What shall I serve as an alternative to chilli?

[watchingwaves]

I'm planning a celebration for approx 25-30 people and have decided to serve beef chilli as the main meal with nachos/grated cheese/sour cream as accompaniments. The chilli will be ladled into bowls to the waiting queue of attendees who can then add the accompaniments themselves.

What can I serve as an equivalent to those who can't/won't eat beef chilli? I'm thinking some kind of chunky vegetable stew/soup (maybe even a vegetarian risotto) but I'm not feeling inspired. It needs to be equally substantial and it needs to be able to be made in advance and re-heated in a microwave.

Veggie tagine with couscous?

Not sure if you want a vegetarian option but if no veggies then chicken is usually a safe bet, A chicken in white wine sauce is always a hit here.

Boneless/skinless chicken thighs, seasoning, onion, mushrooms (fried), equal parts of chicken stock and white wine. I do it in the slow cooker then literally stir double cream through just before serving.

All you need is bowls of crusty rolls with it too.

This would be lovely. Leave the Cayenne out if you have guests who hate hot spices in any quantity at all.
foodandstyle.com/spanish-chickpea-stew-served-with-toasted-couscous/

Can you not just do the same, but with Quorn? Or with extra beans and peppers if quorn won't work.

Easier to serve, easier to cook?

Veggie chilli, I find the own brand veggie minces are better than Quorn.

Yeah as PP said just do veggie chilli and then all toppings stay the same - make your toppings bar epic and it will be amazing!

As Brie suggested a tagine would be lovely.

Something like this

It also give everyone a bit of variety instead of having 2 chillis.

If you make an alternative dish (ie not veggie chilli) be prepared for it to disappear quickly as it may be considered a side dish!

I love veggie chilli.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

I like the ideas of a veggie tagine or chickpea stew. I might be overthinking this but if someone doesn't like chilli cos it's got kidney beans in (not that anyone has said that - I'm just fretting needlessly!) might they also not want chickpeas - is it a bit samey or does it just make it more themed? Too much angst!

I've already ruled out veggie chilli as it needs to cater for those who don't like chilli due to it's chilliness (not that I'm planning to make it particularly spicy) as well as to it's meatiness.

It does need to be veggie.

Love the image for the toppings bar - can certainly make use of that although I'm aiming for minimal input on my part!

The main element will be doled out by myself and there'll be enough for the majority to have either - don't mind there being some leftovers for me (won't reheat the whole lot in one go and I can freeze leftovers if necessary)

I served a huge chilli and a fish chowder as an alternative at a recent family gathering. It went down brilliantly and there were no leftovers! Slow cook it and the flavours work themselves out!

Just a quick update - I've got the ingredients to try a butternut squash macaroni cheese (!) so we'll see how that goes...