Clean Eating 4 Bean Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is chili considered clean eating? ›

Chili can be healthy, with qualifiers. The iconic dish—typically made with ground meat, tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasonings—is packed with protein, fiber (thanks, beans!), and iron. This makes chili relatively healthy, provided you don't get too carried away with high-fat toppings like sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Bring On the Beans

But for health purposes, you don't want to skip them—whether you're using them in place of or in addition to meat. Adding just 1 cup of beans to your recipe adds about 15 grams of protein, up to 15 grams of fiber, plus potassium, folate, and other nutrients.

The best beans for chili are pinto, kidney, and black beans, like in this easy and tasty recipe. This 3-bean chili freezes great for meals later in the week. If you prefer thinner chili, add an extra can of tomato sauce. The green chiles are not hot and add a wonderful flavor, so don't be afraid to use them.

You'll want to drain the kidney beans, but rinsing them is optional. Doing so will reduce the amount of sodium that gets carried into the dish. I choose to let mine sit in the strainer for awhile, but I don't rinse them.

Best: Pacific Foods Plant-Based Fire Roasted Vegetable Chili

This is because the vegetarian ingredients pack loads of fiber and still meet our minimum protein recommendations. Although this option falls a little short at 8 grams of fiber per cup, eating a full can will fill you up with 15 grams and only 360 calories.

Eating cleaner means limiting processed foods like bologna, salami, pepperoni and hot dogs. These—and other processed meat products—are usually high in sodium and may contain artificial colors as well as preservatives. Choosing environmentally sustainable protein when possible can help you with clean eating, too.

Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed." If that sounds a bit uptight, the ICS's Homestyle Chili competition defines chili as: "any kind of meat, or combination of meats, and/or vegetables cooked with beans, chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients.

Kidney beans are commonly used in popular recipes like chili and rice dishes. These slightly sweet, soft beans are loaded with nutrients such as fiber, folate, protein, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.

Helps with weight loss

Other studies show that chili peppers can increase metabolism and help you burn off the calories you do eat. While eating them by themselves may not lead to a significant change in your weight, using them with your doctor-approved weight loss plan may help you see results more quickly.

Gordon Ramsay's recipe for chili con carne includes onion, a red chili pepper, fresh tomatoes, and kidney beans. Ramsay's chili recipe is lengthy — it includes everything from ground cumin and sweet paprika to a cinnamon stick, ground beef or beef mince, and garlic.

Are cannellini or great northern beans better for chili? ›

Whether you're making a white chili or you just want contrast in your traditional chili pot, cannellini beans have a rich, meaty texture and hold up well to heat.

The easiest beans to digest (therefore less likely to cause gas), according to Country Life Foods, are lentils, black eyed beans, adzuki beans and mung beans. (Click through to learn more about the amazing health benefits of mung beans.) The harder ones to digest are red kidney, soy, black and lima beans.

Cooking Instructions

DO NOT DRAIN CHILI BEANS. (That's what thickens it up, I don't use tomato paste) add juice and all! Do Not drain Stewed tomatoes,diced tomatoes,or tomatoes with green chiles. Add all ingredients, and seasoning, mix.

Tomato paste is a great way to add bonus tomato flavor, and thickness, to a chili recipe. To get the best flavor it needs to be browned. Add a couple tablespoons (or a whole can if you want a thicker soup base) directly to the pan after cooking the meat and onions.

Instead of adding water to your chili, add some more flavor with chicken or beef broth, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, or even beet or wine. Each one of these options brings out different notes and levels of sweetness that will enhance your culinary creation.

A clean diet may include whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats while limiting highly processed snacks and other packaged foods with added sugar and salt. It may also be associated with terms like plant-based, grass-fed, sugar-free, or gluten-free.

Though many people think of chili as its own category, it is technically just a type of stew, with origins in Tex-Mex cuisine. Chili isn't a soup mostly because it usually is more solid than it is liquid, with most chili recipes containing majority meat and/or vegetables that are simmered in a tomato sauce.

Traditional chili recipes may contain beans and high-carb vegetables, which could exceed your daily carbohydrate limit. However, you can modify the recipe by using low-carb substitutes like ground beef, tomatoes, and spices to make it more keto-friendly.

Hurray for those who can't get enough chili but for those with digestive disorders like IBS or colitis, chili can be a big problem. This is because on top of the spice, chili has fat, sugars, and fibers (like beans) that ferment in the intestines, and cause stomach pain.