Black Bean & Sausage Chili Recipe

a real life recipe + pantry clean out

I hate having to wade through a story to get to a recipe, so I’m gonna flip the script and go recipe first, story second!

But real quick, lets just make sure the recipe is even worth reading…

This recipe is exactly what you’re looking for if you want:

• to use dry black beans

• cook in an Instant pot

• vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, or add your favorite real meat sausage - do you!

• inexact quantities, and like being flexible with them to make it your own

• a recipe that incorporates the needs of real life

Black Bean & Sausage Chili

Dried black beans and my instant pot for the win! Took about an hour (coming to pressure, and cooking)

Ingredients

• 1lb dry black beans that you’ve had for over two years in the back of a cabinet

• 1/2 XL yellow onion diced (because they looked good at the store, it’s the only size they had, feels right, you need some for another recipe, I think any onion would do)

• 6 large garlic cloves, minced, keep the flattened bits

• 1 can fire roasted toms, and swish it out with a lil water into the pot

• Medium Salsa Verde - end of the jar (1-2 tbsp), swish out the jar with 1/4-1/2 cup water into the pot

• Mild Red Salsa - end of the jar, same as above, swished with water.

• Green Dragon sauce from Trader Joe’s (jalapeño tomatillo sauce ~ 1/4 cup, or whatever you like)

• 2.5 more empty salsa jars of water or broth 

• 1-3 dashes of nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon each (can’t remember, but I think there was definitely more cardamom than cinnamon, that much I can tell ya)

• ~1 tsp ea - cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, tajin, chili powder (to your smell/taste, for instance I would have done more cumin but I ran out, however it tasted really good, so maybe it all worked out for a reason)

• 2 dashes of balsamic vinegar

• 1 -2 dashes maple syrup

• diced mini bell peppers (6, multiple colors)

• Sausage, real or vegan, ground or links, to your preference. (I used 2 links, vegan Spicy Mexican Chipotle, 27g of protein per link, and only 1.5g saturated fat!)

• Toppings to your preference (see below)

Directions

Put it all in the Instant Pot, stir, and set to pressure cook “normal high” for 38 minutes. Quick release. 

Chop/dice up toppings while waiting

• Red onion 

• Jalapeño

• Green onion

• Cilantro

• Avocado

• Greek yogurt or Sour cream or Crema (optional)

• Shredded cheese (optional)

In reality I cut my green onion and cilantro with scissors, because I just think that’s more enjoyable, than dicing those.

Slice sausage and brown in a pan.

Dice bell pepps and stir in with sausage as soon as quick pressure release is done.

Serve in bowls, add toppings, stir in, wait impatiently 5-10 minutes till it’s cool enough to not burn yourself. 

Contemplate adding cheese or Greek yogurt. (I always have yogurt on hand, and sour cream always goes bad before we finish it, so greek yogurt is my go-to extra-protein-sour-cream-replacment) In the end, it was tasty as is and I enjoyed it without dairy.

Happy chili eating!

What is a pantry clean out? 

Every so often I’ll get on a kick and challenge myself to find or create recipes that use all the things that have been hanging round in my pantry for a while. It’s great to do every so often to use them before they hit their expiration or best buy date without you even realizing. Also great for months when your budget is tight, cuz you can cut down your grocery bill a little.

For instance, I bought a lot of dried beans and peas in the past 2-3 years, but anytime I look at a recipe, I always use canned for ease and last minuteness. But now I decided it’s dry bean season, and it’s time for them to go! So of course I look up delicious but easy recipes to put them in. I know the instant pot does them well, so I started there. Then I remembered the amazing black bean sausage chili at Mitch’s Tavern (a restaurant I used to go to and worked at for a year), so I started looking more specifically for a similar recipe.  (Just went to the menu on their website, and I don’t see black bean chili listed which is a shame, but maybe it will be a special! If not, the regular chili (beef or vegetarian), is also very good, and I highly recommend getting the Rodolfo’s Feast — one of my go-to’s for a filling meal when I worked there.)

My recipe is largely inspired by one from Gimme Some Oven, with a few different spice/flavor add ins for the chili. I skipped her jarred roasted red peppers in order to clean out my fresh mini bell peppers that were on their last good day. Shoutout to them for not going bad in the 2 days between finding the recipe and actually making the chili!! Anyone else think that the mini peppers stay fresher or last longer? I do, at least my experience is such. 

For the toppings, I already had cilantro, green onions, and red onions, but needed to buy more garlic, yellow onion, jalapeño, and avocado. (Only a couple brown spots by the time I used it - man those are challenging to get the timing right.) 

Even though the recipe called for 2 cups of salsa, I planned to just clean out my current open jars (red and green) and make do. So I added the Green Dragon sauce to amp up more flavor and heat. 

I found the Field & Roast vegan sausage at Sprouts, $5.49 for 4 links. I think it’s tasty, my husband doesn’t like the flavor, but I love the high protein content and uncomplicated ingredient list. It has a higher protein content than regular meat hot sausage links - by double to triple! (unfortunately for some, they are not gluten-free)

Despite not liking the sausage, my husband thought the rest of the dish was delish! If you’re a chili purist, perhaps call it “flavorful pot of black beans” since it doesn’t cornform to usual chili standards. But whatever you want to call it, I hope you enjoy this flavor and protein packed bean stew 😅😅.  It’ll warm you up on a cold night or whenever you want your nose unstuffed. 

We enjoyed it with a glass of 1 day old Grifone Sangiovese from Trader Joe’s. 🍷

Cheers to real life recipes, and doing what you can with what you have, and just a couple fresh things.

Curious about the nutritional content or value of this recipe?

The primary protein sources are the black beans and sausage. 159g total (pre-toppings)

The primary fat sources will be your toppings (avocado, cheese, cream of choice - including non-dairy options) and the sausage. 20g total (pre- toppings)

The primary carbohydrate source is the black beans, and then a little bit from all the veggies added together (onions, tomatoes, toppings, garlic, and salsa), and the maple syrup. Lots of fiber from the beans and veggies. Total carbohydrate will vary based on salsa quantities used. 408g total (no salsa or toppings included - so it will be a little bit more)

The salsas and canned or jarred tomatoes, along with sausage will provide the bulk of the sodium.

Yield 4-6 large servings. I decided to enjoy at least 2 cups worth if not a little more for my dinner, which will easily give us 5 servings, maybe 6. Calculating with 5 servings to be safe:

Per Serving: 31.8g Protein, 4g Fat, 81.6g Carbohydrate. Calories: 489.6 (pre-toppings & salsa)

So now that you know all that, you can pay attention to which area you are focusing on, and choose your products accordingly, or change amounts if you need.

Overall, this plant-based chili recipe includes at least 20 types of plants! So it is great for your gut microbiome and your mental health. Have you heard, research shows if you eat 30 different types of plants per week, or more, you can improve your mental health and gut microbiome? Make this recipe, and be easily 2/3 of the way there :)