Vegetarian Chili & Cornbread

Vegetarian Chili & Cornbread

For one week of the summer, I welcome the opportunity to put on my dairy apron, which usually collects dust until Shavuous comes around. Lighter meals of grilled fish and salads are also appreciated on these hot summer days. But for some serious meat eaters, the nine days* can be a challenging time. I know, because my husband is one of them. If he comes home from a long day of work to a pot of mac and cheese, he takes a bite and then asks for the next course. To him, a meal without meat is not a meal at all. The good news is, meat-eaters can still enjoy some hearty dishes, albeit without the 6-hour wait tag.

Vegetarian chili is a great option for the nine days because it is so versatile. You can serve it up in a burrito, over baked potatoes, or as a base for shepherds pie. You can also go the classic route and eat it alongside cornbread, or go Mexican with a tray of enchilada’s. Usually, chili needs to cook for several hours, but because I don’t like to sit over a hot stove in the summer, I’ve come up with a great recipe that doesn’t require endless hours on the stove.

For more great Nine Days ideas, including other meat-lovers recipes, visit the new Nine Days category.

You can also check out my new Nine Day Album on Facebook for great dairy and pareve recipes that are not on the blog.

*The Nine Days is a mourning period over the destruction of the Holy Temple. During this time, observant Jews abstain from eating meat and drinking wine as well as other joyous activities.

To me, chili without cornbread is like a hot dog without mustard. It’s just a must-have! It took a long time for me to come up with the perfect cornbread recipe that is moist, not too sweet, and, well…corny (you know I mean that in the taste of corn sense). The combination of coconut milk and creamed corn keep the cornbread moist and pareve. That means you get to whip them up with some REAL meat chili when the Nine Days are up!

I mentioned lots of fun ways to use chili earlier in the post, but I especially love this one-dish-meal option. You can choose to layer the chili into a square baking dish, or serve them up in individual mason jars for a fun twist. Since the cornbread is cooked on top of the chili (and will rise during baking), I only use half of my cornbread recipe for it. You can use the remaining batter for cupcakes or double up the chili recipe, and make 2 pies.

1 year ago: Corn Flake crunch ice cream
2 years ago: sushi salad II

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49 thoughts on “Vegetarian Chili & Cornbread

  1. What is the best way to rewarm this? If I make it the day before, will the corn bread part dry out when rewarmed?
    Also- can this be frozen?
    Thanks- can’t wait to try it!

    1. Hi, I don’t see why it can’t be frozen since each individual component freezes well. If you want to rewarm it, I would keep it covered so the cornbread doesn’t dry out during rewarming.

  2. Love the presentation in the mason jars, very cute. The addition of coconut milk and creamed corn to the muffins must give make the corn bread really moist. Nice Job!

    1. Yes, instead of adding beans, add a lb. of ground beef that you’ve browned in a separate pot. Or, if you’d like, you can add beans too. You’ll probably need more stock, so just check the consistency and add as needed.

  3. I made this, and both the chili and the cornbread were too sweet for me. I think next time I’ll skip the brown sugar for the chili part.

  4. Hi- I had an issue when making this, i first prepared my chili, and then it was refrigerated for a day or two. Then i made the cornbread per the recipe and baked it… it took a LONG time to cook and im thinking that the cold chili was sucking up all the heat from the batter. Do you have any suggestions? should i bake it on warm chili? thanks!

  5. made this a few times and we LOVE IT ( I love mexican food and I live in Israel where there are NO mexican restaurants so I’m always looking for good recipes…) Making it tonight for a mexican themed Chanukkah supper, witha side of guacamole and sour cream and ofcourse churros. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GREAT RECIPES. BIG FAN HERE!!!!

  6. just made the cornbread recipe for thanksgiving meal.. yum! this one is a keeper.. can’t wait to try making the whole dish with cheese and all, looks so good

      1. Thank you – I understand it’s just the liquid from the beans but do I just literally substitute for the egg or do I need to do something to it first?

  7. I was looking for dairy-free cornbread for Thanksgiving and came across this recipe. Glad I put it through a test run first. I think the oven temp needs to be raised to at least 400 F. At 350, even after 40 minutes, this cornbread was not “moist” – it was unbaked. It definitely needs the higher heat. Flavor is okay (it can be spiced up a bit), but the texture is lacking. I think higher baking temp will help.

    1. Hi, thanks for messaging. The timing in the recipe is for muffins, not for a whole pan of cornbread, that would take about 45 minutes. What type of pan did you use for this? I don’t think baking it at 400 is a good idea because it would dry out at that temperature.

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