Easy Vegetarian Chili Made with Farmers Market Vegetables

There is something about a Saturday morning at the farmers market in the heart of summer that I will never tire of. The tables are full, colors are vibrant, and just about everything is at its peak. This past weekend in Charlotte was no exception. After trips to the Matthews Community Market and the Uptown Farmers Market, I came home with a haul that practically wrote this recipe for me. In the mix vine-ripened tomatoes from New Town Farms, Seven Sisters and Garden Window Farms. Green bell peppers and bundles of celery stalks with leaves packed with flavor from Seven Sisters Farm, sweet baby carrots from Garden Window Farm, a two large gorgeous mushrooms: Lion’s Mane and Oyster, from Urban Gourmet Mushrooms. I lso picked up zucchini along the way, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where!

Although shopping locally is a year-round sport, for many summer is peak season to spend a Saturday morning at a local market. Right now our North and South Carolina growers are bringing in produce that was picked just hours before it landed on the market table, and you can taste that freshness in every bite. Tomatoes are finally in! Squash and zucchini are everywhere. The peppers are crisp and sweet.

What to make for dinner? All you really have to do is shop well and let those good ingredients do the talking.

Why It’s Important to Shop at Farmers’ Markets

First, check where you are shopping. Not every place with a sign or section that says “Farmers Market” really and truly carries all local produce or products. Ask questions and get to know the farmers. Most area markets have rules about vendors being the farmers who grew the fruits and veggies. You can check market websites to find out for sure.

Here’s why it matters. When you shop with local farmers, every dollar you spend at the market goes straight into the hands of the farmer who grew the food, the baker who made the bread, the producer who raised the bees and jarred the honey or the folks who milked the cows and made the cheese. When we shop local, we keep our money circulating right here in our own communities, and we help the small family farms in our region hold onto their land for another season. And that process, is a powerful thing to be a part of.

All the Spices and the Fresh Local Vegetables

So this week, l encourage you to go out on Saturday – or to many local markets open during the week; shop local and then make a big batch of veggie chili. The method is simple.

You grind each vegetable down in your food processor until it takes on the texture of ground meat, then you build the chili one vegetable at a time, sautéing as you go so everything holds its flavor and slowly braises together. It is hearty, satisfying, and one of my favorite ways to put a summer market haul to work. This chili also freezes well, so you can make a big batch and then pack it up in glass jars and freeze to enjoy or use later.

Bonus Vegetarian Chili Dip Recipe

Want a quick and easy bonus recipe for a terrific Veggie Chili Dip? Simply take 2 cups of this veggie chili and combine with 8 oz. of cream cheese and a cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Heat in a saucepan or an oven to table serving dish until the cheese is melted. Stir well to combine. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. For me, that means any of the corn or flour tortilla chips from De La Vega Tortillas, available in the Charlotte area at the Matthews Farmers Market, the Uptown Farmers Market, the Davidson Farmers market or online here.

Season your chili in the end with salt and pepper. My go-tos here are Sea Love Sea Salt ( you can order online and select your favorite flavor): and a fun Hot Pepper Blend I make myself with a trio of peppercorns and coriander seeds from Spicewalla

How to Make Easy Vegetarian Chili

I make this recipe and versions of it often. I always use Urban Gourmet Farms mushrooms, most often the Lion’s Mane and Oyster varieties. Local carrots are another staple for long as they are in season. But the other veggies vary from an array of root veggies, to summer and winter squash.

Tom and I always enjoy it served over (or sometimes under) a local North Carolina rice. Heirloom grain, Carolina Gold Rice from Tidewater Grain Company. in Oriental, NC.

Read more about how much I love this heirloom rice, here.

The recipe is below. But first, two little kitchen notes I want to pass along. each a recipe for how to spice things up. Instead of using coarse or fine ground black pepper, why not make your own blend? Shop the shelves or the online store at Spicewalla. Get all the peppercorns and the whole coriander seeds, and then pull out your coffee grinder.

“Heidi’s Hot Pepper Blend” is a flavorful mix of equal measures of Black Peppercorns, White Peppercorns, Pink Peppercorns and Coriander Seed. Grind everything together in a coffee grinder, grinding to a coarse or fine consistency. 

Food & Travel Writer, Heidi Billotto

Speaking of grinding your own, that same little habit pays off with the warm spices that give this chili its backbone.

The Best Spices for Vegetarian Chili (And More on How to Grind Your Own)

I season my chili with a mix of spice options from my friends at Spicewalla in Asheville. Take a look at any one of the Spicewalla varieties of chili powder, their chili-lime blend and don’t sleep on the combo of coriander and cumin seeds. For the biggest burst of flavor, toast the seeds in a dry frying pan over high heat for a minute or two or until the seeds become fragrant. Don’t feel you need to use a special spice grinder. You can use the same coffee grinder you use day to day, to coarsely grind these flavorful seeds before adding to the chili mix.

Want the biggest flavor payoff for the least amount of effort? Toast your whole spices before you grind them. For this recipe, put your coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat and let them go for a minute or two, just until they smell warm and fragrant and start to dance around the pan. Then carefully spoon them into a coffee grinder. (Yes, you can use the same grinder you use for your morning coffee.) Pulse the grinder until the seeds are finely or coarsely ground. Once you start grinding your own, you will not want to go back.

Food & Travel Writer, Heidi Billotto

What About Fresh Ground Coffee the Day After?

No worries, you can still have fresh ground coffee that won’t taste like last night’s chili. After you are done grinding spices, simply put two tablespoons of coffee beans in the grinder. Grind the beans to a fine powder. Toss this batch of ground coffee out ( or put it in your kitchen garden soil or in your compost.) Your grinder, and your next cup of Joe, are good to go the next morning.

Meet Heidi Billotto

Heidi Billotto is a culinary storyteller, educator, and on-air expert who brings local food to life wherever she goes. Married to Charlotte musician Tom Billotto, she connects small family farmers, independent producers, and regional makers to the people, plates, and media outlets that showcase their work, then shows her readers and followers how to bring those ingredients home to their own tables. Known for her deep relationships, genuine curiosity, joyful style, and sincere passion for all she does, Heidi elevates local food culture on the regular through cooking, teaching, travel, and media.

Heidi also writes the weekly recipes for the Charlotte Uptown Farmers Market newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter at wnfarmersmarket.com. Browse the archived recipes here. Or see how the market has gathered a year or so’s worth of those recipes into an online cookbook here. Find more recipes any time at HeidiBillottoFood.com.

And whenever you see these five little words “Tell Them Heidi Sent You” ( with or without the hashtag), , know that they are my personal seal of approval. It means I have been there, I believe in the folks behind it, and I am sending you their way with my whole heart. So go on…

#TellThemHeidiSentYou