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This Jalapeno Chili Cornbread Casserole is an easy vegan comfort food casserole recipe with a quick jalapeño cheddar cornbread crust baked right on top! It’s warm and savory and comes together in one dish. Jump to Recipe
I love baking of casseroles in fall and winter. Just put everything in one dish no standing around and you get hot steaming amazing food. Everyone loves a good comfort food casserole and this chili cornbread casserole is especially delicious – so saucy and flavorful. It all starts out with a savory vegan lentil bean chili which is topped with an addicting maple sweetened jalapeño cornbread crust. You’ll find it difficult to stop nibbling away at that cornbread topping it’s so good with that hint of sweetness that balances out the heat from the chili and jalapenos. The cornbread is delicious and moist because of being baked on top of the chili!
Not only is it this vegan cornbread casserole hearty, but it’s also quick to pull together in one dish. You mix all the chili ingredients in the dish and pre-bake the chili, top with the cornbread mix, and pop this back in the oven until it’s all ready and bubbly.
No one’s going to be mad that there are fewer dishes to clean tonight!
This Vegan Chili Cornbread Casserole is the perfect vegan comfort food dinner on a chilly evening. A complete meal coming out of one skillet. What’s not to love about that?
Vegan Jalapeno Chili Cornbread Casserole
Jalapeno Cornbread Chili Casserole is an easy vegan comfort food casserole recipe with a quick jalapeño cheddar cornbread crust baked right on top of the lentil chili. It’s warm and savory and comes together in one dish. Nutfree soyfree. Glutenfree option.
Ingredients
For the Chili
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup Split red lentils, use 1/3 cup if you like less lentilly chili
- 15 oz can black beans, drained or 1.5 cups cooked beans
- 1 tbsp chili powder blend
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground oregano
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 cups diced canned tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, add in 1 tbsp of tomato paste as well.
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the Cornbread
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk, Such as almond , oat, soy or light coconut
- 1 tsp vinegar
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Medium grain cornmeal, or fine grain or grits
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapaneo
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup of vegan cheddar shreds, or use 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced for topping
Instructions
- In a 9x9 casserole dish, add all of the ingredients under "for the chili" and mix well. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and mix in, and even out the mixture
- Place in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F(205 C) . Bake for 35 -45 minutes. (Cover with parchment to help cook faster, optional)
- Meanwhile make your cornbread mixture .Mix all the dry ingredients, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch in a bowl, then add in the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Add in the pickled Jalapenos and vegan cheddar shreds and mix, and let the mixture sit for five minutes to hydrate. Check if you need more non-dairy milk and add a tablespoon or more if needed to make a thick but spreadable batter.
- Take the chili casserole out of the oven, the lentils by now should be al dente, or just about done. There should be barely any liquid in the mixture. If it's too liquidy, then bake for another 10 minutes.
- -Spread the cornbread mixture over the casserole, and even it out with a spatula, spread the sliced jalapenos on top.
- Put the casserole back in the oven to bake for another 25-30 minutes, check if the cornbread is done in the center and the sides are starting to turn golden, thats when the casserole is done.
- Take the casserole out and cool for 5 minutes. Slice and serve large helpings and enjoy! Store: Cover the baking dish and refrigerate for upto 3 days.
Video
Notes
You can enjoy the casserole as is, or top it with vegan sour cream or more pickled jalapeno, hot sauce, and other things
Glutenfree option: Use gluten-free flour blend or oat flour for the cornbread. Do not skip the oil.
Oil free option. Omit the oil and add 1 tablespoon applesauce to the cornbread batter
Oil free option. Omit the oil and add 1 tablespoon applesauce to the cornbread batter
Nutrition
Calories: 368kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 549mg, Potassium: 792mg, Fiber: 14g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 404IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 156mg, Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Ingredients for Chili Cornbread Casserole
- The base for the chili layer is made with onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and lentils
- The chili layer would not taste like chili without that signature South-of-the-border blend of cumin, oregano, onion powder, and chili powder
- For the cornbread topping, we use typical cornbread ingredients like cornmeal, mixed with flour and cornstarch.
- maple syrup adds a nice sweetness to the cornbread layer
- a mix of non-dairy milk and vinegar mimics the buttermilk that is used in traditional recipes
- baking soda and baking powder are our raising agents and responsible for that perfect light and fluffy texture. Make sure to check the expiry date to be sure they are still active.
- To add some oomph to the topping, stir in some chopped pickled jalapenos and vegan cheese or nutritional yeast
- Glutenfree option: Use gluten-free flour blend or old flour for the cornbread. Do not skip the oil.
Oil free option. Omit the oil and add 1 tablespoon applesauce.
This recipe is soy free and Nutfree with Nutfree non dairy milk.
Tips:
- Why not serve this with a big dollop of vegan sour cream or homemade guacamole
- If you’re not tolerating any spice or make this for children, feel free to swap the jalapeños for green bell pepper
- Or you can swap the chopped jalapenos for a few tablespoons of a drained can of diced hatch chili peppers
- You can add taco seasoning or chili powder blend instead of the spices used in the chili
- Bake in individual ramekins for personal size servings
How to make Chili Cornbread Casserole:
In a 9×9 casserole dish, add all of the ingredients under chili and mix well. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and mix in, and even out the mixture
-Place in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F, and cook for 35 minutes. Meanwhile, make your cornbread mixture, and keep ready.
Mix all your dry ingredients, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch in a bowl, then add in the wet ingredients and mix well.
Add in your pickled Jalapenos and cheddar shreds and mix, and let the mixture sit for five minutes to see if you need more non-dairy milk.
Take the chili casserole out of the oven and the lentils by now should be al dente or just about done. There should be barely any liquid in the mixture. If it’s too liquidy, then bake for another 10 minutes.
Spread the cornbread mixture over the casserole, and even it out with a spatula, spread the sliced jalapeno on top.
Put the casserole back in the oven to bake for another 25-30 minutes. Check if the cornbread is done in the center and the sides are starting to turn golden, that’s when the casserole is done. Take the casserole out and cool for 5-10 minutes, and just take large helpings and enjoy!
You can enjoy the casserole as is, or top it with vegan sour cream or more pickled jalapeno, hot sauce, and other things.
CAN THIS BE FROZEN?
I think this casserole should hold up fine in the freezer for a couple of months. You’ll always want to defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. Then heat it through in a 350ºF hot oven for roughly 30 mins depending on how much you have left.
I made this without the jalapenos and it was excellent!
Hi Richa,
I have everything on the list except the split red lentils…but I do have canned lentils, or dry black, green, or french green lentils, and lots of other canned beans. What would you suggest as a good substitute? And wil that change how much water to add? Or the cooking time?
Thanks so much, looking forward to trying this recipe!
great – just sub the red lentils with your dry green & no need to alter anything. enjoy!!
Thanks Richa, I used the green lentils, hatch chilies in the cornbread and pickled jales on top. It turned out great! Super easy and very tasty, thanks!
Can I leave the maple syrup out without hurting the cornbread?
Yea leave it out
Thank you!
I was a little unsure about this one as I haven’t made cornbread or cooked with red lentils before….but my whole family loved this! This one is a keeper for the recipe book – will definitely make this again. Thanks so much!!
Yay
Can you substitute whole red lentils for the split lentils? I
sure it’s pretty flexible to different beans and flavors . Up the baking time to 55 minutes and you’ll be golden!!
This was delicious! I really enjoyed it.
Thanks!
Amazing! My whole family loved it and went back for seconds . You rock Richa 😀
wow Rock ‘n Roll
This is so good, my husband who claims he doesn’t like cornbread had seconds. This is my new favorite chili recipe!
KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’RE DOING! I’ve never had such consistent success with anyone’s recipes before finding yours. Every single recipe I’ve tried from your cookbooks and website has been a huge success. Many thanks!
thanks for popping in!
My 16-year-old son’s first words after tasting this were, “This dinner is absolutely delicious!” Win!!! I left off the jalapeños because my kids won’t eat them. I also made a little more of the cornbread topping to make it thicker, but there was really no need. Served with slices of avocado. This recipe will definitely be a repeat!
Made this last night for dinner! Made per your ingredients except I could not get red lentils but a Fall/Autumn mix of all lentils (why call it Fall/Autumn is besides me?…)…we are not Vegan, I was able to use cheddar cheese…my 17 year old daughter who is strict Vegetarian loved this! and my meat eating husband? couldn’t resist the smell coming from the overn…a hit in our house!
marketing! that’s great to hear =)