Serves 10 to 12
Active time: 15 minutes || Total time: 40 minutes
You know those food magazines that you flip through while in the checkout line at the supermarket? The ones you put back on the rack, all the better for knowing that you can make a casserole out of a can of soup and 35 egg whites? Yeah, well, I buy those magazines. All of them. It is my secret shame.
But this week a magazine cover gave me the chutzpah to do what I’ve always wanted to… put Thai red curry paste in everything. Or at least chili! To be fair, the magazine was Clean Eating, which usually has pretty awesome non-soup can ideas. And the original recipe was even vegan, so yay.
This isn’t their exact recipe, I just ripped off the idea (jeez, I have some integrity). It’s just as awesome as you would imagine if you threw together a Thai curry and a chili. OK fine, maybe that doesn’t sound awesome, but it was! I used red lentils for texture and kept the main ingredients as is: sweet potatoes and big meaty kidney beans. It’s really satisfying and blessedly easy so make it the next time you want to switch up your chili repertoire. It makes a lot so freeze the leftover and have chili whenever you want.
Olive oil (1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, however much you feel like using)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 15 oz can lowfat coconut milk
28 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Limes for garnish (optional)
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute onions and pepper in oil with a pinch of salt, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more.
Add chili powder, sweet potatoes, lentils, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and heat through.
Taste for salt and seasoning, top with cilantro and lime and serve!
Have made this several times and loved it, but haven’t for awhile now that we have a coconut allergy in the family. Decided to try it today without the coconut milk and loved it just as much, if not more. Also added some extra ingredients I wanted to use up: mushrooms, celery, and mango, and used 1 can each of kidney and black beans. So yummy!
Both the BF and me have made this countless times. We went camping couple weeks ago and made it in a dutch oven on the campfire – just threw everything in together. It was the best batch yet! Make this dish!!
It was so delicious, I will make this again.
AMAZING.. and more! Thank you for this great recipe.. I will be making this often.
I saw somewhere if you soak lentils they will keep a better texture? How long?
Isa, my sister gave me two of your cookbooks (Pie in the Sky and Brunches) for my birthday last summer and I am totally in deep love with every one of your recipes! And finding your website = wow!! Thank you for sharing your creativity with us all. This chili is fabulous – we enjoyed it with your cornbread recipe tonight. It is delish before adding the coconut milk, so I saved half of the chili for later w/o to cut back on fat a bit. I had some soy chorizo (by Casique) in my fridge so that was browned and thrown in too. I’m making this again and again!!
Bless you for appearing in the World Herald today! I had lost your recipe for this fabulous dish and you magically showed up with your great story and I was able to retrieve the recipe. I have served it to friends and they too love it. Keep cooking, Isa!!!
Very good recipe,,,I added 1 more TBSP of red chili paste (total of 3 TBSP) and juice of 1/2 a lime right at the end. My wife thinks it needs 1 more TBSP or add 1 fresh jalapeño if you like it really spicy
Made this and thought it was great. Didn’t really remind of chili but it was a yummy warming veggie-friendly ‘stew’. Perfect for fall and winter! Lots a flexibility in the spices and ingredients too – i liked a lot more heat so added cayenne and some other indian spices i had in the cupboard. Thanks for the recipe!
Loved this and just posted a link to your recipe on my blog VeganViola.com — thanks for the inspiration!
This looks absolutely perfect~! Can’t wait to try it….
This was sooooo tasty! I used about 2 tsp of Olive Oil. Also, we submerged the sliced limes in our chili and the lime flavor permeated through the chili here and there as we were eating. Delicious! Devoured by our nineteen and four year old boys and the older boy’s picky (but becoming less so) girlfriend. Thanks for another great recipe! <3
I just made this for my oppositely vegan parents (basically living the SAD life) and they LOVED it. My dad said that it was the best vegan thing that I have ever made for them 🙂 I did pinto beans instead of kidney beans and also halved the recipe. I also used just regular curry powder instead of thai red chili because that’s all that I had. DELICIOUS!!
Would using the brand SO Delicious coconut milk work? I was only able to find coconut milk near the mixer section at a local supermarket. It looks likes it’s used for piña coladas and loaded with sugar. Any thoughts?
My Dad’s wife sent me your book just last week, she knows that I’ve been eating more vegetables and weaning off meat based diet and this was my first recipe! It is delicious…I read some of the other comments and I might add a little lime on my next bowl.
Can’t wait to make my next meal!
oh gosh you guys….I just put in 2T of PAPRIKA instead of chili powder!!! In too much of a hurry & mine are in the same type of bottles! I put in the chili powder too, so we’ll see how it turns out. Paprika isn’t a strong flavor…mostly for coloring in recipes….right? RIGHT? LOL
This is delicious. D.LI.SHUS. I love that I could probably trick even the most ethnocentric eater into trying it given its branding of “Chili.” I added extra curry paste and chili powder but I think next time I will add some thai chilies to the onion/pepper fry. I bet there are a bajillion fun toppings that could be added for texture and color! Thank you for sharing!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! My boyfriend, who is not vegetarian but enjoys veggie food, requested this recipe when we were looking for new soups/stews/curries to try during the colder months. I loved that everything came together so quickly but still had a lot of flavor and nutritious ingredients. Will enjoy the rest of this batch and make again. Big fan of your books- thanks Isa!
I made this last night. It was delicious! Keep up the good work with the recipes, Isa! The red curry paste really brings out the flavor of the dish and gives it just enough of a kick without being overpowering. I recommend using slightly less coconut milk than what the recipe calls for but that is just my own personal taste. I really love the how the red lentils and sweet potatoes give it just the right thickness and texture. I’m a big fan of thick soups that can be a meal on their own so this really hit the spot for me. It also make for a big batch so If you’re only making this for one or two people be prepared for plenty of leftovers that you can freeze 🙂
This was a fantastic meal! My husband and I like to make something big like this and eat it for lunch at the office for the week. It will definitely last us all week and it’s so flavorful! According to my loseit app it’s also only ~260 calories a serving (with the oil omitted and green lentils instead of kidney beans). This recipe is a keeper!
This was stupendous, easy, delicious and made a ton. I am adoring “Isa Does It.” Thank you!
Isa, I have to say you’re my new hero!! This is the third recipe of yours that I’ve tried (chana masala is outstanding & so is your gingery coconut stew) and and they’ve all become absolute favorites in my house!! Thanks a million and keep up the great work!
The temps dropped to 15F for the first time this fall. Work was closed due to a power outtage. I made this with what I had in the house. Red beans and kidney beans. Russet Burbank potato supplemented my one sweet potato.
This hit the spot with some brown rice. Tasty tasty tasty. I’ve made this a bunch of times and every time, it’s spot on. Really a good recipe.
The spicing is right. I bet it would be lovely with black beans, a little corn and topped with some cilantro.
Thanks, Isa! Tasty as always.
Soo good!
Awesome, easy, very flavorful! Thank you!
This is SO GOOD! I followed your directions almost exactly but I put the red pepper in with the rest of the ingredients at the end. It gave it a little crunch. Also, I started the chili in a 4 quart pan but it ended up being too small so I had to transfer everything after I boiled the first few ingredients. This is the best chili. I’m going to try really hard not to cook it too often, I don’t want my boyfriend to not get excited for it when I make it. Thank you!
I had a dream about this recipe last night. My copy of Isa Does It is still in boxes from a recent move, and at this point I could probably make it from memory, but thank you for posting it online. This recipe is delicious, makes a ton of food (so great for packing lunches) and even non vegs get a real kick out of the flavor combinations. Thanks again!
This recipe works very well. I’ve made it several times now. Even meat eaters liked it. That’s a winner.
Isa, I wanted to let you know that I made a batch of this and brought it over to the disaster relief center to feed the flood relief volunteers who are helping the flood victims here in central TX. They all devoured it! They loved that it was healthy and tasty and homemade! Thank you for this great recipe!
New vegan here. My daughter bought your book for me and I cooked this last night for myself and my (non-vegan) family. Everyone loved it. It was A-mazing 🙂 And the daughter that bought the book is really pleased with herself.
Fantastic and thank you.
This is one of my favorite recipes and always goes over really well with everyone. I make it and freeze individual portions to take for lunches. Thank you so much for this recipe. YUM!
I made this today, used russets and cashew milk instead of sweet potato and coconut milk, and made it in the Instant Pot. This one is a keeper. It reminded me of a dish at an Indian Restaurant, but this was way better.
This was delicious! ( and easy too! )
made with Tofu and added jalapeño for spice
The flavours were tasty but my tastebuds were confused, so I am not sure if I enjoyed the flavours together or not. Will try it again tomorrow since I made such a huge pot and decide! I ran out of onion so I added some extra garlic, and I sauteed it with the pepper, sweet potato, chili powder (I used less) and curry paste for a bit before I added stock. I also ended up adding the juice of half a lime and added 2-3x the cilantro and found it much better that way! Definitely add the lime juice right into the chili itself.