Chilli con Comfort: Family Favourites, Reimagined #4
Chilli is one of those dinners many of us come back to again and again. It’s warming, filling, easy to cook in a big pot and often even better the next day. Which makes it the perfect candidate for a small, plant-powered swap.
Welcome to Family Favourites, Reimagined #4, where we take a familiar classic and give it a flexible, meat-free, plant-forward twist. This month, we’re rethinking chilli con carne and turning it into Chilli con Comfort. Same cosy vibes, same deep flavours, just made with plants.
Why make the swap?
💚 Good for everyday health – Lentils and beans are rich in fibre and plant protein, helping you feel satisfied without the heaviness of a meat-based chilli.
🌍 Better for the planet – Swapping one beef dinner a week for a plant-forward version can reduce a household’s food-related carbon footprint by around 5–10% over a year.
💶 Kinder on your pocket – Beans and lentils are significantly cheaper than meat, especially when cooking in big batches for the week ahead.
🤸 Built for flexibility – This chilli works with whatever you have in the cupboard, making it easy to adapt for different tastes, spice levels or toppings.
Part of the Family Favourites, Reimagined series
Family Favourites, Reimagined is all about small, manageable changes. Most households cook from a short list of regular meals, so instead of changing everything, we focus on reworking just one familiar favourite at a time.
Previous swaps have included Spaghetti Bolognese, Shepherd’s Pie and Curry and Chips.
👉 Explore the full Family Favourites, Reimagined series
Chilli con Comfort
🔪 Prep Time: 10 mins
👩🍳 Cook Time: 30 mins
👥 Serves: 6
Ingredients (12):
3 red onion (finely sliced)
1.5 tbsp smoked paprika
1.5 tbsp ground cumin
3 tbsp tomato pureé
2 tin of tomatoes
Crushed or whole.
2 tin of lentils
3 tin of kidney beans (drained)
Use what you have: black beans, butter beans, or mixed beans all work well here.
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cocoa powder
100 ml sour cream (to serve)
Or yoghurt, coconut yoghurt etc.
1 lime (zested and juiced)
540 g rice
Method
Zest the lime into the sour cream and mix well. Then to quick pickle, juice the lime over 1 of the sliced onions, along with a pinch of salt and a tbsp water, leaving both aside to garnish at the end. The pickles will last at least 3 weeks in the fridge.
1 lime (zested and juiced)
100 ml sour cream (to serve)
1 red onion (finely sliced)
Add the rice and water to a pot; 540g rice, 810ml water (always 1.5 times water). Bring it to a boil and then cover it with a lid turn it down to 2/10 and cook for 15 mins. Turn off the heat and leave it to sit for 5 - 10 mins. Fluff the rice up with a fork.
540 g rice
Heat a heavy-based pan on full blast. Add a tbsp oil and the onions along with a pinch of salt, cook for 3 mins and allow to brown stirring occasionally. Then turn it down to 6/10 and cook for 3 mins more until soft.
2 red onion (finely sliced)
Then add the tomato puree, paprika, and cumin. Mix well, and cook for 2 mins. Then add the tin of tomatoes and cook for 15 mins.
3 tbsp tomato pureé
1.5 tbsp smoked paprika
1.5 tbsp ground cumin
2 tin of tomatoes
If using whole tomatoes break them up into small pieces.
Then add the kidney beans (drained) and the entire contents of the lentils along with the cocoa powder and soy. Season with a decent pinch of salt and sugar, and cook for 10 mins.
3 tin of kidney beans (drained)
2 tin of lentils
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
Mash a ladle of the chilli and stir it back through to naturally thicken and make it creamier.
Serve in bowls with rice topped up with the pickled onions and sour cream.
Cook it your way
You’ll find the full Chilli con Comfort recipe in the Feeds app, where you can adjust servings, add it to your shopping list and tweak it to suit your tastes. It also features in our January meal plan, New Year, New Comforts, alongside two other warming, plant-powered dinners.
📲 Download the Feeds app to get the full recipe and discover more plant-forward swaps.