Okay. So it's not really white; it's more of a yellowish-brown. But you get the idea. This is a lighter, more savory, more mellow version of a normal chili, substituting light beans--like white beans, chick peas, and navy beans--for the traditional dark beans--kidney beans and black beans. Mild green chilis, seitan, and a smidgen of nooch give it body instead of tomatoes. Props to Amy for conceiving of this genius chili.

While it's not strictly necessary, this is a great candidate for cooking using bulk items. You can pressure cook the beans together (for this batch we didn't have navy beans on hand, so used 3 cups each cooked chick peas and white beans--about 1 cup each dry, pressure-cooked for 35 minutes). We used our old seitan standby--the PPK's to magically convert wheat gluten into seitan. You'll probably want to have this on hand in advance. Admittedly, we used frozen corn and canned green chilis...so this guy wasn't totally package-free and local. But it's worth noting that it probably cost about $6 to make this--one of the many superpowers of our friend the bulk item.

White Chili

  • 1 can (2 cups) white beans
  • 1 can (2 cups) chick peas
  • 1 can (2 cups) navy beans
  • 1 cup corn
  • 2 4oz cans (1 cup) mild green chilis, diced
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 6 -8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 5 small potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional)
  • 1/4 cup nu yeast
  • 6 cups veggie broth
  • 2 cups water (optional)
  • 1/2 batch (1 package) seitan (or tempeh, for gluten-free), diced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, seitan, and chilis, adding them in order. Add in the potatoes if you're using them. Once the onions are very soft--close to translucent--add in the beans and corn, then the broth, then the spices, and finally the nooch. Bring to a boil, then cover, cooking until the potatoes are soft--about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until you're ready for the supreme white chili action.

If you like your chili a little brothier like Amy does, add in the additional water.

Best served with fresh croutons, if brothy, or crusty bread, if thick.