When I decided that I wanted to serve a new chili recipe at my recent annual gfe retreat, this Quick and Easy Four-Bean Vegetarian Chili ended up being the perfect solution!
A key factor in creating this recipe was that I didn’t want to do any washing, slicing, and/or dicing of actual vegetables this time. Haha. But I’m sure you’ve been there before, right?
My other vegetarian chili recipe on gfe is my slow-cooked That Chili with the Mushrooms. It has always been a favorite of my gluten-free girlfriends who attend my retreats. But it does take a bit of preparation and it always makes a huge pot of chili. Sometimes you want a huge pot of chili. Sometimes you don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, a pot of this chili will still feed a family but it doesn’t need to feed two families as That Chili with the Mushrooms easily can.
Plus, obviously with it being a slow cooker recipe you can’t suddenly decide you want it for dinner and have it on the table in 20 minutes. But you can with today’s recipe.
Another requirement was that I wanted the chili to be made with ingredients I always have on hand.
This recipe satisfied all of my requirements but tastes like homemade chili that was cooking all day. We all thought it was wonderful!
Obviously, you already know by the title that this recipe uses four types of beans. Kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans, and pinto beans. If you’re thinking, wait, I don’t see pinto beans in the ingredients listing, well, the pinto beans are actually in the vegetarian refried beans. I also add some corn for the bit of sweetness and I like the color they add as well.
The remaining ingredients are vegetarian broth, diced tomatoes, and salsa. Using fire-roasted tomatoes and spicier salsa together ensure the proper heat and flavor—without the need to add any chili peppers or chili powder.
You can sub in other beans if you have other favorites for chili or greatly prefer one bean over another. For example, if you don’t like chickpeas in your chili, you could sub in kidney beans and have a total of two cans of kidney beans in the recipe. Perhaps use one can of dark red kidney beans and one can of light red kidney beans?
If kidney beans are not your favorite bean for chili, you can sub in another can of black beans (for a total of two cans of black beans). You get the idea but please stick to the one can of vegetarian refried beans (these are critical to the success of this recipe) and three more cans of beans (whichever ones you choose) to keep the proportions of beans to the other ingredients just right for the thickness and flavor in this chili.
As you can see from the recipe, I used canned beans but feel to use dried beans instead. Ones that you have soaked in filtered water overnight, rinsed, and drained well of course.
I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe for Quick and Easy Four-Bean Vegetarian Chili! Please let me know if you do by leaving a comment here on gfe.
More Wonderful Gluten-Free Chili and Other Recipes That Go Great with Chili
~ Chunky Veggie Chili and Cornbread Waffles
~ Homemade Gluten-Free Red Lobster-Style Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
~ Old-Fashioned Cornbread (No Sweeteners Added—Makes Great Stuffing!)
~ Paleo Sweet “Cornbread” Muffins
~ The Best Gluten-Free Corn Muffins
~ That Chili with the Mushrooms
Quick and Easy Four-Bean Vegetarian Chili Recipe (Gluten Free and Vegan)
Quick and Easy Four-Bean Vegetarian Chili (Gluten Free and Vegan)
This chili comes together very quickly, is made with pantry ingredients and requires no fresh vegetables (or chopping!), and is perfectly flavorful, spicy, and delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free vegetarian broth (I used gluten-free chicken-flavored vegetarian broth)
- One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (I recommend fire-roasted diced tomatoes)
- One 16-ounce jar salsa (of desired heat level; we like medium)
- One 15-ounce can corn, drained (or equivalent amount of frozen corn)
- One 15-ounce can kidney beans (either light or dark), drained
- One 15-ounce can chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), drained
- One 15-ounce can black beans, drained
- One 15.4-ounce can refried beans (ensure that it’s gluten free) or 2 cups homemade refried beans
Instructions
- Add vegetarian broth, diced tomatoes, salsa, refried beans, corn, kidney beans, chickpeas, and black beans to a large pot or deep skillet. Stir and heat on medium low to medium heat about 15 to 20 minutes---stirring frequently to break up refried beans and prevent ingredients from sticking to the pan and burning.
- Serve as is or with a sprinkling of cheese or a dollop of sour cream and/or gluten-free tortilla chips, rice, etc. on the side. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of your own topping and side serving ideas as well!
Originally published August 12, 2026.
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