I just want to take the pepsi challenge on this, if you think your meat-free chilli tastes better PM me that recipe. I'll give it a honest (omnivore) review.
Just replace your ground beef with imitation meat ground, the texture works so much better, while not effecting the flavor, you just dont need to drain it like the normal meat.
I'd rather just use more beans than imitation meat because beans are already plenty tasty. That said, I'm not likely to make a meatless chili unless I'm having to feed someone who doesn't eat meat.
This. Don't build vegan meals with meat replacements. Build vegan meals that never had or wanted meat. Cheaper, better for you, and made with ingredients you can get at the shitty neighborhood grocer. My partner and I started doing meat free Fridays for Lent as we're both recovering Catholics, and we decided it was a fun challenge to keep it up and try to do it with all raw ingredients. I've learned a ton about south Asian and east Asian cooking, eaten a lot of truly excellent veg* food, saved buckets of money and now I have a healthy respect for beans and lentils.