This mango chili with black beans is a zesty spin on the typical chili! Allspice and a squeeze of lime take the flavor over the top.
This Mango Black Bean Chili was created in partnership with the National Mango Board. All opinions are our own.
Fall has us craving chili—but this time Alex and I wanted to create something a little different. Meet our new favorite: this Mango Black Bean Chili recipe. Mangos add a sweetness and complexity that’s just right for a hearty chili, especially if it’s a vegetarian black bean chili like this one. A little allspice and a squeeze of lime kick it up a notch! This mango black bean chili recipe is perfect for just about anything, from tailgating recipes to healthy dinner ideas. I just brought a batch to a friend who adopted a sweet baby, so it works for meals for new moms, too. Perhaps it could even be an award winning chili recipe at our next chili cookoff! Keep reading for the recipe and some mango nutrition facts!
Related: Easy Healthy Dinner Recipes
Mango nutrition facts & more
The variety of mango we used for this mango black bean chili recipe is called Keitt mangos, one of the six main varieties of mangos sold in the U.S. A few fun facts about Keitt mangos (shown in the photo above):
- The Keitt mango skin stays green even when it’s ripe! Squeeze it gently to judge ripeness.
- The flavor is sweet and fruity; a bit more tart than other varieties. Peak availability is July to September.
- Keitt mangos are popular in Asian cultures, where they are enjoyed in its mature-green stage or even as pickles.
- One cup of diced mangos provides 100% of your daily vitamin C!
How to make vegetarian black bean chili with mango
A good vegetarian or vegan chili recipe can be deceptively difficult to find. Alex and I have made many meatless chili recipes over the years, and we’ve found that vegetarian chili recipes need a lot of flavor going on. Since many people expect the heartiness of a meat chili, it’s got to be flavored to perfection. Here are the secrets to this mango black bean chili recipe:
- Mangos! Obviously. Mangos bring in just the right sweet element to the chili that’s needed when you’re making a vegetarian chili. We love the zing they add to this recipe. If you’re looking for a quick way to dice a mango, here’s a video we made on How to Cut a Mango.
- Black beans: You can use canned or cooked here: if you have an Instant Pot, try our Instant Pot black beans method!
- Allspice: We’ve used lots of chili powder and cumin, which are typical to chili recipes. But we wanted something to kick it up a notch—that’s where the allspice comes in! It’s vaguely Caribbean to complement the mango, and is a nod to the cinnamon sometimes found in chili recipes.
- Tomato paste: This recipe needed some body, and we found it in tomato paste. It rounds out the flavor so make sure to add it.
- Quinoa: For vegetarian and vegan chili recipes, we like a chewiness that mimics meat. Here we’ve used quinoa, which is cooked beforehand and then added to the chili (so it doesn’t cook up too much of the moisture).
- Lime: For the garnish, a squeeze of lime brings in just enough tang.
What to serve with black bean chili
Now if you make this mango black bean chili, what to serve with it? Our absolute favorite side dish to serve with chili is this Easy Vegan Cornbread or Best Homemade Cornbread. It’s so tender and moist, and seriously easy to whip up. We heartily recommend it!
Or if you prefer, serve with a green salad to balance the heartiness of the chili. Here we’d recommend our Best Tossed Salad Recipe with Avocado Dressing. Or, there are lots more great ideas: check out our best sides to go with chili!
Looking for mango recipes?
You can incorporate mangos into recipes in many different ways! Here are some of our favorite mango recipes:
- Tropical Mango Bowls with Citrus Drizzle
- Easy Mango Sorbet
- Grilled Teriyaki Mango Skewers
- Grilled Mango Tacos with Dream Sauce
- Easy Mango Salsa Recipe
- Mango & Shrimp Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
This mango black bean chili recipe is…
This Mango black bean chili recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, dairy free and naturally sweet.
Mango Black Bean Chili
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This mango chili with black beans is a zesty spin on the typical chili! Allspice and a squeeze of lime take the flavor over the top.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (about ¾ cup dry)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 green pepper
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans (or 3 cups cooked black beans)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 3 mangos — 2 ½ cups diced, plus garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 28-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low. Cover the pot, and simmer where the water is just bubbling for about 15 to 20 minutes until the water has been completely absorbed (check by pulling back the quinoa with a fork to see if water remains). Turn off the heat and let sit covered to steam for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion. Dice the pepper. Mince the garlic. Drain and rinse the beans. Roughly chop the cilantro. Dice the mango into chunks. Measure out 2 ½ cups for the chili, then small dice the rest for the garnish.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil, then sauté the onion for 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add the garlic and green pepper and sauté about 5 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and allspice, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the black beans, cans of tomatoes, chopped cilantro, kosher salt, and 1 ½ cups of the cooked quinoa (reserve any remaining for future use). Pour in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 15 minutes. Stir in the diced mango, then remove from the heat.
- Serve warm topped with reserved mango garnish and a squeeze of lime juice. If desired, garnish with sour cream (or for vegan, vegan sour cream, cashew cream or nacho cheese).
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Mango Chili
This sounds so good! Do you think the mangos will keep? I normally eat chili leftovers for several days.
Thank you! Since the mangos are cooked in the chili, they will save in the refrigerator for several days just like normal chili! Unless you are asking about the mangos used for the garnish? Those mangos should be fine in a separate container chopped for a few days as well.
This is such a creative idea to add fruit to chili! Reminds me of a fruit salsa idea with the sweet plus spicy combination :)
It would behoove you to mention that most worcestershire sauces aren’t vegetarian due to anchovies, for your readers who do not expect to see animal ingredients in your recipes.
Otherwise, looks tasty!
The recipe meant to say vegan Worcestershire — I’ve fixed it! Thank you!
Mango and chili together! Omg, I never would have thought of this but I bet it’s a wonderful combo!
I made the mango chili and it was wonderful! So full of flavor. It will be one of my go-to recipes for our next gathering.
We are so glad to hear this! Thank you so much for making it and we’re glad you liked it!
We made this for dinner last night and it is GREAT! Thanks for a wonderful idea. We love mangoes and this is such a fun new way to use them. We loved the mango black bean tacos, too. Yum! :)
I love the idea of pairing mango with chili! I am definitely going to make chili this week since now I am craving it…too bad we don’t have mango here on the island :(