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Tag: Chili

Seriously Good Chili Powder Recipe
Our homemade chili powder recipe uses dried chili peppers and the perfect spice blend to make an intensely flavorful seasoning that’s better than store-bought.

After finding so many of the store-bought options flavorless, we decided to learn how to make chili powder, and I am so happy that we did.

I use this homemade chili powder for many recipes on Inspired Taste, including our homemade beef chili, vegetarian chili, this easy enchilada sauce, and my favorite fajitas. I also use it as a base for this homemade taco seasoning.

Key Ingredients

Chiles: For the best blend, start with dried chiles. You can buy them at larger supermarkets, Mexican markets, or online (they are inexpensive and last a while in your pantry). I use three types of peppers in my blend:
1. Ancho chile peppers, which are mildly spiced but taste rich, sweet, and fruity.
2. Guajillo peppers, which are more smoky and moderately hot.
3. New Mexico chile peppers, which smell sweet, clean, and pack a little heat.
Spices: To round the flavor of our homemade blend, we stir in ground cumin, oregano, and garlic powder. Then, to add a bit more smokiness and color, I love adding smoked paprika.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Chili Powder

Tip 1: Preparing dried chiles. It’s easy! There are three simple steps:
1. Cut the stem and remove the seeds. The seeds can be bitter, so get rid of them. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the stem away and then shake or scrape the seeds from the inside of each pepper. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to prevent the oils from getting on your hands. Also, be careful not to touch your eyes while working with peppers (ouch!)
2. Cut each cleaned pepper into small pieces, then add them to a dry skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant. This is my favorite part, the kitchen smells incredible!
3. Finally, grind them. Add the toasted chile peppers to your blender and blend until finely ground. Wait to open the lid, though. Let the dust settle for about a minute after blending. You don’t want a cloud of ground chiles in your face.
Tip 2: Add spices. Now, it’s time to add spices to make the chili powder taste even more amazing. We add garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Add everything to a spice jar, shake it up, and store it in a dark pantry for up to six months.

More Recipes with Dried Chiles
Seriously Good Chili Powder

PREP
15 mins

COOK
5 mins

TOTAL
20 mins

I’m obsessed with this homemade chili powder made by blending whole dried chiles. You can find dried chile peppers in most large supermarkets and any Latin market. We use three varieties: ancho chile peppers (sweet, fruity, and mild), New Mexico chile peppers (fresh, clean, and moderately hot), and Guajillo chile peppers (smoky and medium hot). You can swap or add other peppers based on what is available. We recommend including something sweet and fruity. They add complexity and flavor (in our case, the ancho pepper).

Makes 2/3 cup

You Will Need

3 dried ancho chiles

3 dried Guajillo chiles

3 dried New Mexico chiles

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

1Use kitchen scissors to cut the stem away and then shake or scrape the seeds inside each pepper. If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to prevent the oils from getting on your hands. Also, be careful not to touch your eyes during or after working with peppers.

2Cut each cleaned pepper into small pieces, then add them to a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast them, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

3Add the toasted chiles to a blender and blend until finely ground. Leave the lid in place until dust settles so you do not get a cloud of ground chile peppers in your face.

4Add ground chile peppers to a spice jar, then top with cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and smoked paprika. Seal the jar and shake.

5Store the chili powder in a cool, dry place for 6 months.

Adam and Joanne’s Tips

Spicy chili powder: Use hot smoked paprika or add 1/2 teaspoon or more cayenne pepper or chipotle powder

This recipe was inspired by Alton Brown.

The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.

Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 tablespoon
/
Calories
26
/
Protein
1g
/
Carbohydrate
6g
/
Dietary Fiber
1g
/
Total Sugars
2g
/
Total Fat
0g
/
Saturated Fat
0g
/
Cholesterol
0mg

AUTHOR:

Adam Gallagher
We are Adam and Joanne Gallagher, the creators of Inspired Taste. Established in 2009, Inspired Taste grew from a childhood dream into one of the internet’s most trusted recipe sites with hundreds of reliable recipes, step-by-step videos, and expert tips.More About Us

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February 14, 2026
Crispy Sweet Chili Chicken (Easy, Sticky, Better Than Takeout)
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Saucy and packed with flavor, this sweet chili chicken is a weeknight winner! Tender chicken bites get a crunchy coating, then get tossed in a sticky, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce. YUM!
3 Reasons This Chicken Beats Takeout

Less Oil: A light cornstarch coating creates golden chicken using just a little oil, no deep frying needed.

Flavor Explosion: Sweet, tangy, and just the right amount of spice make every bite of this sweet chili chicken dish irresistible.

Easy to Customize: Serve over rice, with noodles, or stir fry vegetables, and tweak the heat to your taste for the perfect family friendly meal.
Ingredients for Sweet Chili Chicken

Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of the chicken breast if you prefer.

Oil: Vegetable or canola oil is best for frying the chicken! Add more oil, if needed, to prevent the chicken from sticking.

Sweet Chili Sauce: Store-bought bottled sauce makes this recipe super easy, but if you prefer homemade, use my recipe!
How to Make Sweet Chili Chicken

This sweet chili chicken recipe is quick, easy, and packed with sticky, sweet goodness that clings to every crispy bite. Serve it with fried rice and Kung Pao Brussels sprouts for an Asian inspired meal.
1. Season Chicken: Place chicken pieces into a large bowl, then season with garlic salt and paprika. Crack 1 large egg on top of the chicken and massage it in with your hand to coat the chicken evenly.
2. Coat in Cornstarch*: Transfer the chicken to a large Ziplock bag. Add 1 cup of cornstarch to the bag, then seal it and shake to coat the chicken well.
3. Pan Fry Chicken: In a medium sized frying pan over medium high heat, add vegetable oil for frying. Add the coated chicken and cook 7-8 minutes, or until cooked through and browned.
4. Add Sauce & Serve: Pour Thai sweet chili sauce and toss to coat well. Garnish with diced green onions, if desired. Serve sweet chili chicken over rice and enjoy!
Alyssa’s Pro Tip

*Cornstarch Tip: Coating each piece of chicken in cornstarch gets you the “fried” texture. It’s important to shake off any excess cornstarch before cooking the chicken.

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Dinner

3 Packet Crockpot Chicken

4 hours 5 minutes
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February 12, 2026
Vegan Lentil Chili
This Vegan Lentil Chili has brown and red lentils, roasted red peppers, and olives and this flavorful meatless chili is also gluten-free. And even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you’ll love this lentil chili recipe!

Pin the Vegan Lentil Chili to try it later!

This Vegan Lentil Chili is is loaded with interesting and healthy plant-based ingredients that give it a wonderful combination of flavors. And this vegan chili recipe is so flavorful that I think it’s a perfect meatless dinner, even for people who aren’t vegans or even vegetarians.

I couldn’t resist adding red lentils along with the regular brown lentils this recipe started out with. I also added roasted red peppers and sliced olives for a little more flavor, and used canned vegetable broth as the base of the chili.

This was delicious as-is, but if you like tart flavors I think a generous squeeze of lime juice would add a pop or flavor to the Vegan Lentil Chili. And I’m guessing everyone who’s a fan of lentils will enjoy this tasty lentil chili recipe!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What are lentils?

Lentils are the dried seeds of the lentil plant, and they’re legumes which are never eaten fresh but always dried right after ripening. There are many different kinds and colors of lentils, but the brown lentils and red lentils used in this recipe are the two I use most often.

Is the Vegan Lentil Chili low in carbs?

Lentils do have some carbs but they also have fiber, so this vegan chili with two types of lentils has about 16 net carbs per serving with 6 grams of protein.

Why do I use brown and red lentils for Vegan Lentil Chili?

You can definitely make this with all brown lentils if that’s have you have, but I love the additions of red lentils to this lentil chili recipe. Red lentils add a nice color to any recipe you use them in. They also cook more quickly than brown, green, or black lentils, so the red lentils will dissolve into the chili to thicken it.

Want more tasty recipes for chili?

Check out Healthy Chili Recipes Your Family Will Love! for more delicious chili recipes.

How to Make Vegan Lentil Chili:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
1. Heat the oil and then cook the onions until they’re starting to brown. Add garlic and cook about one minute more.
2. Then add the chile powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, and ground chipotle powder (or cayenne) and cook about 90 seconds more.
3. You can use all regular brown-green lentils like you normally find in the grocery store, but if you have red lentils, they will dissolve a little faster and thicken the chili, and the red ones add a nice sweetness.
4. When the spices are fragrant, add the brown lentils, red lentils, vegetable broth, water, and tomato sauce and start to simmer.
5. When red lentils are mostly dissolved and brown ones are nicely tender, add the sliced green onion, sliced olives, and diced roasted red bell pepper and simmer about 15-20 minutes more.
6. Serve the Vegan Lentil Chili hot, with a squeeze of lime juice if desired.
More Vegan Recipes with Lentils

Weekend Food Prep:

This vegan lentil chile recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find ideas to prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped in small pieces

2 tsp. finely minced garlic

2 T Chili Powder

1 T ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)

1/8 tsp. ground Chipotle chile pepper (or cayenne; use more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

1 cup brown lentils

1/4 cup red lentils (or use more brown lentils if you don’t have red ones)

3 14 oz. cans vegetable broth + 1 can water

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 6 oz. can black olives, drained and sliced

1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

lime slices for serving (optional)

Instructions

Use a large dutch oven type pan so you have a big surface area for cooking the vegetables.

Heat olive oil over medium heat, then saute the chopped onion until it’s starting to brown. Add garlic and saute about 1 minute more.

Add the chili powder, ground cumin (affiliate link), dried oregano, and Chipotle or Cayenne powder and saute about 90 seconds more, or until the spices are fragrant.

Add the brown lentils, red lentils, vegetable broth, water, and tomato sauce and heat until the mixture comes to a low boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and let the mixture cook until red lentils are mostly dissolved and brown lentils are well-softened. Cooking time will depend on how fresh the lentils are, but I simmered this for slightly more than an hour, adding more water a couple of times. (Tomatoes make the lentils cook a bit more slowly, so if you’re in a hurry don’t add the tomato sauce until lentils are starting to get tender.)

While the mixture cooks, slice the green onions, drain olives and cut into slices, and drain the roasted red pepper and chop into small pieces.

When lentils are cooked, add green onion, olives, and roasted red pepper and let the mixture simmer 15-20 minutes more.

Serve the Vegan Lentil Chili hot, with slices of lime to squeeze into each serving if desired.

Notes

This vegan chili freezes well. For best results, thaw in refrigerator overnight and then heat in microwave or in a small pan on the stove.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving

Calories 167Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1010mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 7gSugar 6gProtein 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Vegan Lentil Chili would be too high in carbs for strict low-carb diet plans, but lentils have fiber so this recipe has only 16 net carbs per serving. Dried beans and lentils are approved for all phases of the original South Beach Diet, but they’re limited to 1/3 to 1/2 cup serving for Phase One. In a recipe like this Lentil Chili where there are lots of other healthy ingredients besides the lentils, you could have a larger serving.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soups and Stews to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Vegan Lentil Chili recipe was first posted in 2012. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
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January 29, 2026