For one week of the summer, I welcome the opportunity to put on my dairy apron, which usually collects dust until Shavuous comes around. Lighter meals of grilled fish and salads are also appreciated on these hot summer days. But for some serious meat eaters, the nine days* can be a challenging time. I know, because my husband is one of them. If he comes home from a long day of work to a pot of mac and cheese, he takes a bite and then asks for the next course. To him, a meal without meat is not a meal at all. The good news is, meat-eaters can still enjoy some hearty dishes, albeit without the 6-hour wait tag.
Vegetarian chili is a great option for the nine days because it is so versatile. You can serve it up in a burrito, over baked potatoes, or as a base for shepherds pie. You can also go the classic route and eat it alongside cornbread, or go Mexican with a tray of enchilada’s. Usually, chili needs to cook for several hours, but because I don’t like to sit over a hot stove in the summer, I’ve come up with a great recipe that doesn’t require endless hours on the stove.
For more great Nine Days ideas, including other meat-lovers recipes, visit the new Nine Days category.
You can also check out my new Nine Day Album on Facebook for great dairy and pareve recipes that are not on the blog.
*The Nine Days is a mourning period over the destruction of the Holy Temple. During this time, observant Jews abstain from eating meat and drinking wine as well as other joyous activities.
Vegetarian Chili
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (seeds and veins removed)
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
3 heaping tbsp tomato paste
3 soft plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup veggie stock or water
salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a pan and add onions and garlic. Saute until translucent. Add the jalapeno (keep some of the vein and/or seeds for more heat) and saute for another minute. Add the chili, cumin and garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so that the chili doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add additional veggie stock, if needed.
To me, chili without cornbread is like a hot dog without mustard. It’s just a must-have! It took a long time for me to come up with the perfect cornbread recipe that is moist, not too sweet, and, well…corny (you know I mean that in the taste of corn sense). The combination of coconut milk and creamed corn keep the cornbread moist and pareve. That means you get to whip them up with some REAL meat chili when the Nine Days are up!
Moist Pareve Cornbread
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk (I use Coconut Dream Original)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 14.75oz. can creamed corn
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add the creamed corn and mix to combine. Pour into a 9″ square pan, cast iron skillet, or 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes (less for the muffins, more for the pan) until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cornbread may be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days and will keep for an additional week if refrigerated.
VARIATION: to make these dairy, substitute the coconut milk for whole milk and half of the oil for melted butter.
I mentioned lots of fun ways to use chili earlier in the post, but I especially love this one-dish-meal option. You can choose to layer the chili into a square baking dish, or serve them up in individual mason jars for a fun twist. Since the cornbread is cooked on top of the chili (and will rise during baking), I only use half of my cornbread recipe for it. You can use the remaining batter for cupcakes or double up the chili recipe, and make 2 pies.
Layered Chili Pie
1 recipe vegetarian chili
1 8oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 recipe cornbread batter
1 scallion, chopped
Method:
Pour the chili into a 8″ square pyrex dish. Top with shredded cheddar. Mix the scallions into the cornbread batter and pour on top of the cheese. Bake, at 350 degrees, for 25 minutes. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
To prepare individual servings in mason jars, fill 1/3 of half pint jars with chili. Top with a tablespoon of cheddar cheese, and 1/3 cup cornbread batter mixed with scallions. Repeat with approximately 6-8 more jars. Bake at 350 (without the lid) for approximately 15-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
1 year ago: Corn Flake crunch ice cream
2 years ago: sushi salad II
I am totally making this! I may even make it for shabbat! This looks amazing!
Def. trying this for dinner this week!!
thank u!
What is the best way to rewarm this? If I make it the day before, will the corn bread part dry out when rewarmed?
Also- can this be frozen?
Thanks- can’t wait to try it!
Hi, I don’t see why it can’t be frozen since each individual component freezes well. If you want to rewarm it, I would keep it covered so the cornbread doesn’t dry out during rewarming.
We are big no-meat, lots of fish and dairy eaters so this is right up our alley! Layering certainly makes this a hearty dish.
This looks like fun in a cup!
Love the presentation in the mason jars, very cute. The addition of coconut milk and creamed corn to the muffins must give make the corn bread really moist. Nice Job!
This looks out of this world great and easy!
I love the dressed down pie and dressed up glass jars – fabulous!
I love the presentation of the chili in the jar with the cornbread on top. Perfect!
I love the jars. I make something similar to this with a polenta topping, which half my family loves, but the other half may prefer this cornbread top.
This recipe looks amazing! Love the idea as always.
this is such a creative and delicious dinner idea! the nine days may be over, but i think we’ll still add this to the menu next week!
I want to make this for shabbos now that the 9 days r over ca n i make this meat and how?
Yes, instead of adding beans, add a lb. of ground beef that you’ve browned in a separate pot. Or, if you’d like, you can add beans too. You’ll probably need more stock, so just check the consistency and add as needed.
I made this, and both the chili and the cornbread were too sweet for me. I think next time I’ll skip the brown sugar for the chili part.
Sounds good! Food is a matter of personal taste, I encourage everyone to adapt the recipes to their liking!
Hi- I had an issue when making this, i first prepared my chili, and then it was refrigerated for a day or two. Then i made the cornbread per the recipe and baked it… it took a LONG time to cook and im thinking that the cold chili was sucking up all the heat from the batter. Do you have any suggestions? should i bake it on warm chili? thanks!
Hi Daniel, how long did it take for the chili pie to bake? Did you make one pie in an 8″ pie dish?
I have made this twice and my whole family loves it. thanks!
made this a few times and we LOVE IT ( I love mexican food and I live in Israel where there are NO mexican restaurants so I’m always looking for good recipes…) Making it tonight for a mexican themed Chanukkah supper, witha side of guacamole and sour cream and ofcourse churros. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GREAT RECIPES. BIG FAN HERE!!!!
Thanks Bat-Tzion! It’s a favorite of ours too!
Congrats! This recipe has been nominated to win my Inspired Recipe of the Year Award. The shortlist will be announced on 12/30/2013.
Dinner is now done. Thank you. Loving this
So great to hear, thanks for sharing!
just made the cornbread recipe for thanksgiving meal.. yum! this one is a keeper.. can’t wait to try making the whole dish with cheese and all, looks so good
Yay! I’m so glad! I’m obsessed with this recipe!
Wondering if your cornbread recipe (with the veg. chili rec.) is a mezonot or hamotzi bracha?
We always say mezonot.
Can the coconut milk be substituted with almond milk in the cornbread recipe?
You can probably use almond milk, it just might not be as moist.
Can i make this without the jalapeno?
Yes, definitely.
Hi can you tell me exact measurement of butter for this recipe ?
There is no butter in this recipe, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
Could you suggest a substitute for the egg to keep it vegan-friendly for a guest?
Thanks!
Have you ever worked with aquafaba before? You can look it up. It won’t work without the egg so you’ll definitely need a substitute.
Thank you – I understand it’s just the liquid from the beans but do I just literally substitute for the egg or do I need to do something to it first?
I don’t have a lot of experience with aquafaba so I recommend you do some research on Google :)
I was looking for dairy-free cornbread for Thanksgiving and came across this recipe. Glad I put it through a test run first. I think the oven temp needs to be raised to at least 400 F. At 350, even after 40 minutes, this cornbread was not “moist” – it was unbaked. It definitely needs the higher heat. Flavor is okay (it can be spiced up a bit), but the texture is lacking. I think higher baking temp will help.
Hi, thanks for messaging. The timing in the recipe is for muffins, not for a whole pan of cornbread, that would take about 45 minutes. What type of pan did you use for this? I don’t think baking it at 400 is a good idea because it would dry out at that temperature.