Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream
If you’re new to the Craft Beer scene, it might surprise you how many vegetarian and vegans there are here.
While I am a meat eater (clearly, I put bacon in desserts), I did spend three years as a vegetarian. Mostly, this was a response to growing up on a farm and getting up close and personal to the butchering process as well as the jarring realization of knowing the first name of my dinner. It did, however, give me a profound respect for the food I eat and the farms that share that respect.
I still eat vegan quite often, and there are some dishes, like lasagna, that I just think are just better in vegetarian form.
My true and honest feeling about vegan cooking is that regardless of what your typical diet is if you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of a cook. Produce is amazing, you get to use all the grains, seeds and nuts that you want and by the way, for the most part beer is vegan.
I first heard about Cashew Cream from this guy, and the idea was intriguing, given that I would have a much easier time giving up meat than sour cream and goat cheese. I like the idea of having a creamy element when I want to go non-dairy. This cashew cream was a really beautiful creamy addition to a vegan chili, when sour cream isn’t an option. I wanted to balance the sweetness so I added some acid and some spices, but feel free to experiment. This would also be a great place to add a little chipotle.
Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream
Ingredients
For The Cashew Cream:
- 2 cups raw cashwes
- 1 to 1 ½ cups almond milk
- Additional 1/3 cup almond milk
- 2 tbs IPA beer
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
For The Chili:
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 white onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms finley diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 12 wt ounces Soyrizo
- 2 cup stout
- 2 cups veggie broth
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can stewed diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe minced
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1/3 cup bulgur wheat
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Garnishes:
- ½ cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 Avocado sliced
- Tortilla Chips
Instructions
- Add the cashews to a bowl, pour almond milk over cashews until covered. Let stand for 4 hours.
- Drain cashews and add to a food processor with 1/3 cup almond milk, IPA, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, about 5 minutes, possibly longer. Add additional almond milk or beer for a thinner consistency.
- In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. Cook until onions and peppers have softened and the mushrooms have darkened.
- Add the garlic and the soyrizo, stir, breaking up the soyrizo.
- Add the stout, broth, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and chipotle, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the quinoa, bulgur, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and garlic powder, simmer until the quinoa has cooked, about 15 minutes. The longer chili simmers, the thicker it will be.
- Plate on top of tortilla chips, if desired, top with cilantro, avocado, and cashew cream.
Comments
Averie @ Averie Cooks January 16, 2013 um 2:10 am
I love cashew cream. It’s like..the best stuff ever! I use soaked cashews as the base for so much, from cookie dough to horchata!
This is a delish looking meal and I love what you said about being vegan and cooking "if you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of cook" 🙂
Jackie January 16, 2013 um 9:03 am
Cashew cream in cookies sounds amazing! I really liked it, even as a non-vegan. It seems like it would make a great base for a creamy pasta sauce.
Maggie January 16, 2013 um 6:08 am
Not all beer is vegan! Much of it is, but some beers (and wines, too) use animal products in filtering their products. Also, some types of beer use honey, lactose, or other animal-derived products in their brewing or processing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_and_beer has more info.
Jackie January 16, 2013 um 8:53 am
For the most part, beer is vegan. But yes, the sugar used to feed the yeast may or may not be vegan as well as other parts of the fermentation process may not be vegan. If you click on the above text "beer is vegan" it will take you to a large list of beers and which are vegan and which are not.
Meagan @ Scarletta Bakes January 16, 2013 um 7:21 am
Love this so much! Cashew cream is new to me, but it sounds divine! I love the idea of pairing it with hot, spicy chili. Dream boat!
claire @ the realistic nutritionist January 16, 2013 um 8:12 am
Vegan for the win! This looks so hearty and delicious!
a farmer in the dell January 16, 2013 um 8:20 am
I just butchered chickens for the first time in my life a few months ago. I have been a vegetarian ever since!! (well kind of)! This IPA cashew cream is genius!
BTW I love your blog! So happy I found it!
Jackie January 16, 2013 um 8:55 am
Thank you! I really think that living on a farm was the best thing for me, I now go out of my way to patronize farms that are good to their animals because I’ve seen the dirty side of it. I really want to own goats and chickens as soon as I have more space and more time.
Danielle January 16, 2013 um 10:53 am
This looks and sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
Michelle Collins January 16, 2013 um 11:12 am
I’ve been meaning to try my hand at cashew cream, but with IPA in it?! Genius!
Eileen January 16, 2013 um 11:22 am
Of course there are vegetarians & vegans on the craft brew scene! I’d think there’d actually be more interest than in standard beer, considering local, small-batch, organic consideration. Cashew cream is the greatest–I love the idea of using it with chili.
Cassie | Bake Your Day January 16, 2013 um 1:49 pm
Cashew cream is amazing. And you did it with IPA – you genius! I love this! I’m not a vegetarian but we eat several meatless meals each week and love trying new things!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition January 16, 2013 um 2:28 pm
I actually prefer vegan chili to the regular beefy stuff. I was also vegetarian for a short time (a semester or two in college) and I really liked meatless sausage, so this sounds especially appealing!
I’ve seen cashew cream a lot around the blogosphere, but none have sounded neeeearly as good as one infused with IPA! Genius!
Herbivore Triathlete January 16, 2013 um 5:11 pm
My first visit to your site and you post a recipe that includes most of my favorite things; beer, cashew cream, chili! Awesomeness.
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious January 16, 2013 um 5:14 pm
Fantastic! I love using a cashew cream as a base for raw cheesecake too 🙂
Jen @ Savory Simple January 16, 2013 um 6:13 pm
I love cashew cream. I worked the line at a vegan restaurant for a few years and we used it to make Fettucini Alfredo. And I agree that some dishes are much better as vegetarian or vegan. They just work better! This chili looks fantastic.
ashley – baker by nature January 16, 2013 um 6:31 pm
One of my food goals for 2013 is to become a better vegan cook, and this chili looks like the perfect start, Jackie!
Megan {Country Cleaver} January 16, 2013 um 8:03 pm
I need to try more vegan things. And adding beer to it just makes it all that much more intriguing! And delicious. YUM!
Purabi Naha January 17, 2013 um 12:54 am
Wow, this vegan dish is just perfect! I loved the recipe and what a wonderul blog you have!
Ricki January 17, 2013 um 11:09 am
Honestly, this makes me wish I could drink stout!! (And eat wheat). I think I will have to find a substitute just so I can try this recipe. Looks amazing!
Jackie January 17, 2013 um 12:37 pm
Thank you! Is it a gluten thing? Here is a list of GF beers, if that’s the case: http://www.wheat-free.org/wheat-gluten-free-beer.html
Amber @ Slim Pickin’s Kitchen January 17, 2013 um 12:58 pm
I love vegetarian cooking, and I eat and follow tons of vegan blogs! I’ve always been fascinated with cashew cream, but I’ve never tried it before. Hopefully I’ll be doing that sooner rather than later!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies January 17, 2013 um 4:16 pm
I definitely need to make cashew cream more often. It’s so tasty, right? This is going on my must-make list–love it!
Bree January 17, 2013 um 9:20 pm
You are so incredibly creative. Love this!
E. Bryan January 18, 2013 um 2:25 am
That is very interesting, i’m not vegan, but i would eat this, looks great.
Ben @awesomeveganblog.com January 18, 2013 um 10:51 am
Looks good! 😀
addie | culicurious January 22, 2013 um 12:58 pm
Yum, this looks so tasty! I agree with you – if you can’t produce a fabulous tasting vegan dish, you can’t really cook. Veggies rock!! 🙂
Joel January 24, 2013 um 10:52 am
Looks excellent! How many people does this recipe serve?
Jackie January 24, 2013 um 3:46 pm
About 4, but it depends on how much they eat 🙂
Juli January 24, 2013 um 1:44 pm
Great recipe! I can’t wait to try it.
You didn’t specify so I’m wondering…did you add the quinoa and bulgur to your pan cooked or uncooked?
Thanks!
Jackie January 24, 2013 um 3:46 pm
Both are uncooked
Tedd February 17, 2013 um 5:17 pm
Saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago and just made it up tonight. Wonderful! Didn’t make the cashew cream, but I plan on trying that with leftovers. Yum!
Jackie February 17, 2013 um 6:33 pm
Oh good! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Jen April 2, 2013 um 8:35 pm
I have been a vegetarian for about 15 yrs now, also due to farms (there are many farmers in my family), but also partially inspired by vegetarian thai food. For years I thought that I had to eat meat to be healthy and get good food, but I have learned better since! Especially with living in Wisconsin, the amazing produce I can get from local farms, I have zero need for meat in my diet. And yes also about not a good cook if you can’t make good vegetarian/vegan meals! It gets annoying how many people assume that vegetarian food is bland ! If you know your way around a kitchen, and know your ingredients, guests will never even notice the lack of meat in the meals! TY for posting an awesome vegan recipe that does NOT require me buying specialty items! I always always prefer making every tiny thing I can, instead of buying expensive packages that have stabilizers.
Sarah | Well and Full September 25, 2015 um 11:35 am
I LOVE this quote – "If you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of cook." YES. Honestly, before I went vegan, I had this mental image of it being a bunch of steamed rice and wilted lettuce. Completely devoid of flavor. But vegan food can be multidimensional, flavorful, and delicious on its own, without trying to be a "substitute" for non-vegan dishes. Sure, cashew cream can be used as a replacement for sour cream, but it’s good enough on its own to the point where it’s not defined by the other, you know? Thank you for giving vegan food a voice in this space!! 😀