New year, new food challenge! I’ve come to look at these as a creative opportunity rather than denial. The great thing about the diversity of nature is that when one or a few foods are taken away, there are always plenty of other nutritious, colorful delicious foods that can be used as alternatives. And it can be fun playing around with foods in ways you might not have thought of before or experimenting with foods you never tried before.
I am starting to experiment with nightshade-free recipes because my daughter may be sensitive to the nightshade vegetables. Vegetables in the nightshade family, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, sweet and hot peppers and potatoes, contain alkaloids to which some people are sensitive. It is thought they may be involved in arthritis like symptoms, nerve-muscle problems and digestive problems.
In my daughter’s case, we found out she was allergic to tomatoes as well as soy and peanuts a few months ago. When we eliminated them from her diet, the constant congestion she suffered improved a great deal, but I noticed when we substituted roasted red peppers in dishes that would normally call for tomatoes, she tended to get congested and feel generally awful for a day or two after eating them. Wondering if the whole nightshade family might be a problem, we are trying a diet without nightshades for a few weeks. Lo and behold, the congestion has improved and her knees don’t hurt like they used to after a full day of work. We’ll see how it goes a little longer and then probably do a challenge, but I have a feeling I’m going to be doing a lot more nightshade-free cooking.
So this is how this nightshade-free chili came about. It was a cold dreary winter day – just the kind of weather to give you a hankering for a hot bowl of chili. But cooking nightshade-free meant no tomatoes or hot peppers. I did a little Googling for nightshade-free chili and came across a recipe that used beets, which I unfortunately can’t credit because I have not been able to refind it on Google. I have discovered there are a few beet-based nightshade-free chili recipes out there though, most notably one that uses beets and squash at andloveittoo.com.
My Nightshade-Free Chili Recipe
My recipe development went like this: I had a few small beets in the fridge so I decided to use them and to add some carrot juice to make the color more tomato-y and the flavor more complex. I started by cooking some onion and garlic and ground beef, added chopped beets, kidney beans with some of the liquid and bean paste from the cans, carrot juice and chicken stock. I seasoned with ground cumin and coriander, and oregano, tasting and adding more as needed. For heat I used black pepper, white pepper and horseradish. A bit of cocoa added a little warm, bitter note and a little vinegar provided some acidity.
The result was a nightshade-free chili that was every bit as satisfying as its tomato-based cousins and it really did look and taste just like chili. The heat was a bit gentler than what I would normally opt for but it was there and pleasant. Developing this recipe made me think of beets and carrots in a whole new light! I’m playing around with ketchup and barbecue sauce now, inspired by a meatloaf recipe with a ketchup-based glaze – stay tuned!
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup chicken stock (make sure there are no nightshade vegetables in the stock)
- 1 ½ cups carrot juice (usually found in the refrigerated section of the produce area)
- ½ lb beets, peeled and diced (1/4 inch)
- 1 can dark kidney beans with juice and paste from can
- 1 can light kidney beans, drained, with paste from can
- 3 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground white pepper
- very generous grind of black pepper
- 3 Tbsp prepared horseradish
- In a large pot, heat 1 ½ Tbsp oil over medium high heat.
- Sauté onion several minutes until softened and starting to brown.
- Add garlic and sauté about 30 seconds until aroma comes.
- Remove to a bowl.
- Add remaining 1 ½ Tbsp oil and ground beef.
- Cook, stirring until all browned.
- Add chicken stock and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spatula.
- Add onions and garlic back in.
- Add in all remaining ingredients: carrot juice through horseradish.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered, stirring occasionally for 1 hour.
This is interesting! My son (age 14) just asked me today, “Mom, why am I always stuffy!.” We have been eating a wheat free and gluten free diet, we cut out all sugar and processed foods, yet he is still “stuffy”. We did have him tested via kinesiology years ago and learned he is sensitive to foods with galic acid – which is naturally occurring in garlic, peanuts, cauliflower, etc. I’ll have to test out the night-shade foods and see if it makes a difference. I’ve never heard of this before. Thanks for the info and delicious sounding recipe. I was just feeling like making a pot of chili so perfect timing!
Yes, it’s one of those dreary chili kind of days today. Enjoy and good luck with your experiment!
It is common with gluten allergies to react to nightshades, dairy, soy, corn and rice. Due to gluten caused leaky gut food leeches into our system causing an autoimmune reaction. Black pepper is also a nightshade.
Black pepper (peppercorns) & white pepper are NOT nightshades.
No, Black pepper is not a nightshade. Freshly ground is best, though. Peppercorns are not nightshades. So, you can use all varieties of them to create any heat or nuance you want for your dish. Black pepper is omitted in the AIP diet, however. There are white, green, and pink peppercorns as well as the szechuan type. Don’t forget horseradish, garlic, and ginger also have levels of heat/spice.
Some people have full blown allergies to nightshades. Some of us are really sensitive to one type, but not the others. And, sometimes it is the amount used as to how much you can tolerate. Mine started with bell peppers and arthritic pain (no arthritis yet, then); progressing to digestive. Now I can smell them from across a room! Unreal. The elimination diets do help in pinpointing problem foods or food groups. It takes time and a lot of cooperation (from the family) and patience toward getting the results. Good luck!
I haven’t made the recipe yet, but it does sound really good and I have it saved. My rating is based on the ingredients used and the directions. As I said, it sounds really good!!
Black pepper is not a nightshade. You can do your research!
This looks really amazing! I’ve been searching for a nightshade or at least tomatoe free chili. Without the beans I think this may be a good option for me 🙂
So glad you found this. Hope you enjoy it! I’m doing more and more tomato/nightshade-free recipes – some others you might like are the Barbecue Meatballs and Notmato Paste. Salisbury steaks and marinara sauce will be coming up soon.
Since beets are not currently in season, can I use canned beets? If so, should they be drained before adding? I could eat chili all year round! Since omitting Nightshade veggies, I have really missed it. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe! Thank you for sharing it!
I have never tried it, but I would think canned beets would work – I would drain them and you wouldn’t need to cook them.
Diced canned beets, drained DO work. I only used one can. I also, for the sake of time/convenience/clean-up, used one bag of frozen chopped onions and cooked them with the garlic. I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH for this incredible recipe! I have made it twice since May 10th! My husband really enjoys it too.
This was the best night shade free chili I have tried, and I have made several. It actually tastes like the chili we had growing up. Do you have a nightshade free taco seasoning recipe?
Sorry, I have not created a taco seasoning, but I would think a similar spice blend to what’s in the chili would work.
For a nightshade free taco seasoning you can use: turmeric, onion powder, garlic salt and powder, ginger(for spice), cumin, and white pepper.
https://www.cleanfamilyeating.com/nightshade-free-taco-seasoning/ I’ve made taco using this seasoning and it is GREAT!! Ground beef, ground turkey, or fish, doesn’t matter this seasoning blend is perfect.
I absolutely love, love, love this recipe. I can’t explain how special this is to me – numerous food allergies and I thought I’d never have something like this again. It’s not only a recipe I can have, it’s perfectly delicious. Thank you so much!
So glad I could help!
I’m not too hopeful you have a solution for me, but I can’t eat carrots! Is there any substitute you can think of that would work for the carrots. I’d love to give this recipe a shot.
You could substitute more chicken stock for the carrot juice and taste when done and see if it needs a little sugar. Another possibility would be squash soup (generally sold in cartons).
Try pumpkin puree! I have used it in place of carrots before in other recipes. May need to add some more liquid broth or something too since it’s thicker.
Food allergies/sensitivities are hard. I just made this chili and honestly wasn’t expecting to like it. It’s wonderful! I ate them with almond flour crackers and it didn’t taste like a substitute at all. Only thing I changed was to cut down a little on the carrot juice. This will be my new go-to chili recipe.
Hi,
Can you taste the beets, I’m not a fan? Also, would this work without the beans?
Thank you!
I don’t think it tastes like beets with all the other flavors in there. Yes, you could do a beanless chili.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am allergic to tomatoes. I made this at least twice last winter and fell in love with it. I am excited to make it again as it is getting cold!! I think the flavor is better than tomato chili!
This sounds amazing. I’m curious, do you think this could be done successfully in a Crock-Pot?
Yes I think it would work great in a Crock-pot.
Hi, how would you make this in a crock-pot please? Thank you. My BF has about every food allergy known to mankind, so this would be a great treat for him.
At step 9, you could put everything in a crock pot and cook on low for a few hours.
I have not been eating Nightshades for 3 years now. I have severely missed Mexican food AND OH MY GOSH is this good! I smells like chili and tastes like chili. What a God send for me! Thanks Maria!!
Just made this tonight and I think I like it more than regular chili! I love it! I’ve missed chili for the past 5, night-shade free years of my life. So to have found this recipe is such a windfall. Thank you so much.
This was so good!! My 4 kids and husband all enjoyed it. We were pleasantly shocked to really enjoy it. I dodnt have coriander and I just grated the carrots instead of juice. I also didnt have horseradish but was so flavorful and delicious! Thank you so much. It was -35 today and chili really hit the spot. I have been struggling with no nightshades so this was a lifesaver
Next time, get the horseradish! It’s so good!
I have been nightshade free for about 4 or 5 years. I have tried a lot of “nomato” recipes and this by far is the most incredible, reminiscent-of-the-real-thing I have ever tasted. I didn’t add horseradish because I didn’t have it and don’t care for it) but it didn’t matter. I juiced my own carrot juice. But wow… even my husband thought it was fabulous. Thanks so much
This looks great! Have you ever added bacon to amp up the savory factor?
I never have but that’s an interesting idea!
Hi Maria!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, as I have on/off congestion (not sure if that’s the nightshades) and some digestive upset when I eat peppers. It was very frustrating when a doctor simply told me ‘stop eating so much Indian and Mexican food’ a few years ago when I really wasn’t feeling well.
Do you by chance have an update on your daughter? I happen to find that tomatoes don’t seem to be a problem, but am weeding through the peppers right now.
For example, I’m troubleshooting through:
– hot peppers seem to definitely be an issue, even days later. Does this happen for infusions like dilly beans, or does the physical pepper have to be in there?
– can I eat sweet bell peppers? Raw? Cooked? Green? Red?
– how bad is paprika?
– how bad are eggplants once a week? With/without the peel? With/without the salt pressing? (The salt pressing and removing the peel certainly seem better).
I was also fascinated to see when we went to Peru (where all the lovely nightshades are from), that they peel and seed their tomatoes sometimes. This may warrant a little Incan research on my part 🙂
Hi Jeannie, my daughter is doing ok with nightshades these days. Dairy and gluten are major problems for her still and soy to some extent. It does take some experimentation to figure these things out. Good luck with your journey!
So glad I found this! Thank you! I thought it had to be red Beets, but light ones are okay too?
It should taste the same with the light beets, but you won’t get the same tomato-y red color.
Made this tonight, and it’s absolutely fantastic! I had to sub celery for the onion because I react badly to onions. I also used stew meat instead of ground beef for a heartier meal. The seasonings are PERFECTION. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I have made this twice exactly as is and my family and I love it! My husband is the only one who doesn’t eat nightshades, but I have a bunch of allergies too, so I only cook foods we can all eat. Seriously, this tasted so much like old fashioned tomato chili I could not believe it. Tonight I am going to try it with pumpkin because I don’t feel like going to the store for carrot juice. LOL. I was thinking about it already but saw above that someone else tried it too. I have a feeling it will be equally yum! Thank you for bringing chili back into our lives!
Okay, I just made this for the 3rd time! I forgot to say in my other comment that I have used a can of beats every time, rather than fresh. Today I had no carrot juice so I used 1/2 can of pumpkin puree plus some of the juice from the beets! So good!!!! I did add a little more broth, as well because the pumpkin made it thicker. Seriously, thank you so much for this recipe!!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying this and love your substitutions!
One great substitute for anything tomato paste, is to make a sauce by mixing carrots, beets, onions and tamarind pasta. Cook it in a little with of water, mix it in a blender, and season to taste.
I’m cutting out nightshades for a bit as a test but the family wants traditional chili for the Super Bowl. My kids hate beets though… will they be able to tell that’s what they are? 🙂 I was thinking of subbing with zucchini for the texture but I saw you noted there would be no red color. Thank you!
I don’t think they’ll be able to tell they’re beets with the other flavors in there. Just don’t let them see you cooking and they’ll be none the wiser!
I’m trying out nightshade-free and AIP recipes in anticipation of going fully AIP in a few months (I need to have some solid recipes in my file before I commit all the way.) I made this today for the Superbowl and my husband and I are in shock. It’s so good. I thought the carrots and beets would make it sweet, but it’s perfect.
Only subs I made: no coriander, pureed a can of carrots thinned with chicken broth instead of carrot juice, diced a can of beets instead of fresh, and venison instead of beef. The canned veg only had veg, water, and salt – nothing weird.
Thank you for the recipe!
Hello, I was going to try with White Northern Beans. Has anyone tried it with these instead of Kidney? Thank you!
Maria,
Great recipe. My wife follows an AIP diet, because of various food sensitivities. Finding a recipe that satisfies both of us is sometimes tough. But this nightshade free chili is fantastic. I’m hoping you come up with a replacement for tomato based bbq sauce or paprika and chili rubs, because I love grilling pork ribs, shoulders and the like, on the grill and haven’t found a good replacement for chili and paprika.
Again thanks for a fantastic chili recipe. I agree the heat is not quite there, but still very satisfying.
I just made this recipe – almost exactly. The grocery store was out of carrot juice so I pureed 1/2 small bag of shredded carrots with 1/2 can of sliced beets (with half can of beet liquid too). I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I have tried many other nightshade-free chili recipes from online and this one is by far the very best! Thank-you!!!
Do you have a recipe for nightshade free Buffalo wings?
I don’t but take a look at my regular Buffalo chicken wings. Here are some ideas. You could remove the hot sauce, cayenne, and paprika, and substitute some oil and white pepper, and maybe a little notmato paste, beet juice, or pomegranate juice for color.
Thank you for a great recipe. Having to be nightshade-free is a pain especially since I love Mexican flavors. I did make alterations since I am whole food plant-based (no meat) and I am sensitive to beets. I replaced the meat with prepped textured chickpea protein and replaced the beets with 1 can pumpkin puree. Yum!!
Great substitutions!
This recipe is one of the best I’ve tried. Completely nightshade free, by the way, unlike some I’ve seen where only the tomatoes are removed. I’m nightshade toxic and this recipe has come in handy for me many times over.
I made this today for chili dogs for Labor Day weekend – I think it will also be dinner tonight – the smell is on point! I also make your nomato paste and marinara – what a life changer for me going on 26 years with no tomato/peppers. My mom has the same allergy so we are both loving these recipes.
Your directions and overall tone on these recipes is straightforward and easy to understand – I like being creative but there is no guessing/finessing needed which is refreshing since I repeat them often!
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying these recipes!
any ideas of what to sub if I don’t have beets!!??
You could try replacing 1/2 cup of the carrot juice with pomegranate juice and skip the beets.
People who get arthritic pain and inflammation from nightshades may want to get tested for a gene called MTHFR. It affects the bodies ability to process vitamin B9 correctly. It makes people sensitive to solanine. If I eat tomato or eggplant or other solanine containing foods I get stiff and my joints ache. Other plants also have solanine. Blueberries contain solanine and make my fingers stiff. I am looking forward to trying this chili recipe.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this recipe!!! My husband, son, and father couldn’t tell it wasn’t “real” chili! It is such a great comfort food recipe for those of us allergic to night shades!
Maria: Thank you so much! When I found out I am allergic to nightshades (and many other foods) I was heartbroken, as I LOVE foods made with them. I tried a few recipes using beets and carrots for spaghetti sauce, and am still looking for a good one. BUT this chili recipe is FANTASTIC!! My husband and son said they couldn’t tell the difference, and nor could I! I even had my father test it w/o telling him there were beets because he hates beets, and he loved it too!! I am making it again tonight, and looking toward to dinner!!! Thanks again😁
I tried this last night. It tastes and looks like Chilli, I really didn’t taste the beats, and I didn’t have carrot juice but it was just fine.