I know, I know – a chili in the middle of summer? And I’m writing this as we have a heat wave here in the NYC area. It has been so sticky and humid and in the low to mid 90s. Unbearable.
BUT I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for a while, and many of us work in cold office buildings, so maybe you need the pick me up! OR, you need a good use for that extra zucchini growing in your garden (this saves well.)
Regardless, chilis can be eaten year round, especially when you need a comforting bowl of something at the end of the day (that isn’t ice cream.)
This chili is adapted from my favorite, go-to quinoa chili recipe (you can find that here.) Instead of using boring old cubes, we’re using zucchini noodles.
And for those meat-lovers, if you wanted to turn this into a turkey chili, you could halve the amount of beans used and substitute in with a half pound of ground turkey!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekends – my mother in-law has been in town since Friday (from Puerto Rico), so we’re hanging out with her. She’s in town for our baby shower, which is next week!
I’ve been trying to get the nursery almost finished before the shower, because my friends and family will be over (we’re hosting it in our apartment building’s common area space – you can rent it out for events!) and I know they’ll want to come up and see the baby’s room!
I’m almost done, except for some decor. Some of the furniture that I’ll be using in the nursery is going to come from ym office, also, so I have to wait until I’m done there. My office lease ends September 1, but I am going to try to be packed up and out of there by the week of August 14th. I don’t want to be moving things around when I’m 9 months pregnant, ya know?
Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a zucchini using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 9Ā points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
Easy Zucchini Noodle and Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeƱo pepper seeded and diced
- 1 14. ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 14.5 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 14.5 ounce can Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
- 1 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon oregano flakes
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 medium zucchini Blade D, noodles chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, carrot, celery, peppers, and jalapeƱo. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and season with oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.Ā
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until chili thickens. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Once chili is thickened, add in the zucchini noodles and stir to combine thoroughly. Let cook for 2-3 minutes before serving.
- Serve into bowls. Freeze what you don't use!
Recipe Notes
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