Let's bring back the comforting bowls!
There is nothing cozier than a warm, spicy chili to fight those dark and cold winter days. I mean, it's already dark at 4 pm, and we are having 32°F on most days. No doubt I'm craving hearty and satisfying meals! I wanted to make a chili with more grains than beans this time, so I made it with one of my favorite grain: buckwheat groats. Let me tell you it exceeded my expectations, buckwheat makes this chili thick, slightly chunky and just delicious.
It is definitely becoming a regular here this winter, and I have no doubt it will become one for you too. It's that kind of recipe that is too delicious considering how easy it is. Sometimes the easy way is the best way, this is the perfect example.
This 1-pot chili starts with the onions and garlic that are fried until golden brown.
Then you add the diced vegetables: celery, carrots, and red bell peppers. Sautée for a few minutes, and add the buckwheat groats, spices, water, and diced tomatoes, or tomato purée, depending on what you have on hand. I tried both and each came out delicious, diced tomatoes will give you a more chunky texture, while tomato purée will give more tomato flavor to the chili.
After about 20 minutes, the buckwheat should be cooked, it should be soft but not mushy. At this time you can stir in the cooked red kidney beans and some nutritional for a subtle cheesy flavor. Transfer to serving bowls, drizzle with lime juice, a few slices of avocado, and a spoonful of coconut cream!
What I love about this chili is that it reheats very well, make a big batch and your dinner is ready for the next 3 to 4 days.
This buckwheat chili is the comforting food par excellence, it's spicy, hearty and becomes your best friend on cold winter nights. Now take your favorite bowl, fill it generously with this buckwheat chili, add your toppings and you're ready to go!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Easy Buckwheat Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ cup chopped celery about 1 stick
- ½ cup chopped carrot from 1 carrot
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper from 1 red pepper
- 1 cup buckwheat groats
- 2 cups water
- 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes or 1 and ½ cup puréed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 and ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 15-ounce can cooked red beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- toppings: sliced avocado, fresh parsley, coconut cream, tortilla chips
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring regularly until onions are soft and start to caramelize.
- Add the chopped celery, carrot, and red bell pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Next, add the buckwheat groats, water, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Check regularly to make sure there is still enough water. After 20 minutes, taste it, the buckwheat groats should be cooked, soft but not mushy.
- Finally, stir in the red kidney beans and nutritional yeast. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed, adding more chili powder for a spicier chili, or more maple syrup for a sweeter one.
- Serve hot topped with avocado slices, coconut cream, and a drizzle of lime juice.
- This buckwheat chili will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Notes
- For a more soupy chili, increase the water to 2 and ½ cups.
Nutrition
This was easy and heartwarming as promised. And a nice change for the all beans chilis. I am not a fan of kasha, but this was the perfect use for it. I made one small change: I added a bit of Bragg's liquid aminos to round up the flavour and add that umami taste (I am no big fan of Bragg's either, and I only use it in minute quantities to replace meat or fish flavours).
Thanks for the feedback Régine! Adding some liquid aminos or soy sauce is a great idea!
That is one beautiful looking chili! nice combination of ingredients and flavors
Thanks Albert!
YUM. This looks absolutely delicious so hearty and filling and exactly what I want at the end of a long cold day. Love!
Thank you Karly! 🙂
The flavors in this recipe are amazing. However my buckwheat seems like it’s not cooked enough. I don’t cook them before putting in the pan right? I put them in as they are? Cooked for about 20-25 minutes and some are still chewy and feel undone. What is your advice?
Hi Sara,
You are correct, the buckwheat is not cooked before putting it in the pan. Maybe try using a different brand of buckwheat, as it seems some cook faster than others.
Thomas, we had your buckwheat chili as Christmas dinner tonight. We love buckwheat so I was very pleased to find this recipe. But I don't like our food to be too liquid so I kept the water in the recipe under control. It was really very nice. A good recipe! I'm a strict vegetarian for more than 70 years (yes, you read it well) and nowadays I often varying the meals with vegan dishes. Took some pictures of the dish tonight but cannot attach them. (Wanted to show it to you!). I wish you a merry Christmas!
Glad to hear you liked the chili 🙂 Don't worry about it, I'm sure it looked amazing!
Wow vegetarian for over 70 years, that is incredible. Thanks for your feedback and Happy Holidays!
Hi, just wondering if we should use roasted or unroasted buckwheat groats ?
Cheers from Scotland, cant wait to make this 😉
Rosa
Hi Rosa,
Both will work! Roasted groats will have a slightly nutty flavor but it won't make much difference here honestly.
I absolutely adore buckwheat! As for any Russian leaving abroad, this is my most missed Russian food and it’s not easy to find right “kasha” (funny you called it kasha, kasha means any mushy porridge and buckwheat is “grechka”:-)) in the shops here! But I had managed to find it in a Russian grossery shop:-) I’m religiously following the cooking rules for buckwheat since I hate it mushy. So I have a question: can I cook buckwheat separately from the sauce and then mix it with beans and buckwheat afterwards and cook for another 5 minutes?
Thanks Thomas, your blog is my discovery of the year!
Thanks for the kind words!
Buckwheat is so underrated! 🙂 I had no idea kasha was the name of the cooked buckwheat!
Regarding your question, yes that should work too! I cook it with the sauce so it only requires one pot but you can cook it on the side if you prefer.
I used to hate buckwheat groats - until I bought some from a Polish store. What a difference! Now I am a fan.
Yes cool Kasha and add when done
Delicious - and so easy!
Thanks Sylvia! 😉
I think this delicious recipe is also gluten-free. It would be great, Thomas, if you included this mention in the recipe. Thanks you.
Thank you, it's a very good recipe. I wish I liked the taste of buckwheat better, then I would rate it five stars - but this is the tastiest way I've found yet to eat buckwheat, which I definitely believe is healthy for me. I used pinto/Borlotti beans, which I prefer to kidneys. I also cooked the beans from dry and used garden tomatoes from the freezer, so we saved two cans 🙂 Thanks again.
Happy to hear you liked the recipe, even if you are not a fan of buckwheat!
Thanks for your feedback Michael!
You should try and procure buckwheat groats from an Eastern European grocery store (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian). The kind that is sold in health food stores cooks like mush, and I don't care for the taste, but the real kind is actually very good.
This is a great recipe. As a non-vegetarian I made a few alterations (used turkey stock, added 1.5 ounces of chorizo, and sauteed everything in butter). It made a wonderful winter meal with lime crema and toasted sourdough-rye bread. Will be making it again.
Thanks for your feedback Pamela!
My buckwheat groats remained uncooked, even after an hour. They had the texture of "old maids" - unpeopled popcorn kernels. So unpleasant. Where did I go wrong?
Humm...what kind of buckwheat groats are you using?
Buckwheat groats should be completely overcooked after an hour.
Great recipe! I usually am not a fan of chili as I find it too heavy but the buckwheat worked really well to keep it feeling a bit lighter. Even so, I wouldn't have this as a meal by itself but worked great with a couple of leftover salads.
Thanks Sebastian!
Cook the Kasha first. I fry 1 cup kasha with 2 eggs. Fry and stir. When fully cooked add to chili .
I added 6 ounce can of tomato paste and only 1 1/2 cups of water.