But that’s just the beginning of this flavor journey.

Fire roasted tomatoes, fresh lime juice, chili powder, cumin and oregano elevate the creamy black beans, making this hearty chili a super flavorful vegetarian meal.

When serving this chili, don’t skimp on the toppings. Sour cream, sliced avocado, radish and jalapeño, fresh cilantro and lime all bring nice bright flavors.

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili is a delicious and satisfying meal. It’s perfect for when the weather starts to turn towards fall and the leaves remind us that Winter is coming.

I love all kinds of soups, stews and chilis. I rounded them up HERE for your viewing pleasure. Are you a black bean fan? Our Black Bean Puree is amazing, if I might say so myself!

Have you got a favorite cool weather go-to comfort food? I’d love for you to comment below.

Enjoy!!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Black Bean Chili

Black Bean Chili begins like many of our soup and chili recipes….with a medley of carrots, onions and celery. But that's just the beginning of this flavor journey.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Chili

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• juice of 1 lime
• salt & pepper to taste

For Serving

• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 avocado diced
• 1 handful fresh cilantro
• radish & jalapenos sliced

Instructions

For the Chili

• In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the diced carrots, celery and onion and saute until just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic for 1 minutes then add the spices and stir to coat vegetables. Add the broth, black beans and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove 3 cups of soup mixture to a blender and puree, then return to soup pot. Season with salt, pepper and lime juice to taste.

For Serving

• Serve in bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, sliced radish and jalapeno and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

The post Vegetarian Black Bean Chili appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Making your own spice blends is easy and economical.

What a great way to incorporate individual spices already in your cabinet.

The post Homemade Taco Seasoning appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Trust me when I tell you once you go with Homemade Enchilada Sauce you’ll never go back to the canned variety.  From start to finish in 20 minutes and worth every one of those.

Take 5 minutes to gather your ingredients before you begin.  Once you start making the sauce it moves quickly.

It’s delicious over your favorite Enchiladas and the star of your Game Day Cheesy Beef Enchilada Dip, but also a great base for Soup.

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Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Tbl. canola oil
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 10 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 1 minute, then add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt as necessary.

The post Homemade Enchilada Sauce appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Yesterday I described a fantastic salad with Black Bean Puree that I enjoyed recently. 

I’m recreating my favorite components, including Pico de Gallo and this amazing savory black bean dip.

The salad was built on a thin layer of the puree.  It was creamy and full of flavor with hints of jalapeno, cilantro and cumin.  I couldn’t get it out of my mind so naturally I had to recreate it.

Keep an eye out for this Black Bean Puree to make an appearance in a salad bowl very soon.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Black Bean Puree

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans rinsed & drained
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 jalapeno diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• salt to taste
• queso fresco to garnish

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion and jalapeno until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté for an additional 1 minute.
• Add in black beans and 1/2 cup broth. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Allow to simmer until broth is mostly absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup of broth, cilantro and seasonings; heat through.
• Using an immersion blender or blender, puree to desired consistency.
• Serve warm with a sprinkle of queso fresco cheese and tortilla chips.

The post Black Bean Puree That You’ll Love appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I took yesterday off from work to cook.  That was the sole purpose of my day and I was in heaven.  I’ve shared often that my work family loves to eat.  In fact, everyone either loves to eat or loves to cook (or both).  Which makes for some great special occasion spreads.  Today we celebrated Mardi Gras with a giant pot of Chili Gumbo and a platter of Mardi Gras Wings.  It was a good day.

I was a bit nervous at the thought of making gumbo.  I had some true Cajuns to feed and by no means wanted to compete with what they grew up on.  That would require making roux, from ingredients not already in my pantry (fee-lee, fii-lee, fo)…which would inevitably require me to leave my house and my pj’s.  Remember, I took the day off to avoid such things.

So instead I first sought out a gumbo recipe that would utilize some of the pounds and pounds of Andouille sausage in my freezer.  Long story short, we helped rescue a Trader Joe’s freezer truck filled with bacon and sausage.  It was the least we could do.

So while looking for a recipe that didn’t require file powder, I stumbled upon this beauty for Chili Gumbo.  Great flavor combinations that came together easily.  I highly recommend this recipe, which got a thumbs up today from my work family.

Did I mention I was cooking to feed my entire work family?  The Chili Gumbo recipe listed below is doubled from the original and easily fed twenty people.

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Chili Gumbo

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Author adapted from Abbie Argersi via Food52

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 dried Guajillo chilis
• 1 dark beer
• 30 ounces Chicken Andouille Sausage or favorite
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 3 Tbl. ground cumin
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 onions diced (about 4 cups)
• 4-5 jalapeno peppers diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 celery ribs diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 30- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 3 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 3-4 Tbl. Cajun seasoning according to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in a baking dish. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until golden brown, stirring every 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove stems and seeds from dried peppers and chop them fine. Place in bowl and pour in beer. Set aside.
• In a large skillet place Andouille sausage in one-inch of water. Heat over medium heat, turning once until water evaporates. Remove sausage and slice them. Brown them in oil then remove from the pan. Add cumin to pan and toast for one minute before adding ground beef. Season beef with salt & pepper and brown. Remove from pan and reserve with Andouille.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook them for 5 minutes. Add in celery, jalapenos and garlic; cook mixture until just softened. Add the vegetable oil, toasted flour and chili powder; stir for 3-4 minutes.
• Add in diced tomatoes, chilis and beer, and cooked meats with their juices. Add 3 cups of beef broth, red wine vinegar and 3 Tbl. Cajun seasoning (or more to taste). Simmer for at least 30 minutes. If too thick, add additional cup of beef broth.
• Serve with cooked white rice, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and Louisiana Hot Sauce

The post Chili Gumbo appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Were you lucky enough to score the coveted ham bone after this year’s holiday feast?  We turned our ham bone into Loaded Bean Soup.  Loaded with count ’em 15 of these varieties: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Blackeye, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split, Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Small Red, Yellow Split, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, Black Bean.

It’s New Years Day and we like many want to be sure to include as many ‘Good Luck’ foods into our day as possible.  We started with a bag of dried beans from Hurst’s called 15-Bean Soup, even though the label lists 17 varieties.  Ha! That reminds me of a favorite childhood magazine, mostly reserved for doctor’s offices.  Anyone else remember Highlight’s Hidden Pictures?

Can you spot the Black-Eyed Peas?  I was tempted to try and identify all 15 or 17 of these beans…That’s when we decided to simply call our version Loaded Bean Soup.

We had our own ham bone which we made ham broth from (simple to do) vs. their seasoning packet.  We did however mostly follow the soup recipe on the package.  I must admit I was intrigued by the suggestion of beans, diced tomato, chili powder and fresh lemon juice.

The result was a hearty flavorful soup, naturally low in fat and high in fiber.  That qualifies this Loaded Bean Soup as a Healthy Choice going into the New Year.  Serve this soup with a side of homemade Cornbread for a little extra good fortune.

Curious what other foods, besides Black-Eyed Peas, are said to bring luck, health and good fortune in the New Year?  Check out this fun round-up of 10 Good Luck Foods.

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Loaded Bean Soup {15+ varieties}

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Author adapted from Hurst’s 15-Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Hurst’s dried 15-Bean Soup
• 1 ham bone
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• juice of one lemon
• 1 Tbl. chili powder

Instructions

• Place beans in a large Dutch oven and cover with 2-quarts of water for 8-hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, to prepare the ham broth, place ham bone in large stock pot covered with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil then gently simmer for 2-3 hours, skimming foam periodically. Remove ham bone, reserve any ham pieces and chill broth. Once chilled skim off an fat.
• Drain beans, cover with ham broth and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
• Add remaining ingredients including any reserved ham. Simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes or until onion and beans are tender.
• Delicious served with cornbread.

The post Loaded Bean Soup {15+ varieties} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I’ve just spent 30 minutes debating about what to call this latest Chili Masterpiece.  Something in me strongly protests anytime I want to use the words ‘Greatest’ or ‘The Best’ in a recipe title.  It’s very literal.

“How do we know it’s the best chili if we haven’t tried all chilis?”  Okay, fine.  Can we compromise and say that this is Our Best Chili Yet?  Agreed!  We’ve never experienced Chili even close to this unctuous vat of love.

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Our Best Chili Yet

Servings 8

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground hot sausage we used Jimmy Dean Hot
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 3 jalapenos diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 soft beef bullion cubes
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups favorite tomato sauce we used Rao’s
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbl. cumin
• 1 Tbl. dark chili powder
• 1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. ground oregano

Instructions

• Brown ground beef and ground sausage in a Dutch oven until cooked through. Drain and reserve.
• Add onions, jalapenos and garlic to pan and sauté until tender. Season with beef bullion, water and remaining ingredients, including browned beef and sausage. Bring to a simmer and slow cook for 2-3 hours on stovetop or in slow-cooker.

The post Our Best Chili Yet appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I spent this past weekend organizing my kitchen.  Starting with the spice cabinet, moving on to the pantry, followed by my dishes cupboard and ending with the freezer. I’m sure everyone has their problem areas but since I began food blogging all of mine have blown up.  Hey now! ;-)

I found a package of Chorizo sausage in the back of my freezer.  I bought it from the sausage guy at the Farmers Market, mostly because it was delicious, partly because I can’t say no, then promptly forgot we owned it.  It was time for it to find it’s way into a recipe.  I did a mental rundown of the ingredients on hand and without hesitation Chicken & Chorizo Chili rolled off my tongue.  Brilliant!!

The next day we grilled the sausage along with a couple of chicken breasts then added them to a sautéed onion.  We found this recipe that called for grinding the chorizo before adding it to the chili.  What a fantastic way to infuse the broth with the slightly spicy chorizo flavor.  Delicious.

Diced tomato, chicken broth, chili powder and cumin are added to the chorizo chicken mixture and simmered for 15 minutes.  Then black beans finish it off.  Can’t get much easier than that.

We had no idea just how brilliant this flavor combination was.  Even two days later when we were enjoying the leftovers we were oooing and aaahing over Chicken & Chorizo Chili.  It was still delicious, bursting with flavor.

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Chicken & Chorizo Chili

Servings 6

Author adapted from iVillage

Ingredients

• 3 chorizo sausage links or other smoked sausage
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 28- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbl. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 15- ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Grill chicken and chorizo until cooked through. Cut chorizo into chunks then pulse in food processor 4-5 times; should be small chunks. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Reserve.
• In a Dutch oven, sauté onion until translucent. Add in chorizo, chicken, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, chili powder and cumin. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
• Add in black beans and simmer an additional 10 minutes until chili has thickened. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Here are a few BERORE AND AFTER pictures.  It’s such a pleasure to work in an organized kitchen :)

The post Chicken & Chorizo Chili appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

College Football Season is upon us.  In fact, for our team it’s GAME DAY!! Since we’re a foodie family, Game Day is one more reason to create new dishes.  Our inspiration comes from our opponents.  Yes, we like to envision our rivals as a meal.  For example if we’re playing the Arkansas Razorbacks….we might have a meal of Braised Pork.  I’ve been warned that talking College Football is akin to discussing religion and politics.  So instead we’ll focus on these Southwest Skillet Corn Fritters {with Avocado Ranch Dip}.  We devoured them.

I’ll leave you with these pictures and a recipe.  I’ve got a game to watch ;)

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Southwest Skillet Corn Fritters {with Avocado Ranch Dip}

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For fritters…

• 2 ears of fresh corn steamed, kernels removed
• 1 small onion diced
• 1-2 jalapeno finely diced
• 1 Tbl. butter
• salt & pepper
• 2 Tbl. fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• pinch cayenne & salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbl sugar
• oil for pan frying

For avocado ranch dip…

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• dash cayenne & salt

Instructions

For fritters…

• In a skillet, sauté corn kernels, onion and jalapenos over medium heat until onion is tender. Season will salt & pepper and cilantro.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Add in corn mixture and stir to combine. Line a shallow baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon out fritter sized portions of corn mixture onto baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Heat 1-inch of oil in skillet, pan fry fritters in small batches, turning over when golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

For avocado ranch dip…

• Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined.

The post Southwest Skillet Corn Fritters {with Avocado Ranch Dip} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

April was a record sales month at my office.  And we all know what that means.  It’s PARTY TIME.  We decided on a Hot Diggity Dog Party with all the fixins.  I’ve been wanting to share my Hot Dog Chili Recipe and this was the perfect chance.

Hot Dog Chili is quite different from traditional chili…if there is a traditional chili.  The main difference is the texture.  Hot Dog Chili has a fine texture which works oh so nicely as a topping for your favorite hot dog.

Start with finely diced onion, sautéed until tender.  Then add in minced garlic and sauté for an additional minute before adding the ground beef.

The key to achieving the fine texture is adding water while you are browning the meat.  About a 1/2 cup of water per each pound of meat will do the trick.

Once your meat is cooked through and no longer pink, it’s time to season.

Because I was making this batch to serve to 50 people I kept the seasoning pretty tame.  A combination of chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

Next comes a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and tomato sauce.  Simmer the chili for about 20 minutes then adjust seasoning to taste.

I mentioned Hot Dogs and all the fixins.  In addition to hot dogs and hot dog chili we had coleslaw, sauerkraut, baked beans, tossed salad, macaroni & cheese, a giant pot of homemade chili, and an amazing Frito Salad.  As a bonus I’m sharing this super fun and hugely popular recipe that my buddy and co-worker Bethany brought today.

Frito Salad
1 full size bag (10.5 ounce) Fritos
1 green bell pepper, diced
4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can Ranch Style beans (seasoned kidney beans)
1/2 – 1 cup Catalina Dressing

Combine peppers, tomatoes, beans, cheese and about 1/2 cup dressing.  Right before serving toss with Fritos.  Add additional dressing if needed.

All my best,
xo Libby

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Hot Dog Chili

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 Tbl. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Serve with hot dog buns hot dogs, diced onion & shredded cheddar

Instructions

• In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté diced onion in oil until tender. Add in garlic and sauté an additional minute then add the ground beef and water.
• Use a wooden spoon to stir the meat, breaking it into small pieces. Continue cooking; stirring frequently until meat is cooked through and no longer pink.
• Add in seasonings, ketchup, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

The post Hot Dog Chili appeared first on Lemony Thyme.