Clean Eating 4 Bean Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is chili considered clean eating? ›

Chili can be healthy, with qualifiers. The iconic dish—typically made with ground meat, tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasonings—is packed with protein, fiber (thanks, beans!), and iron. This makes chili relatively healthy, provided you don't get too carried away with high-fat toppings like sour cream and cheddar cheese.

The best beans for chili are pinto, kidney, and black beans, like in this easy and tasty recipe. This 3-bean chili freezes great for meals later in the week. If you prefer thinner chili, add an extra can of tomato sauce. The green chiles are not hot and add a wonderful flavor, so don't be afraid to use them.

Chili with beans and meat, homemade (1 cup) contains 23.5g total carbs, 16.3g net carbs, 9.1g fat, 18.2g protein, and 242 calories.

Chili without beans, with meat, homemade (1 cup) contains 12.8g total carbs, 8.1g net carbs, 10.6g fat, 16.6g protein, and 206 calories.

Unsweetened tea and coffee, water and seltzer are all clean choices.

Stir in Some Beans

Instead, use beans in your healthy chili to add fiber and stretch your dish healthfully and inexpensively. You can use one type of beans, such as kidney beans or black beans, or mix several types for a variety.

Sweet onions are great for caramelizing due to their higher sugar content. You can cook them into your chili, serve them raw over top, or even elevate your chili with a sophisticated caramelized onion topping! Some of my favorite sweet onions are Walla, Walla, Maui, and Vidalia Onions.

Generally, cooks use pinto beans for making chili. Kidney beans, with their firm texture and earthy flavor, are also popular. As previously stated, we highly recommend using a combination of pinto, black, and red kidney beans.

If you're using canned tomatoes, look for San Marzano tomatoes canned without salt and sugar if you can find them. That way you can add your own seasonings. San Marzanos also have the best flavor for home made tomato sauce. What is a substitute for tomatoes in a chili recipe?

Highest and Lowest Carb Beans

Among these, black soybeans and green beans have the lowest carbs, potentially making them better for a keto diet. On the other hand, chickpeas, pinto beans, and navy beans have high carbs. You might want to avoid these if you're strictly following a keto diet.

Is homemade chili with beans healthy? ›

Chili Nutrition Facts

A 100-gram portion of chili made with meat and beans has 157 calories, 9.8 grams of fat, and 12.6 grams of protein. While not considered to be a low-fat meal, chili is relatively low in calories and provides a great serving of protein, thanks to the meat and beans it contains.

Classic bean-based chili is not keto-friendly, as beans are high in carbohydrates. Luckily you can still make a keto-friendly chili without the beans. All of the traditional chili spices, such as chili powder, ground cumin and smoked paprika, are great flavor-boosters for keto foods.

Per Serving: 264 calories; fat 8.3g; saturated fat 1.2g; mono fat 5.2g; poly fat 1.3g; protein 9.5g; carbohydrates 40.9g; fiber 10.7g; iron 4.4mg; sodium 689mg; calcium 145mg.

Helps with weight loss

Studies show that the capsaicin in chili peppers can reduce appetite. Other studies show that chili peppers can increase metabolism and help you burn off the calories you do eat.

Boasting high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants, chillies have been found to help prevent lifestyle diseases including some cancers and stomach ulcers. Meanwhile, their ability to create heat within the body has also linked the peppers to weight loss as well as lowering the risk of type II diabetes.

A clean diet may include whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats while limiting highly processed snacks and other packaged foods with added sugar and salt. It may also be associated with terms like plant-based, grass-fed, sugar-free, or gluten-free.

Though many people think of chili as its own category, it is technically just a type of stew, with origins in Tex-Mex cuisine. Chili isn't a soup mostly because it usually is more solid than it is liquid, with most chili recipes containing majority meat and/or vegetables that are simmered in a tomato sauce.

They bring a lot of flavor, a little (or a lot) of spice and add a pop of color to your dish. But did you know that chili peppers are also considered a superfood for the health benefits that they provide to your diet? Chili peppers originate from the Americas, but are now cultivated all over the world.