A tasty veggie take on this classic hearty dish.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 18.25 ounces (540 milliliters) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 18.25 ounces (540 milliliters) canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 12.3 ounces (350 grams) extra firm tofu, crumbled
- 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) light flavored beer, such as a lager
- 27 ounces (796 milliliters) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
- 1 cup (150 grams) cornmeal
- 1 cup (130 grams) flour, whole wheat or all-purpose
- 3 tablespoons (40 grams) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (185 milliliters) buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup/57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- Grated Cheddar, pickled or fresh jalapeños, sour cream, diced avocado, sliced green onions and/or chopped cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- For the chili: Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add in the olive oil, onions and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened and lightly golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, cinnamon, tomato paste and mustard and cook to toast the spices and bring the flavors together, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the black beans, red kidney beans and tofu, then deglaze the pan with the beer and simmer until reduced by half. Add the canned tomatoes, vegetable broth and chipotles in adobo, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
- For the topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, melted butter and egg and stir just until combined.
- Using two large spoons or a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, dollop the cornbread mixture over top of the chili. Turn the heat off and transfer the skillet onto a large sheet pan in case it boils over.
- Bake until the cornbread dumplings are lightly golden on top and the undersides are cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool slightly for 5 minutes and serve with grated Cheddar, pickled or fresh jalapeños, sour cream, diced avocado, sliced green onions and/or chopped cilantro.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 679 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 97 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 22 g |
| Sugar | 20 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Cholesterol | 48 mg |
| Sodium | 1499 mg |
Reviews
I’ve made this recipe about 10X (without the cobbler topping).
It’s truly THE BEST chili I’ve ever eaten. I never grow tired of it. Great depth of flavor. Thank u mary.
It’s truly THE BEST chili I’ve ever eaten. I never grow tired of it. Great depth of flavor. Thank u mary.
Shout out to everyone with an aversion to Tofu….I am with you…UNLESS…it’s Firm or Extra Firm & that’s it being combined into a great saucy dish. I guess I’m sort of maturing.
You know what cinch it for me? I was at Whole Foods @ their deli salad counter. I asked to taste their Chicken Salad. It was good & then the young lady said “that’s made with TOFU”. I was flabbergasted!!! I would’ve been none the wiser but WOW it showed me Tofu wasn’t my enemy. Now I don’t go out looking for it because I don’t know enough recipes but when she crumbled the EXTRA FIRM Tofu I knew it would be the mouth feel you’d want when the beef is missing & you’d never know it if no one told you. It’s just fascinating that what we once feared can be amazing!
I leave out the Chipotle in Adobo & use the Chili powder to my taste. Not a huge spicy fan.
Love ya Mary!!
You know what cinch it for me? I was at Whole Foods @ their deli salad counter. I asked to taste their Chicken Salad. It was good & then the young lady said “that’s made with TOFU”. I was flabbergasted!!! I would’ve been none the wiser but WOW it showed me Tofu wasn’t my enemy. Now I don’t go out looking for it because I don’t know enough recipes but when she crumbled the EXTRA FIRM Tofu I knew it would be the mouth feel you’d want when the beef is missing & you’d never know it if no one told you. It’s just fascinating that what we once feared can be amazing!
I leave out the Chipotle in Adobo & use the Chili powder to my taste. Not a huge spicy fan.
Love ya Mary!!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I did not have oregano and don’t like cumin flavor so left those two out and did not miss them. Also did not have buttermilk so used Greek yogurt instead for the cornbread. Cannot wait to try her other recipes. Love her show. For the reviewer who thought it was too spicy…thank you! I used the pepper sparingly and it was perfect heat for us.
I saw this on her episode a couple weeks ago. I made this without the tofu and it was delicious. I also didn’t have any beer on hand so I used some white wine to deglaze. I would definitely make this again.
My mom and I were so excited to make this meal, it looked so good! Sadly, we were extremely disappointed.. it took a bit of time and effort to prepare this, and we were not even able to eat it.. total waste. It would have been nice to hear how extremely spicy this meal was! If that would have been mentioned, we could have altered the spice factor.. but we didn’t know. Not everyone is capable of eating food this spicy!! Please mention that in the future about spicy meals!! It wasn’t even just slightly spicy, it was so spicy I couldn’t even enjoy or eat the meal! Thanks
Followed the recipe exactly. So delicious! My first time trying tofu and it was really good. Trying to add a meatless meal in at least once a week, this will definitely be added to the rotation!!
This is so good! The flavor is amazing! We’re trying to eat a more plant based diet…this checked all the boxes.
The flavors are amazing! Honestly I added some braised beef instead of the tofu. It was so so good. There are only 2 of us and was wondering if I could freeze 2 serving to pull out and use later. Give this a try!!
Saw Mary’s show this weekend and had to try it. My first time using tofu too! Didn’t have Dijon mustard so substituted Creole and added a few jalapeños with red peppers and onions. Came out fantastic! Comfort food and healthy with leftovers too! Thank you Mary for another great dish- love your show !!
Saw this recipe on the food network website yesterday and made a close variation with ingredients that I had on hand. Loved the concept of the dish.