Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili with Jalapeño, Sweet Corn and Lime
A creamy vegan white bean chili made with cannellini beans, jalapeño, green chiles and sweet corn, thickened with blended cashews and brightened with lime.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Serves
- 6
Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili with Jalapeño, Sweet Corn and Lime is a vegan dinner recipe made with raw cashews, cannellini beans, low-sodium vegetable broth. It takes 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 15 minutes resting, serves 6, and each serving has 362 calories, 17 g of protein and 10 g of fiber.
Unlike a red chili, this one gets its body from blending soaked cashews with one can of the beans and some broth. You get a creamy, spoonable base without any tomatoes or dairy. Sautéed jalapeños and canned green chiles give it a mild, green heat, and blooming the cumin and coriander in oil deepens the flavor quickly. The corn goes in near the end so it stays sweet and pops, and the lime and cilantro are stirred in off the heat to keep them fresh.
A flavor profile (creamy green-chile 'white chili' with cannellini beans, corn and a blended cashew base instead of smoky red tomato three-bean chili with squash and bulgur) take on our High Protein Vegan Chili with Butternut Squash, Three Beans and Bulgur.
Ingredients
Creamy base
- ¾ cup103 graw cashews
- 1 can240 gcannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 15 oz can
- 1 cup240 glow-sodium vegetable broth
Chili
- 2 tbsp27 golive oil
- 1 large150 gyellow onion, diced
- 2 28 gjalapeños, seeded and finely diced, leave some seeds in for more heat
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
- 2 tsp4.2 gground cumin
- 1 tsp1.8 gground coriander
- 1 tsp1 gdried oregano
- 1 can113 gcanned diced mild green chiles, with liquid, 4 oz can
- 2 cans480 gcannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 15 oz cans
- 2 cups480 glow-sodium vegetable broth
- 1½ cups204 gcorn kernels, frozen or fresh
- 1¼ tsp7.5 gsalt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp1.2 gblack pepper
- 2 tbsp31 gfresh lime juice
- ½ cup8 gfresh cilantro, chopped
To serve
- 1 medium150 gavocado, diced (optional)
- 2 30 ggreen onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 65 glime wedges (optional)
- 4 104 gcorn tortillas, cut into strips and toasted, or tortilla chips (optional)
Kit: large pot or Dutch oven, blender
Tips
- Add the cashew base near the end and keep the heat low. A hard boil can make it catch on the bottom of the pot.
- The chili thickens as it sits. Loosen leftovers with a splash of broth or water when you reheat them.
- If you have a high-speed blender, you can skip the soak and blend the cashews raw.
Swap ideas
- Replace the jalapeños with 1 large poblano, charred and diced
- The chili gets a milder, smokier green-chile flavor.
- Use great northern beans or chickpeas instead of cannellini
- Great northerns are a little creamier. Chickpeas are firmer and nuttier.
- Blend the base with 1/2 cup canned coconut milk instead of the cashews
- Makes it nut-free and gives the chili a gentle coconut richness.
- Use fire-roasted frozen corn
- Adds a charred sweetness without a separate step.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
362kcal per serving
Everything else · 6 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 2.2 g 11%
- Sugars
- 4.9 g
- Sodium
- 1075 mg 47%
- Potassium
- 1007 mg 21%
- Calcium
- 145 mg 11%
- Iron
- 6.6 mg 37%
- Vitamin C
- 26 mg 28%
- 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: Nuts, cashew nuts, raw, Beans, white, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Onions, raw, Peppers, jalapeno, raw, Garlic, raw, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, coriander seed, Spices, oregano, dried, Peppers, hot chili, green, canned, pods, excluding seeds, solids and liquids, Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Lime juice, raw, Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw
Method
Cover the cashews with very hot water and soak for 15 minutes to soften while you prep the vegetables. Drain and rinse.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent with a few golden edges, 6–7 minutes.
Add the jalapeños and garlic and cook until fragrant and the jalapeños soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin, coriander and oregano and toast for 30 seconds, stirring so the spices don't scorch.
Meanwhile, blend the soaked cashews, 1 can of cannellini beans and 1 cup of broth on high until completely smooth with no grit when rubbed between your fingers, 1–2 minutes.
Add the green chiles, the remaining 2 cans of beans, 2 cups of broth, the salt and the pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Mash about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pot to help thicken it.
Stir in the cashew mixture and the corn. Simmer gently, stirring often so the bottom doesn't catch, until the chili is thick and creamy and the corn is hot, 6–8 minutes. Add a splash of broth if it gets too thick.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Taste and add more salt or lime if needed. Serve topped with avocado, green onions, tortilla strips and lime wedges, if you like.
Storage: Cool the chili, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, but add the cilantro fresh when you reheat. Reheat gently on the stove and add a splash of broth to loosen it.
Questions
- How much protein is in creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime?
- Each of the 6 servings has 17 g of protein, 10 g of fiber and 362 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, so 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 15 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime ahead?
- Cool the chili, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, but add the cilantro fresh when you reheat. Reheat gently on the stove and add a splash of broth to loosen it.
- What can I substitute in creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime?
- Replace the jalapeños with 1 large poblano, charred and diced — the chili gets a milder, smokier green-chile flavor.. Use great northern beans or chickpeas instead of cannellini — great northerns are a little creamier. chickpeas are firmer and nuttier.. Blend the base with 1/2 cup canned coconut milk instead of the cashews — makes it nut-free and gives the chili a gentle coconut richness.. Use fire-roasted frozen corn — adds a charred sweetness without a separate step..
- Does creamy vegan white bean chili with jalapeño, sweet corn and lime contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. 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 26, 2026 ·American / Tex-Mex
