Vegetarian Chili over Spaghetti Squash
Posted in: Dinner Ideas, Food Photos, Lunch Ideas, Soup/Stew Ideas, Vegetarian Ideas | 28 Comments
This is an oldy for me. One of those meals I make different every time. Sometimes I use canned beans, sometimes dry. Sometimes I sauté the veggies sometimes I roast them. I thought I’d share how I made it this weekend to give you some ideas. It’s one of those recipes you can take and make your own.
The husband is not a chili man so I get tons of leftovers that I freeze for work lunches. I use cheap plastic containers and freeze! Then when I bring to work, I don’t bother putting them in the fridge, by lunch they are almost defrosted. I pop them in the microwave and viola! Lunch!
I should note: I lost my notes in my mess of a kitchen so this is from memory. 
- About 3/4 cups dry black beans
- About 3/4 cups dry red kidney beans
- About 3/4 cups dry pinto beans
- 2 and ½ cups of your favorite broth/stock (I used thanksgiving turkey stock)
- 15oz can of pumpkin (no one will EVER know)
- 2 – 15oz cans of diced tomatoes with chilies
- 1 – 15oz can of diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- Sweet onion diced chopped
- 2 peppers (1 green 1 red) chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 15oz can of sweet corn
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1 medium Spaghetti Squash (about 2lbs)
Rinse the dry bean and place in a large pot over high heat, with enough water to cover them. (I did not soak them overnight). Bring them to a boil, continue to boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let then site for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven for 450 degrees
Drain the beans, return to the pot. Add the broth, pumpkin, diced tomatoes (use 2 cans of plain and 1 can with chilies if you want it milder), and spices. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer.
While simmering, line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Drain the can of corn and dump the kernels on one end of the cookie sheet and the veggies on the other. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Roast for about 25 minutes in the preheated oven.
Add the roasted veggies to the simmering beans. Cover and simmer for a few hours. Since using dry beans, I let it cook for about 6 hours on the low. If you used canned beans the cooking time will be cut down drastically.
When just about ready to serve, pierce the skin of the Spaghetti Squash a few times with a fork and pop it in the microwave for about 12 minutes. Let it cool, then cut in half, scoop out the seeds and scrap out the flesh.
Place about 3/4 of a cup of squash in a bowl and top with the chili! YUM!
Now this makes a huge pot of chili, I’m estimating at least 10 servings. As you can see it’s a A LOT of lunches! And that’s after I ate a bowl!
Also notice the headless husband and laundry. ;~) I didn’t realize it was back there!
| Servings | Calories | Fat | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 350 | 2g | 16g |
Things you might find useful...
- Click here to get an image of the latest recipe by email!
- Want a printer firendly version of this recipe? Just print! You'll be surprised! I promise! :)
- Fan GreenLiteBites on Facebook
- Follow me on Twitter, @RonisWeigh
- Follow my active food journal on my other Twitter account, @RonisFood
Other ideas you may enjoy... |
Digg it | It's del.icio.us | Stumble This | 28 Comments » © 2007-2010 by Roni
Wonderful post! I love all the illustrative pictures!
My husband is also not a chilli man. Actually he hates beans and a lot of things that I like. I use to make only what he likes and neglect what I like, but since I had kids and have to cater to four different preferences I said screw it. I alternate making what the kids, husband, and I like. There are always leftovers or something quick to make if anyone don’t like what I make.
I love the cheap container and freezing idea! Are they those disposable containers?
Technically it’s not vegetarian if you use beef/chicken/turkey broth! You would have to use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian. :)
Leslie –
I know, that’s why I say…
“2 and ½ cups of your favorite broth/stock”
I figure a vegetarian would choose veggie broth! ;~)
Does the nutritional info you provide include the spaghetti squash? I will definitely be using this recipe, and I love how you can make the quesadilla crispy without frying! I’ll be using that one too. :) I think your video turned out well!
Melanie – Yup, that’s my estimate with the squash.
I LOVE this idea. I did this w/ chicken soup last night and it is SUPER convenient. It does require a little prep, but being prepared is half the battle. Thank you so much!
Jenn
Ooh, looks tasty! Although, I have a question – what size is each serving of chili? You mentioned 3/4 cup of spaghetti squash, but not what the measure of chili was.
Thanks!
Moon – You know I didn’t weigh out a serving, I just separated it in equal parts. If I was to guess I’d say about a cup, it was a little more then 2 ladle-fulls.
Just wanted to stop bye and let you know that I made this one!! Yum…Yum! My kids & husband even loved it!! I put half the batch in muffin tins froze them, then popped them into a freezer bag (1/2 c = 1pt.) perfect for a quick snack! I so love this…and it is great on the spagetti squash too…but I like it all by itself. I did mine in the crockpot on Satuday. I prepared everything on Friday night (grilling the veggies in the oven..and all) then put it all in the crockpot and pulled it out in the am. I will make this a weekly staple. According the “sparkle’s” recipe calculator it was only 2pts per serving (I had just over 12 1c servings in mine). Is that about what you figured? (without the squash..since that is 0 pts.)
Thanks so much for letting me know! It feels so good when I find out others enjoy the idea.
As for the points, yeah, you are probably right. If you use my Nutritional Info it’s probably more because I count the calories and such for those not counting points. Some people may also count the squash as 1 just to be safe. I’m such an over estimator! LOL
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been on a big chili kick lately, so this will be great for me!
This is so good! I made it in the slow cooker too. It filled mine to the brim, but it all fit. I left it to cook for about 10 hours, and the beans were just right. The flavor combinations are perfect. I just love the texture of the spaghetti squash, without the added carbs from real spaghetti. I add a T. of light sour cream to top it off when I serve it, just like I do with “regular” chili, and it was quite tasty. Thanks for another super recipe, Roni!
Does this recipe provide a sufficient protein component to count as a balanced meal? I usually add ground beef or turkey but my niece is coming over and she’s a vegetarian.
Beans are a great source of protein. According to nutritiondata.com this recipe has about 16g a serving. There is no meat to make it a vegetarian dish.
WOW! I just made the chili and it’s outstanding. I could only find regular canned tomatoes in the store so I added some cayenne and crushed up a single dried red chili to compensate and the spice turned out perfectly. This one’s going under my faves in my family’s recipe binder!
Good grief, Roni, this stuff is so darn good!!! How do you come up with this stuff? I loved the spaghetti squash in the bottom of the bowl, as did my toddler (my husband and preschooler are not sold just yet).
Usually, I like really quick-prep meals, but I enjoyed the time this one took to make. I had a Paula Deen moment while putting my veggies in the oven — I felt like I was putting so much LOVE into what I was doing… How cheesey is that? But I am woking so hard to make healthier food choices for my family, so the time is worth it. Thanks for all the great recipes, Roni.
Do you ever use canned beans? Why am I scared of dry beans. LOL!!
ummmm ALL THE TIME! LOL I try to use dry when I can, but honestly, the canned are just so darned convenient!
When you say 3/4 cups for each of the beans do you mean 3/4 cup or 3 or 4 cups?! I am making this today and don’t want to mess it up!
That’s three quarters of a cup! Sorry, never thought of it that way! LOL
[...] Leftover Vegetarian Chili over Spaghetti Squash [...]
[...] dinner I made Vegetarian Chili over Spaghetti Squash. I found this recipe last week when I searched for something to make with spaghetti squash. I [...]
Roni,
Thank you SO much for this wonderful recipe. I found you last week when I was searching for something vegan to make with a spaghetti squash I had bought. It was delicious, and you are absolutely right..it makes a ton. I know we will enjoy the leftovers. I just blogged about it and put up pictures, if you would like to see.
http://mysocalledveganlife.com/2008/10/13/sunday-eatsincluding-tofu-apples/
Thanks again!!!
I linked to your recipe from my blog. Here’s the link:
http://littlemamasblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/daniel-fast.html
Thank you for the awesome recipes!
Roni!
This is soooo goood! Instead of getting the canned pumpkin, I accidently got the canned pumpkin pie mix! LOL I thought it was going to be disgusting but actually tasted really good! I am sure the calorie count would be different though. The only problem I had was that the spaghetti squash came out real watery. Maybe I cooked it too long?
Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
and yup… overcooked squash is always more watery. :)
Do you know how many calories it would be if you just ate the chili, and how much??
Looks really good, by the way.
Lindsay- The spaghetti squash adds barely nothing. My rough estimate is 300 cals a cup.