Warm and satisfying Vegan Bulgur Chili! Packed with hearty, cozy ingredients to help keep you warm during the winter months.

Have you ever cooked with bulgur? I bought it on a whim recently, and was excited and curious to try it out. Upon doing a little research, I found that bulgur is a cereal food made from many different wheat species, and can be used to substitute rice or couscous.

I went searching for recipe ideas and found a vegan chili from Naturally Ella. I used that as a guideline and couldn’t resist tossing in a few more veggies. It’s definitely worth noting that I bought quick-cooking bulgur from Trader Joe’s, cutting the cooking time way down (about 10-15 minutes instead of 45).
So if you have regular bulgur, you’ll need to let it simmer longer. I find it to be a wonderful substitute for the ground meat you’d find in traditional chili. It really thickens up the texture and makes it extra cozy and hearty. Hope you enjoy as well!

Bulgur Vegetable Chili
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 zucchini
- 1 carrot
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (I use frozen)
- 8 oz. cherry tomatoes
- 15 oz. can kidney beans
- 2/3 cup quick-cooking bulgur (or 1/2 cup for less thick)
- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: dice onion, bell pepper, carrot, and zucchini. Mince garlic and halve tomatoes.
- In a stockpot over medium-high heat, sauté onion, bell pepper, carrot, and zucchini for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil sauté method, adding more as needed.)
- Add garlic, corn, tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper (optional). Sauté another 2 minutes.
- Add 3 cups broth, tomato sauce, bulgur, and kidney beans (rinsed and drained).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bulgur is cooked. (Or about 45 minutes if using regular bulgur.)
- It will become very thick as the bulgur absorbs the liquid, and even more after sitting a bit. Add more broth/water to thin it out if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)

Enjoying this Vegan Bulgur Chili? Feel free to also check out:
Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and then share a photo if you make or adapt this! (Also please leave a review & star rating below if you give it a try. Your feedback is greatly appreciated – thank you!)
That looks delicious!
Thanks Justina!
wow i love how hearty it looks! i bet its tastes amazing
Thank you! 🙂
Yum! Looks perfect for a cold day like today! 🙂
Thank you!
Yum! I haven't seen quick-cooking bulgur before, but I'm definitely going to look for it at TJ's next time I go.
Hi Katie! Hope you find some at your TJ’s – such a great store! 🙂
I love bulgur! I actually prefer the coarse kind but still have some of the fine grain stuff I need to use up. It is a neat way to get that ground meat texture in chili.
Hi Janet! Totally agree – wonderful texture!
Bulgur is one of my favorite grains–it's so hearty and I just feel good when I eat it. 🙂 It's definitely chili weather here, so I'm going to have to put this on my make soon list!
Hope you enjoy it, Kiersten!
This chili looks gorgeous. There's nothing like a wholesome chili to warm you up when it's cold outside!
Thanks Katherine!
This was absolutely delicious, the kids & I all loved it – thank-you for sharing!
Wonderful! So great to hear you all enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
I made this last night & it was a huge hit. Thank you so much. I had never even noticed the cute little bags of quick cook bulgur, barley and farro at TJ's before you mentioned it! Great find. I will def. be making this chili again!
So great! TJ’s has so many wonderful finds 🙂 Thanks for coming back to let me know you enjoyed the chili!
Found your site through Pinterest! What on earth were we doing with our lives before Pinterest?! Haha!
So happy to have discovered your blog today (also via Pinterest I believe). I presume this particular recipe would probably freeze well?
Hi! I’ve never tried freezing this recipe, but I bet it would work awesome as a freezer meal. Hope you enjoy if you give it at try 🙂
The dish is amazing. I also add kale, more corn, and more chili once on my plate, because it wasn't even midly hot 🙂
Thanks for that! Just eating my dinner!
So great! Glad you were able to adapt it to suit your taste! Have a beautiful weekend! -Kaitlin