Stop Adding Vegetables To Chili Until Taking This Quick Flavor-Infusing Step First

Chili is a dish that's all about maximizing flavor through the use of a multitude of ingredients, and while plenty of that flavor will come through as the stew cooks in the pot, you're missing out on an even better batch by not preparing your ingredients properly. Most will know that, of the many great ingredients that deserve to be in your chili, several are vegetables. When dealing with vegetables in particular, it's a great idea to saute them in a pan before adding them to the mix to elevate your chili's flavor to another level.

We spoke with Yasmin Henley, the head chef and recipe developer at By The Forkful, who explained why she sautes most of the vegetables she uses for chili. " ... I would always advise sauteing your veggies before simmering your chili," Henley revealed. "Sauteing your onions, peppers, and garlic massively helps to build that key foundational flavor for your chili." 

Beyond just improving the individual taste of the veggies involved in the recipe, Henley said this step "also removes excess moisture so that the vegetables integrate beautifully into the chili rather than floating separately."

In the same way that you should always brown your meat well before putting it in your chili pot, sauteing veggies ensures they are primed for simmering at the pinnacle of their aromas and flavor. While Yasmin Henley noted that ingredients like onions, peppers, and garlic are great candidates for sauteing, mushrooms (which are known to soak up oil very easily in a pan) can also be quickly sauteed until they are light brown, as this will make a major difference in the stew. Furthermore, while it's not technically a fresh vegetable, always caramelizing your canned tomato paste before adding it to the pot can also prove incredibly effective at upgrading your go-to chili recipe.

With all that being said, it's important to note that not all vegetables are at their best when sauteed and should remain raw when added to a batch of chili. Luckily, according to Henley, these veggies often share one key similarity that can help you deduce whether they should be pre-cooked or not — their sturdiness. "Sturdier vegetables like diced zucchini, corn, or even sweet potatoes can go straight into the simmering pot," Henley revealed. "They benefit from gentle cooking in the broth and don't necessarily need browning first."