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–+ servings
bowl of charred vegetable chili topped with crema, with spoon and tortilla crisps.
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Charred Vegetable Chili with Tortilla Pepita Crisps

This vegetable chili is spicy and smoky from charred tomatoes and chili peppers, has a crunchy, salty, sweet tortilla and pepita crisp topping, and a silky texture from a surprise ingredient.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
make tortilla pepita crisp (cooks while chili cooks)10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: protein choices, tomato soup, vegetable soup
Servings: 4
Calories: 538kcal
Author: Kathy Marshall

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan or grill to char vegetables (broil or grill outside)
  • 1 soup pot or dutch oven, 3.5 quart or similar size
  • 1 blender immersian or typical blender

Ingredients

Charred vegetables

  • 4 ea poblano chili peppers see NOTES
  • 2 boxes cherry tomatoes can include the small on-the-vine type
  • 2 tsp oregano regular or Mexican variety
  • 2 tsp cumin ground
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil coat veg as much or as little as you like

Rest of chili ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 ea medium yellow onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 4 tbsp tomato paste I use no salt added, but either works
  • 1 tsp chili powder see notes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes I use unsalted but either works
  • 1 15 oz can chili beans any bean you like is fine
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 oz 70% dark chocolate shhh, this is the secret ingredient!

Tortilla pepita crisp

  • 3/4 cup crumbled tortilla chips about 12 chips
  • 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tbsp raw sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp honey can sub maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt ok to sub normal sea salt

Instructions

Grill or broil veggies to char: 10 min prep, 10 min outside grill or 20 min broil in oven.

  • If grilling outside, leave 2 boxes cherry tomatoes and 4 ea poblano chili peppers whole, toss them with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and liberally sprinkle with 2 tsp cumin ground, and 2 tsp oregano. Char the veggies on outside grill on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, turn peppers (and tomatoes if you can without the bursting) using tongs, and grill another 5 minutes until nicely charred. Cool, remove any tomatoe stems, cut stems off peppers and roughly chop both, removing seeds from peppers as you cut them open.
  • If broiling inside, leave tomatoes whole, but cut peppers in half, remove stems and seeds, then toss with oil and herbs same as above. Broil about 10 minutes, turn pepper halves over and broil another 10 minutes until nicely charred. Cool and chop, same as above.

Make chili - 5 min chop, 30 min cook

  • Chop 1 ea medium yellow onion and add with 1 tbsp olive oil to the pot. Add pinch of salt and pepper. Saute until the onion develops some color, about 5-8 min. Add 4 cloves garlic, minced during the last couple of minutes (but not any sooner, as you don't want the garlic to burn).
  • Add the 4 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp ground cumin to the pot with the onions and garlic.
  • Stir the added tomato paste and spices into the sauteed onion for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, allowing the paste to caramelize and the spices to bloom in the heat. Take care not to burn. The tomato paste will begin to stick a little here and there, which is ok, it is caramelizing.
  • Rinse canned beans.
  • Add 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes , the rinsed 1 15 oz can chili beans, chopped charred tomatoes and peppers, and 1 cup water. Stir, then cover and cook for 30 minutes on med-low heat, stirring occasionally.
  • Partially blend (25%) the chili by pulsing an immersion blender in the chili in various locations 10-12 times. The result will be a chili that sill has many whole beans and chopped veggies, but will also have a silky, velvety texture, only improved by the following step!
  • Stir in 1 oz 70% dark chocolate, until it melts.
  • Taste and adjust for seasonings (salt, pepper, chili, cumin, oregano).

Make tortilla crisp topping - 10 min prep, 30 min cook

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Crumble tortilla chips into small pieces (similar to a pumpkin seed size, but the pieces can vary a bit in size, and some can be a bit larger). Either place in plastic bag and roll with rolling pin or break chips up by hand.
  • Place 3/4 cup crumbled tortilla chips , 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds, 2 tbsp raw sesame seeds, 2 tbsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp chili powder in bowl and toss to mix thoroughly.
  • Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the mixture and follow with honey- see next step. By using the same tablespoon to measure the honey after the oil, the honey will slip off the tablespoon more easily for you!
  • Carefully drizzle 2 tbsp honey over seeds, then use fork to carefully incorporate the honey into the mixture. This doen't take long, but does take care to distribute the honey evenly. Work gingerly, so as not to pulverize the tortilla chips anymore.
  • Line a sheet pan with parchment and lay the coated seeds/tortillas out, pressing with fork and fingers lightly to get a uniform slab. Don't stress over this process, it will all stick together and does not have to look perfect.
  • Sprinkle the slab with the 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt.
  • Bake for approximately 30 minutes, then leave to completely cool. The honey must completely cool in order for the crispy texture to take form (warm honey = soft texture). You can refrigerate it for 10 min to speed process along if needed.
  • Break the tortilla pepita crisp up into different size pieces and top your chili with them and/or serve alongside the chili.

Other toppings:

  • For a crema that nicely balances out the spicy, smokey chili, you can use a variety of dairy products. See notes.
  • In addition to the tortilla pepita crisp you can garnish with pickled and/or candied jalapenos, scallions, lime zest, or cumin seeds!

Serving and reheating

  • As shown, crema is drizzled over the top of each serving and broken up pieces of the crisp are scattered over chili, with a larger piece set into the chili for fun.
  • When reheating any leftovers, you may want to add 1/4-1/2 cup water and stir to reheat, as the beans and pureed chili will thicken a bit.

Notes

Fresh chili peppers: I've used 4 poblanos for a milder chili (shown in broiler photos),  and other times used 2 poblanos, 1 jalapeno, and 1 serrano (shown in grilling photos). the poblanos are mild, the jalapeno is the next hottest, and the serrano is the hottest of the three. choose wisely depending on your heat tolerance!
Chili spice: Simply use store bought chili powder, or take 20+ min to make a full batch of SOFA'S HOMEMADE CHILI POWDER RECIPE. The homemade chili powder creates a special smokey, spicy chili blend, but either way this recipe tastes great. 
Crema topping: I like to blend a little creme fraiche into a little plain yogurt (not Green yogurt), for a drippy crema that drizzles well over the chili. You can use a dollup of sour cream or thin the sour cream with a bit of water to make it drizzly.
Nutritional information is based on each of 4 servings containing 1/4 of the tortilla pepita crisp, but you may not eat that much of it with each serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 1426mg | Potassium: 1495mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin C: 114mg | Calcium: 245mg | Iron: 11mg | Magnesium: 197mg | Net Carbohydrates: 56g