry, you will need garam masala, which you can find at an Indian grocery or even at Target. Definitely use fresh ginger, but feel free to use half cream and half coconut milk like Sommer does. Don't forget to save the aquafaba from the chickpeas!

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipes: Tangy Baked Bean Chili

We love this cross between baked beans and vegetarian chili from Boulder Locavore. She thinks it would be perfect for eating while watching a Sunday football game, and we agree. Again, we'd shred the carrot instead of slicing it, to ensure it cooks up soft. We might even serve this chili with tortilla chips for crumbling or dipping into it.

Of all the slow cooker vegetarian chili recipes we've featured, this one tempts us to add ground beef. Considering Toni's recipe makes 6-7 cups of chili, we think adding a half pound of ground beef or turkey could be a great way to ease into eating a greater proportion of plants.