Black Bean Chili With Mushrooms

Name: Black Bean Chili With Mushrooms
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound cremini or portobello mushrooms, or both, minced (see Tip); 1/3 cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed; Salt and black pepper; 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 red bell peppers, finely chopped; 1 jalapeño, minced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 teaspoon ground mild chile, such as chile California; 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Ceylon; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes; 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained; 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water; 1 tablespoon raw or turbinado sugar; 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, torn into bite-size pieces (optional); Sour cream (plant-based if you’d like) and torn cilantro leaves, for serving

By Jocelyn Ramirez

Updated Oct. 22, 2021

Black Bean Chili With Mushrooms — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 4(1,657)
Comments: Read comments

Mushrooms and black beans are the perfect pairing for a hearty weeknight chili with a kick of heat from a fresh jalapeño. Seared minced mushrooms add a depth of flavor that balances an easy homemade chili spice mix of mild chile, warm cinnamon and smoky chipotle. If you’d like, you can substitute 1½ cups of the broth for 1½ cups of Mexican lager.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1pound cremini or portobello mushrooms, or both, minced (see Tip)
⅓cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
Salt and black pepper
1medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2red bell peppers, finely chopped
1jalapeño, minced
3garlic cloves, minced
1teaspoon ground mild chile, such as chile California
¾teaspoon chipotle powder
½teaspoon ground cumin
⅛teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Ceylon
3tablespoons tomato paste
2(14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2(15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3½cups vegetable broth or water
1tablespoon raw or turbinado sugar
1ounce dried porcini mushrooms, torn into bite-size pieces (optional)
Sour cream (plant-based if you’d like) and torn cilantro leaves, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Spread the minced mushrooms on a clean dish towel or paper towel and squeeze out excess liquid. Heat the oil in a medium pot over high. Add the mushrooms with a pinch each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring every minute or so, until the mushrooms sear to a darker color and any remaining water in the mushrooms has cooked off, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Lower the heat to medium and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and browns slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, jalapeño and garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to brown. Add the chile powder, chipotle powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add the tomato paste and mix.
Step 3
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the canned diced tomato and its juices, beans, broth, sugar and porcini mushrooms, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the lid ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Divide among bowls and serve with sour cream and cilantro.

Tip

To quickly mince mushrooms, pulse them in a food processor.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,657 user ratings

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Comments

Apollo3 years ago

LOL at the tip: "To quickly mince mushrooms, pulse them in a food processor." That may, indeed, be true but any time you save will be lost by the time it takes to clean the food processor. At least in my experience. I actually like chopping vegetables. It's therapeutic.

Izzy3 years ago

For those asking, 1/2 cup of dried beans makes the equivalent of 1 15 oz can of beans. So for this recipe you would use 1 cup dried beans.

Ben Danson3 years ago

3 1/2 cups of broth... ? That's so much. I currently have a soup. Waiting way longer than 20 minutes to cook it off. Should have trusted my instincts. Two cups would be plenty.

Ben from Tasmania1 month ago

I’ve just finished cooking this recipe and it’s on a very low simmer. It smells and tastes amazing. A few subs… I manually chopped the portobello mushrooms to small dice. I used dried porcini mushrooms as fresh are not available. Neither was the California chilli (in Tasmania) so instead I used 3/4 tsp of Spanish hot smoked paprika with about I/4 tsp regular chilli powder. I ground whole chipotle to powder. For the broth I used the left over liquid from the rehydrated porcinis and topped that with water and vegetable stock powder. On tasting I added a little extra salt and chipotle powder and is now perfect. It is about to be served with rice, sour cream, and just maybe a little grated cheddar. Thank you, NYT Cooking!

Sam2 months ago

The 3 1/2 cups of liquid RUINED the chili. It needs less than half that amount.

Kathleen2 months ago

I love this chili. i.ve made it twice I'm 2 weeks. I roughly chop the mushrooms and it is so good

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