High Protein Vegan Chili with Butternut Squash, Three Beans and Bulgur
A thick, smoky vegan chili with kidney, black and pinto beans, sweet butternut squash and chewy bulgur. It's one pot and reheats well all week.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Serves
- 6
High Protein Vegan Chili with Butternut Squash, Three Beans and Bulgur is a vegan dinner recipe made with olive oil, yellow onion, red bell pepper. It takes 65 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes resting, serves 6, and each serving has 360 calories, 16 g of protein and 18 g of fiber.
Bulgur is what makes this chili work. It simmers right in the pot, soaks up the spiced tomato broth and gives the chili a hearty, almost ground-meat texture without any meat substitutes. Three kinds of beans give it body and protein, and small cubes of butternut squash soften into sweet bites that balance the chili powder and smoked paprika. It gets thicker and tastes better after a night in the fridge, so it's a good one to make on a Sunday.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp27 golive oil
- 1 large150 gyellow onion, diced
- 1 medium119 gred bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
- 1 14 gjalapeño, seeded and minced
- 3 tbsp24 gchili powder
- 2 tsp4.2 gground cumin
- 1 tsp2.3 gsmoked paprika
- 1 tsp1 gdried oregano
- 2 tbsp32 gtomato paste
- 1¼ lb567 gbutternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
- 1 can411 gcrushed or diced tomatoes (28-oz can)
- 3 cups720 glow-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can240 gkidney beans (15-oz can), drained and rinsed
- 1 can240 gblack beans (15-oz can), drained and rinsed
- 1 can240 gpinto beans (15-oz can), drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup105 gmedium or coarse bulgur
- 1½ tsp9 gsalt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp1.2 gblack pepper
- 1 tbsp15 gfresh lime juice
To serve
- 1 150 gavocado, diced (optional)
- ¼ cup4 gfresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 2 30 ggreen onions, sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup32 gtoasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
Kit: large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, chef's knife, vegetable peeler, wooden spoon
Tips
- Cut the squash into small cubes, about 1/2 inch. Larger chunks can still be firm when the bulgur is done.
- Buy medium or coarse bulgur (#2 or #3). Fine bulgur turns mushy in a long simmer.
- The bulgur keeps absorbing liquid as the chili sits, so loosen leftovers with a splash of water or broth when you reheat them.
- If you cook dried kidney beans instead of canned, boil them hard for at least 10 minutes before you simmer them until tender. Undercooked kidney beans contain a toxin that heat destroys.
Swap ideas
- Sweet potato instead of butternut squash
- A little sweeter and softer. It cooks in about the same time.
- 3/4 cup red lentils instead of bulgur, plus 1 extra cup broth
- Makes the chili gluten-free and thicker, with a smoother texture as the lentils break down.
- 1 chipotle in adobo, minced, instead of the jalapeño
- Adds a deeper, smokier heat.
- 1 cup frozen corn, added with the beans
- Adds sweet pops of texture and a bit more volume.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
360kcal per serving
Everything else · 6 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1 g 5%
- Sugars
- 8 g
- Sodium
- 1147 mg 50%
- Potassium
- 1290 mg 27%
- Calcium
- 156 mg 12%
- Iron
- 6.1 mg 34%
- Vitamin C
- 62 mg 69%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Onions, raw, Peppers, sweet, red, raw, Garlic, raw, Peppers, jalapeno, raw, Spices, chili powder, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, paprika, Spices, oregano, dried, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Squash, winter, butternut, raw, Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Beans, pinto, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Bulgur, dry, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Lime juice, raw
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper with a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and turning golden at the edges, 6–8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and jalapeño and cook for 1 minute. Add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and tomato paste. Stir constantly for 1–2 minutes, until the paste darkens to brick red and the spices smell toasted. Don't let them burn.
Add the butternut squash, tomatoes and broth, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the squash is just starting to soften.
Stir in the kidney, black and pinto beans, the bulgur, the rest of the salt and the black pepper. Simmer uncovered, stirring every few minutes so the bulgur doesn't stick, for 15–20 minutes. It's ready when a fork slides easily into the squash, the bulgur is tender but still chewy, and the chili is thick enough to mound on a spoon.
If the chili gets too thick before the squash is done, add water 1/4 cup at a time. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and add more salt or chili powder if needed.
Let the chili rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes so the bulgur finishes soaking up liquid and the flavors settle. Serve in bowls, topped with avocado, cilantro, green onions and pumpkin seeds if you like.
Storage: Let it cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water until steaming hot all the way through. Add the toppings fresh.
Questions
- How much protein is in high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur?
- Each of the 6 servings has 16 g of protein, 18 g of fiber and 360 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking, so 65 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur ahead?
- Let it cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water until steaming hot all the way through. Add the toppings fresh.
- What can I substitute in high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur?
- Sweet potato instead of butternut squash — a little sweeter and softer. it cooks in about the same time.. 3/4 cup red lentils instead of bulgur, plus 1 extra cup broth — makes the chili gluten-free and thicker, with a smoother texture as the lentils break down.. 1 chipotle in adobo, minced, instead of the jalapeño — adds a deeper, smokier heat.. 1 cup frozen corn, added with the beans — adds sweet pops of texture and a bit more volume..
- Does high protein vegan chili with butternut squash, three beans and bulgur contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 24, 2026 ·American
