Chilli non carne with Quorn

Chilli non carne is chilli con carne without the beef, and mine is built on Quorn mince and the same warm Mexican spices you would use for the meat version. The one thing I do differently from every other Quorn chilli is roast the peppers and chillies first, which builds a smoky, caramelised backbone the pan alone cannot reach. It holds its own even if you are not vegetarian.

Quorn has a reputation for tasting of nothing, and that is exactly why it works here: it is a neutral protein that drinks up whatever you cook it in, so a chilli with a proper base of onion, roasted pepper and spice carries it easily. Fry it for colour, season it well, and you would be hard pushed to miss the meat.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

PPin it

What Is Quorn, and Why It Works in a Chilli

Quorn is mycoprotein, a British invention grown from a common soil fungus rather than an animal. The reason it behaves like mince is not marketing: the microscopic fibres it is made of are grown to roughly the same length and thickness as the muscle fibres in meat, so it carries a mince texture that soya crumbs and lentils do not.

It is also, by design, close to tasteless on its own. That sounds like a fault and is really the point. A neutral protein takes on the flavour of the sauce completely, so the work in this recipe is all in the base and the spices. Give it a hard fry so it colours and firms up, season it properly, and it stops being “the Quorn” and just becomes the mince.

Why I Roast the Peppers First

Almost every Quorn chilli softens the peppers in the pan with the onion. I roast them, and the chillies with them, at a fierce 240C until the edges char and the sugars catch. That does two things a pan cannot. The dry, high heat drives off water and concentrates the pepper, so it goes sweet and jammy rather than watery, and the charred skin brings a smokiness that would otherwise need a tin of chipotle. It is fifteen minutes of oven time that you spend chopping onions anyway, and it is the single biggest reason this chilli tastes like more than the sum of a few store-cupboard tins.

Equipment You’ll Need

Two pans here, one for roasting, one for building the chilli.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

A hearty veggie chilli from a handful of store-cupboard tins and a few fresh vegetables:

• Quorn mince a neutral, meat-textured base that soaks up all the spice. Fry it for colour and it stops tasting of nothing.
• Kidney beans the classic chilli bean; black or pinto beans work just as well.
• Chopped tomatoes the whole of the sauce, so there is no stock to dilute the flavour, which makes this a thick, deep chilli rather than a soupy one.
• Peppers and fresh chillies roasted first for a sweet, smoky, caramelised base you cannot get from the pan.
• Onion, garlic and celery three onions here, not one, for a properly sweet, savoury foundation.
• Spices chilli powder, cumin, paprika and oregano, with sugar to balance the tomato.

Chef’s tip: treat the Quorn like meat and it won’t taste bland. Defrost it properly, then fry it over high heat in a little oil so it colours and firms up rather than steaming, and finish with a splash of soy sauce to coat it - that bit of umami transforms it and helps it drink up the chilli flavour.

How to Make Chilli non Carne, Step by Step

1. Roast the Peppers and Chillies. Heat the oven to 240C (392F). Toss the diced peppers and chopped chillies with a little oil and a pinch of salt, spread them out on a lined tray so they sit in one layer rather than piling up, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges char and colour. Give them room: crowded peppers steam and stay pale, and the whole point here is the char. Set them aside while you build the base. An air fryer does the same job in less time.
2. Soften the Onions. Warm four tablespoons of oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat and add the diced onions. This recipe uses three onions where most use one, on purpose, because slowly softened onion is the sweet, savoury foundation the whole chilli sits on. Cook them for about five minutes, stirring now and then, until they turn translucent and smell sweet rather than raw.
3. Add the Garlic and Celery. Stir in the crushed garlic and the finely diced celery with a pinch of salt, turn the heat up a notch, and cook for another five minutes until the onions take on a little colour at the edges. Adding the garlic now rather than with the onions keeps it from scorching in the longer cook, which would turn it bitter.
4. Brown the Quorn with the Spices. Add the defrosted Quorn mince along with the paprika, chilli powder and cumin, and a teaspoon of salt. Fry it hard for about five minutes, stirring often, so it takes on colour and firms up. This is why the mince is defrosted first rather than tipped in frozen: thawed and dry, it fries and browns, where frozen mince floods the pan with water and steams to a pale, soft mush. A splash of soy sauce here is not traditional but it is worth it, a shot of savoury depth that a neutral protein like Quorn really needs.
5. Stir in the Beans and Oregano. Mix in the drained kidney beans and the oregano and let them warm through for a couple of minutes. Add the beans now rather than at the start so they hold their shape through the simmer instead of breaking down into the sauce.
6. Simmer with the Tomatoes. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and bring it to a gentle simmer. This is a thick, dry-built chilli with no added stock, so five to ten minutes is enough to bring it together. Now taste and balance it: the two teaspoons of sugar take the acid edge off the tomatoes, and if it still tastes sharp a square of dark chocolate stirred in rounds it out completely. If you like a looser chilli, this is the moment to add a splash of vegetable stock.
7. Serve. Ladle it into bowls and scatter over fresh coriander. It wants something creamy and something crunchy alongside: soured cream or grated cheese, tortilla chips or a jacket potato, and a wedge of lime. Like all chilli it is better the next day, once the spices have had a night to settle.

Recipe Card for Chilli non Carne with Quorn

Recipe Card

Chilli non carne with Quorn

A meat-free chilli built on Quorn mince, with the peppers and chillies roasted first for a smoky, caramelised base. Thick, deep and quick, and it holds its own even for meat eaters.

★★★★★ 5 from 4 votes · Rate this recipe

Print Pin

Prep

25 min

Cook

40 min

Total

1 hr 5 min

Serves

6

Per serving

350 kcal

Scale the recipe

Quantities update as you change it

−

6 servings

+

Switch units Metric US

Cook mode Keeps the screen awake while you cook

Equipment I Use

Hybrid Non Stick Frying PanBaking TrayBaking Parchment

Ingredients

Reset ticks

300 g Quorn mince, defrosted (microwave for 5 minutes) 3 Bell Peppers, one of each colour, large dice 3 Red chillies, chopped (use green chillies for milder version) 3 Onions, medium size, peeled and diced 1 Celery stick, small dice 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 240 g Kidney beans, drained (one 400 g tin) 700 g Chopped tomatoes 4 tbsp Vegetable Oil, (rapeseed oil) for frying 2 tsp Sugar 2 tsp Salt 3 tsp Paprika 4 tsp Mild Chilli Powder, (reduce to 2 teaspoons for less spicy) 4 tsp Ground Cumin 1 tsp Oregano

Toppings:

Guacamole Sour Cream Grated Cheese Tomato Salsa Fresh Coriander, (cilantro) Tortilla Chips

Instructions

Tap a step to tick it off as you cook.

1

Roast Peppers

Set your oven to 240°C (392°F). In a bowl, toss the chopped peppers and chopped chillies with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt. Spread them out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 15-20 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.(Alternatively you can use air-fryer)

2

Sauté Onions

Place a frying pan over medium heat and add 4 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onions and sauté for about 5 minutes or until they become translucent.

3

Add Garlic and Celery

To the pan, add the minced garlic and finely diced celery. Season with a pinch of salt and turn up the heat slightly. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until the onions are nicely browned.

4

Brown Quorn Mince

Stir in the defrosted Quorn mince along with the paprika, chilli powder, and ground cumin. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Fry this mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

5

Add Beans and Herbs

Mix in the kidney beans and a pinch of dried oregano. Let it cook together for another 2 minutes.

6

Simmer with Tomato Sauce

Gradually pour in the chopped tomatos to the pan, allowing the mixture to come to a gentle simmer. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

7

Serve

Ladle the chilli into bowls and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with accompaniments like tortilla chips, sour cream, sliced jalapeños, shredded cheese, and tomato salsa.

★

Cooked it? Rate it right here.

One tap. No name, no email, and it counts straight away.

Chef’s notes＋

Roast the peppers first. The dry, fierce heat drives off their water and chars the skin, giving a sweet, smoky depth the pan cannot reach. It is the single biggest thing that lifts this chilli above the sum of its tins.

Defrost the Quorn, then fry it hard. Thawed and dry it browns and firms up with the spices; tipped in frozen it floods the pan and steams to a pale mush. A splash of soy sauce here adds the savoury depth a neutral protein needs.

There is no stock in this, on purpose. It is a thick, dry-built chilli carried by the tomatoes alone. If you like it looser, add a splash of vegetable stock when it simmers; if it is too thin, let it reduce uncovered.

Taste and balance at the end. The sugar takes the acid edge off the tomatoes; if it still tastes sharp, a square of dark chocolate rounds it out. A pinch of cinnamon is a good quiet extra.

Nutrition per serving＋

350 kcalProtein 25 gCarbs 50 gFat 10 gSat fat 0.5 gFibre 12 gSugar 5 gSodium 500 mgServing 380 g

Chilli non carne with Quorn · https://chefsbinge.com/chilli-non-carne-with-quorn/

PPin it

Ingredient Substitutions

• Quorn mince soya mince or a plant mince like Beyond both slot straight in. For a wholefood version, cooked green or brown lentils work, or simply add a second tin of beans.
• Kidney beans black beans, pinto or borlotti are all at home in a chilli. A mix of two kinds gives a better texture than one.
• Fresh chillies no fresh chillies to hand? Leave them out and lean on the chilli powder, or stir in a chipotle in adobo for a smokier heat.
• Half and half you do not have to go fully meat-free. Half beef mince and half Quorn is a common way to stretch the meat and keep the flavour.
• Sugar a square of dark chocolate does the same job of taming the tomato acidity and adds a little savoury depth on top.

Variations

• Slow cooker. Roast the peppers and brown the onions and Quorn on the hob first, because a slow cooker cannot brown, then tip everything in and cook on low for four to five hours. Add the Quorn near the end, in the last hour, or a long wet cook turns it soft.
• In the oven. Once the tomatoes are in, cover the pan and finish it in a low oven at 160C for up to an hour for a mellower, rounder chilli.
• Make it taste meatier. Quorn is neutral, so it takes well to a savoury boost: a tablespoon of soy sauce or Henderson relish, a teaspoon of Marmite, or a square of dark chocolate all add the depth that beef would bring on its own.
• A pinch of cinnamon. A quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon in with the other spices is a classic quiet background note in chilli, warm rather than sweet.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating

Chilli keeps well and improves with a night in the fridge, where the spices settle and deepen. Cool it, then keep it covered in the fridge for up to five days, or freeze it for up to three months. Adding the Quorn from frozen earlier does not stop you freezing the finished chilli, because it was fully cooked in between. Reheat it gently on the hob or in the microwave until piping hot right through, adding a splash of water if it has thickened in the fridge.

🍽 What to serve with it: rice, a jacket potato or a pile of nachos underneath, then something creamy and something fresh on top, soured cream or grated cheddar, guacamole, a scatter of coriander and a wedge of lime. Tortilla chips for scooping turn it into a proper spread.

FAQ for Chilli non Carne

A Few Words from the Chef

I cook a lot for people who are cutting down on meat rather than giving it up, and this is the chilli I reach for. Nobody has ever pushed it round the plate looking for the beef. Roast the peppers, fry the Quorn like you mean it, and it earns its place on any table.