Every spring in Minneapolis, just as the sun starts to warm us up, Compassionate Action for Animals brings you a different kind of heat: the popular Vegan Chili Cook-Off. This year marked our 15th year hosting the event and saw six competitors vying for the title.
The annual competition brings together talented chefs, restaurants, and food businesses to present their chili recipes to families, students, and community members. Attendees get to sample all of the chili options and vote for their favorites. It’s a fun way to celebrate just how delicious plant-based food can be and one of the best vegan events in the Twin Cities year after year.
A Tour of This Year’s Chili Bowls
Chili resists a single definition. Is chili defined by its tomato bases, its spices, its beans, or something else? (We sure know it’s not defined by animal meat!) Every community and every cook has their own take on chili. Our contestants utilized that open definition wonderfully, bringing to the competition a wide variety of chili recipes with different flavors, textures, spices, and ingredients.
It’s amazing just how many different recipes and flavors emerge at a chili contest, because everyone has their own unique spin and secret ingredients. Let’s take a closer look at the six competitors from this year’s Cook-Off, and what made their chilis special.
Hard Times Cafe
The team from Hard Times Cafe served up a hearty, savory green chili packed with hominy and tofu. Diners said “the hominy in it blows it out of the water,” and “the tofu really soaked in the flavor” of their tomatillo with a touch of lime salsa verde. As one person put it: “loved it!! hope to see it as a soup option at the restaurant.” And we’ve got good news – it is! Stop by the cafe to see what’s on offer with their rotating soup selection, and give them a follow on Instagram at @hardtimescafempls.
Vegan Witt
Chef Witt of Vegan Witt brought to the competition his creamy, rich, bean-y, Creole-inspired chili. Diner feedback included: “really rich & creamy,” “thick as heck, good taste,” and “perfectly hearty — it was creamy, yummy, just scrumptious.” Diners often noted the chili’s accompanying vinegary slaw, with one attendee declaring: “wish I could get like 50% slaw,” wanting more of this delicious garnish. You can find more from Vegan Witt at local pop-ups and markets. Follow @veganwitt on Instagram for the latest info.
Reverie Cafe + Bar
Reverie Cafe+Bar also joined this year’s Cook-Off with their dark, smoky mole poblano chili. “Unquestionably my favorite. Strong, rich, deep chili flavor. Proper amounts of each ingredient. Well done all around!” wrote one enthusiastic attendee. Others raved about the hint of chocolate in the mole: “I loved how smokey it was, with the sweetness of chocolate — I love a dark chili. Above and beyond. Great, warms the bones.” And our favorite comment: “Holy mole this one was good.” Visit their Minneapolis cafe to try out their full menu and follow their Instagram for more updates @reverie_mpls.
Dreamstate Cafe
Newcomers Dreamstate Cafe came ready to bring the heat with their chili recipe. The Dreamstate team presented a Tex-Mex chili that was spicy, sweet, and warm. Their avocado crema topping set the spiciness off perfectly with its cool, lush, and creamy richness. One attendee noted “The flavor was amazing,” while another said, “Loved this! A perfect solid flavor profile. A little spicy, which was perfect!” This delicious chili was definitely a crowd-pleaser, earning rave reviews. You can try out their full menu at the all-new Minneapolis cafe and find them on Instagram @dreamstatecafe for the latest info.
Salsa a la Salsa
Known for their authentic Mexican offerings, Salsa a la Salsa cooked up a fresh and crisp chili verde for the contest. Their recipe was filled with mushrooms and tomatillos and finished with an onion-cilantro topping. “Diced mushrooms are AMAZING in this chili! It was a wonderful texture,” wrote one attendee, while others celebrated its freshness: “tasted very fresh and clean! Love green chili!!” and “so delicious, I want a big bowl.” This was a bright, herb-forward chili that impressed our diners. Find their other fresh Mexican food offerings at the Midtown Global Market and give their Instagram a follow @salsa_a_la_salsa.
Food on the Fly
The Food on the Fly team presented their spicy, complex chili that featured their delicious plant-based meats, made in-house! Their unique Korean-spice-infused chili showed off bold, layered flavors and inventive use of protein — one attendee called it “10/10, absolutely no notes, could eat this every day,” while others praised the “perfect solid flavor profile” and the “amazing texture.” The blend of ingredients drew appreciation for its creativity: “thought the blending of Korean flavors was really unique and well done.” Stop by their downtown Minneapolis kitchen for lunch, and follow their next moves on Instagram @foodontheflymn.
🏆 And the Winner Is… Drumroll Please
The competition was stiff with so many amazing chili options to choose from. Six professionals showed off their chili-making chops in the 15th annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off, but only one could be crowned the winner. Event attendees delighted in sampling all six recipes and casting their votes for their favorite.
Congratulations to Dreamstate Cafe!
Once all the votes were tallied, the winner was announced at the end of the event. The team from Dreamstate Cafe nabbed the top honors and took to the stage to accept their trophy. While all of the chili competitors received rave reviews from tasters, Dreamstate’s Tex-Mex recipe with its avocado crema was the fan favorite, getting the most votes.
Dreamed up by the same team behind Powderhorn’s Reverie Cafe + Bar, Dreamstate Cafe opened this winter on Lyndale Avenue and made a great debut in their first Vegan Chili Cook-Off competition.
If you haven’t made it to Dreamstate Cafe yet, consider this your cue! Find them at 2558 Lyndale Ave S., Minneapolis, open daily until 10pm. Go try out their menu of plant-based cafe classics like burgers and sandwiches and inventive new dishes like a mushroom scallop linguini and more that are not to be missed!
Why Host a Vegan Chili Cook-Off?
The annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off makes plant-based eating joyful, accessible, flavorful, and delicious. The variety of delicious, crowd-pleasing chili recipes showcase how animal-based ingredients aren’t necessary to create nourishing, flavorful dishes that wow. Even meat-eaters are impressed with these vegan chilis year after year.
And this is why we host this annual event and why all of the chilis are plant-based. There’s a growing body of research on why choosing plant-forward foods is good for the planet, for you, and, of course, for animals. And this event shows just how easy it is to enjoy plant-based recipes.
Decades of studies consistently show that plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer. In addition, moving from a typical Western diet to a plant-based diet reduces our carbon footprint dramatically — by up to 75%. And plant-based diets spare animals the indignity, terror, and pain of being separated from their social groups, genetically manipulated, confined, and horrifically killed — tragedies ever-present in animal farming.
Events like the Vegan Chili Cook-Off are one of our favorite reminders that eating plant-based is also just… really, really good, with innumerable options available to fit every palate and fill every bowl.
What People Were Saying About the 2026 Vegan Chili Cook-Off
This year’s Vegan Chili Cook-Off was a smashing success. Our competitors presented their very best inventive and delectable chili recipes, and attendees were wowed by the results. It was a fun event and a great way to connect with other like-minded individuals. But don’t just take our word for it. Check out what this year’s enthusiastic attendees had to say about their experiences:
- “Love that this event exists — thank you!! Learned about a few new restaurant options.”
- “Very well organized and very tasty chilis! Tortilla chips are a nice touch”
- “BEAUTIFUL EVENT.”
- “Loved this! A perfect solid flavor profile. A little spicy, which was perfect!”
- “Great organization this year, appreciate the compostable dishes. Most of my favorite restaurants were here and a few I hadn’t heard of.”
- “Love the cook off!!!! Thank you!!”
- “Great event and people. Nice to see so many vendors that provide vegan options. I love vegan food!”
It’s easy to see that the Vegan Chili Cook-Off is a hit with our attendees and one of the best events in Minneapolis annually. Attendees and competitors alike rave about the fun they had participating in the Cook-Off and the opportunity to sample so many amazing chili recipes in one place. If you missed this year’s competition, join us next year for more inventive chili recipes and see who’s competing for the title of best chili! With some of the Twin Cities’ best plant-based talent in one room, it’s an event not to be missed.
A Heartfelt Thank You
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of our volunteers who gave their time and talents to the Vegan Chili Cook-Off! This event simply could not happen without your time, skill, and generosity. Special thanks to Anna, Arthur, Blake, Cam, Carl, Elizabeth, Fela, Guinevere, James, Jennifer, Julie, Keelin, Laura H, Matthew, Miles, Phil, Ronan, Sarah, Theresa, Unny, Vic, and Yao. Additional thanks to Ronan, Guinevere, and the entire student group of Compassionate Action for Animals at UMN for their work in helping to organize the event.
And of course — thank you to each of the six restaurants and chefs who competed. Bringing your best chili to this event takes effort, creativity, and a generous spirit. We are endlessly grateful for the way the Twin Cities plant-based food community comes together to create such wonderful events.
Join Us at Another Plant-Based Event
While the 2026 Vegan Chili Cook-Off is a wrap, we are already looking forward to next year’s competition, as well as all the other events all year. Compassionate Action for Animals hosts a wide variety of other events, from the area’s largest vegan festival, Twin Cities Veg Fest, to smaller dine-outs at local restaurants, potlucks, documentary screenings, and other community events. Our events are always welcome to all and bring together like-minded people, whether fully vegan or just veg-curious. And no matter the season, there’s something going on at CAA. We hope you’ll join us at one of our other events soon — and we’ll see you at next year’s Vegan Chili Cook-Off to see who takes the trophy and earns bragging rights for the year. See you there!
