Vegan Buffalo Chili with Cauliflower

A hearty, single serving dinner bowl with just the right amount of heat, you can make this in under 30 minutes – all for about $2.75.

Many versions of “buffalo chili” exist in the Food Blog World, but I wanted to make my own, and I wanted to make it vegan. I’ve always loved the flavor of Buffalo sauce. I even have it every once in a while as salad dressing. Sometimes I eat it straight from my finger. I don’t know if that’s weird.

I thought before the winter was over (please hurry up, we’re all cold) I would combine chili, Buffalo sauce, and cauliflower to make one great, filling, hot, cheap recipe.

This recipe makes one big bowl. That’s it. If you want two, just double it!

It could also work as two smaller appetizer-sized portions. But trust me, you’ll want this as a meal.

INGREDIENTS

Exact amounts are in the recipe at the end of this post.

Here are my suggested ingredients. Note that many of them can be replaced with something else – you can use any beans you want, any vegetables you want, any kinds of spices you want.

Unlike baking, chili and soup recipes are very forgiving. Feel free to use whatever you have.

I recommend using two kinds of beans. I’ve used kidney beans and small white beans here (which, on my can, are just called “small white beans”). I always like carrot and celery in chili. I like spice so I used both jalapeño and chili garlic sauce.

I added cumin and dried minced onion for flavor, but they’re optional.

Then there’s the all-important Buffalo sauce. You can use traditional hot sauce, but I always like Frank’s “Wings” Buffalo Sauce, which I’ve used here.

To make this creamy yet vegan, I included vegan butter and tahini. Tahini may sound strange if you’ve never added it to chili, but I’ve been buying tahini lately so I thought I’d try it – and it worked! I only include a tablespoon but feel free to add more.

As always, this recipe doesn’t have to be vegan. Just substitute non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones.

INSTRUCTIONS

Additional instructions are in the recipe at the end of this post.

One of the key ingredients in this recipe is cauliflower, which I sautéed in a separate frying pan.

You can roast the cauliflower in the oven instead of sautéing. I like it both ways. I wanted to save on time for this recipe, so I opted to sauté it with a little olive oil. This takes 10 minutes and you can do it while the chili is cooking.

It’s a very quick and easy recipe with a few basic steps:

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, and spices in vegan butter.*
2. Add the vegetables.
3. Add the beans and diced tomatoes.
4. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. In a separate pan, sauté cauliflower florets with olive oil until browned.
6. Add the cauliflower and tahini to the chili, mix, and you’re done!

* If you’d rather not have a “roasted garlic” flavor, add the garlic with the vegetables.

This recipe is a perfect flavor combination of heat, spice, and creaminess. With just 10 minutes of simmer time, the vegetables don’t get overcooked.

TIPS

• Prep your vegetables ahead of time. To save even more time with this recipe, clean chop, and store your veggies in the days before you make this.
• Include the diced tomato juice. You want some liquid in this recipe, and the “juice” from the canned diced tomatoes works perfectly. Note that much of the liquid will absorb into the vegetables, so if you prefer a slightly soupier chili, just add 1/4 cup of water or broth to the chili while it’s simmering.
• Sauté on low to medium heat. Keep the stove heat on the lower side, and turn it all the way down while simmering the chili.
• Serve with or over anything: rice, quinoa, pasta, avocado, or even use it as a chunky dip for chips.
• For an extra Buffalo kick, add extra sauce after serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS

This recipe uses a fairly long recipe list, but as I stated before, you can leave things out or make substitutions and still come out with a good chili.

Instead of…

• kidney or small white beans, use whatever beans you want. Black, pinto, or even lentils always work well in chili.
• bell peppers, carrots, or celery, you can use other vegetables or even omit them completely – just know that the chili will be less thick without them.
• chili garlic sauce or jalapeńo, substitute cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
• vegan butter, use regular butter, olive oil, or any neutral oil.
• tahini, add creaminess with cashew milk, almond milk, or a creamy vegan cheese.

COST BREAKDOWN

Here’s my general reminder that prices vary depending on where you live and shop. I live in NYC. Here’s what I paid for my ingredients:

• vegan butter: $0.08
• yellow onion: $0.05
• garlic: $0.04
• cumin: $0.03
• dried minced onion: $0.03
• salt: $0.01
• black pepper: $0.01
• carrot: $0.15
• celery: $0.20
• bell pepper: $0.30
• jalapeño: $0.02
• diced tomatoes: $0.46
• kidney beans: $0.14
• small white beans: $0.21
• chili garlic sauce: $0.08
• Buffalo sauce: $0.20
• olive oil: $0.06
• cauliflower: $0.39
• tahini: $0.32

Total cost: $2.77

Brands:

• Vegetables, onion, garlic: my local supermarket
• Beans, diced tomatoes: Whole Foods 365 (cheapest brand in store)
• Buffalo sauce: Frank’s Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce
• Tahini: Krinos brand. This is what was in my local store. Krinos might be on the higher end of price ($8.99 per jar) and it would be cheaper to make your own or purchase a less expensive brand. I’ll have a recipe one day about how to make your own tahini!

Still, under three bucks for dinner isn’t bad.

If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments!