Spicy Vegetarian Chocolate Chili (Crock Pot - if Desired)

Submitted by Sooz Cooks

"This is a slightly sweet, yet pretty spicy chili that is sure to please even the non-vegetarian chili lover! I challenge anyone who says "EWWWW! Chocolate and Chili??" to try this! It is delicious! You can make it not so spicy by using cutting back chilies. To crock pot you can make the chili a day or two in advance and refrigerate until you are ready to start the crock pot. You can make serving this more fun, by buying individual sized bread bowls or large crusty French rolls. Cut out wedge along top of the bread, hollow out the middle; put bread on a plate and spoon in the chili. Top with desired toppings and serve."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 23
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• Chili

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (petite is best)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced thin with seeds, stems removed
• 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle beer (may substitute water)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, undrained
• 1 (15 ounce) can canned pinto beans, undrained
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, undrained
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into large chunks

• Toppings

• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• chopped onion

directions

1. Cook the onions in the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot for 15 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the onions with the cumin, oregano, cinnamon, coriander, chili powder, pepper, salt, and garlic and stir. Cook - stirring constantly to make sure the spices don't stick and burn - for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and jalapenos, and chipotle peppers and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and incorporating the bits into the sauce.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and beer (or water) until smooth.
5. Lower the heat, cover and let simmer, for 45 minutes.
6. Stir in the beans, and lime juice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
7. Add chocolate and stir until melted.
8. Serve immediately if desired but to enhance the flavor store in the refrigerator up to 3 days, transfer to a crockpot and cook on low for up to 4 hours (or just reheat if desired). If cooking in the crock pot longer than 4 hours, add 1/2 cup water prior to cooking and stir well.
9. Ladle into a bowl and serve with desired toppings.

Reviews

[Shimi-habu]

Very delicious and fragrant. I used semi-sweet chocolate because I could not find bittersweet, and I think maybe I'd use more chocolate next time, but that's just cause I love chocolate. I placed it all in my crockpot and it cooked up great without intervention. A keeper for me, thank you!

 

[Honeyofachef]

We really enjoyed this! I didn't put in all the chipolte chilis and none of the jalapenos because my children. It made a huge amount, for us at least, LOL. I froze about half of for another meal. I cooked it in the slow cooker. We are looking forward to it again. Made for Snow Queen Comfort Cafe 2010

 

[Megos Land]

This was super yummy! I did crock pot for 4 hours on high and 2 on low. I used black beans and adzuki beans (both pre-cooked) and garbanzo beans (dried, which cooked perfectly in the time I used). I didn't have a jalapeño either so used three more chipotle chilis in adobe sauce instead and it was almost too spicy! I didn't have bittersweet chocolate on hand so used 1 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa and it was (what I think and hope!) the perfect substitute. I used an oatmeal stout and it added a wonderful richness to what the chocolate started, I would definitely recommend a dark beer for this chili. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

 

[Steph.]

This is very good chili. The taste reminded me of mole because of the chocolate. I did make a couple of changes in the ingredients. Only put in 2 Tbs of chili powder and used a poblano chili instead of jalapeno because that's all I had on hand and was too lazy to make a trip to the store. It would definitely have been more spicy using the ingredients as stated, but it was still plenty spicy. I also added a pound of ground turkey breast, just because I had some in the fridge, but the flavor of the turkey was overpowered by the other spices and chilies, so I don't recommend going to the expense of adding it. I cooked this in the crock pot for about 4 1/2 hours at high and then another 2 hours on low. The flavor does improve if made at least one day before. This recipe would be great for potlucks because it makes a ton!!