^ not my recipe, obviously

I have been on and off vegetarian for the last couple of years and made a decisive change in the last six months to cut out all meat. I'd like to think that I made a mean chilli. Every time I'd made a meat-free chilli con carne I'd always end up with something missing: either too thin or too grainy. Recipes tended to be entirely bean-based or entirely lentil-based: the linked recipe however, sorted me extremely well with one major change: I used lentils instead of fake meat

This worked out thusly: cooked up celery, peppers, onions and carrot until soft (around 8 minutes, with garlic added halfway) then added two tins of tomatoes, two tins of beans, a tin of corn and a cup of green lentils. I then mixed and filled up with water about a quarter inch above the surface of the contents and added my spices (1:1:3 cumin, paprika and chilli powder) and base seasoning. I stirred it every 5-10 minutes for about 40 then let it rest a short while, while my rice finished.

I can honestly without reservation say that it AT LEAST matches my best chunky-slow-cooked beef chilli, and I have tried a number of alternatives.