As we near the end of summer, chili season gets closer! The next month or so is that kind of weird in-between time, when the much-loved dish may sound good, but the still-hot weather makes it hard to enjoy such a heavy meal. So, why not lighten it up?
We broke out a refreshing pale ale and paired it with white beans to make a deliciously light, yet flavor-filled vegan chili, perfect for late summer get-togethers!
Any kind of pale ale will do – easy-to-find options include Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale, Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust, Lagunita’s Lil Sumpin Sumpin, and so on – but we opted for Dabble by Sixpoint Brewery. As described by the brewery, “Sabro provides an incredible coconut note, Cashmere brings a soft, delicate complexity, and Idaho 7 brings potency and depth.” Stay tuned – Jeremy will be sharing a write-up about this beer in a separate post soon!
As with most chili recipes, this one is super customizable. If you’ve got garden peppers to use up, most any kind will work well in this dish!
Pale Ale White Bean Chili
Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5 oz, or about 2 cups) can vegetable broth
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans of Great Northern beans
- 1 (12 oz) bottle or can of pale ale
- 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight (if short on time, simply boil them for 15 minutes!)
- 1 potato, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, chopped
- 1 can of corn
- 4 oz. green chilies
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: cilantro, radishes, avocado (for garnish)
Directions
- Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a large pan over medium heat. Add in chopped potato and boil until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- If you’ve soaked your cashews overnight, go ahead and drain the water from them. If you’ve not yet soaked them, boil them in a separate pan for about 15 minutes while the potato boils.
- Once potato is fork-tender, remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.
- Blend vegetable broth, potato, and cashews together with an immersion blender or (carefully) in a high-speed blender.
- With the blended mixture back in the large saucepan, add in the beer, jalapeño, corn, green chilies, onion, minced garlic, and spices. Note: You may want to start slow when incorporating the spices and add more gradually, taste-testing along the way – this recipe can get pretty spicy rather quickly!
- Boil for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Once chili has reached desired thickness, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add garnishes and enjoy!
This chili keeps well in the fridge for about three days and can be frozen to heat up and eat later!
What fall dish are you most looking forward to? Do you have any traditionally heavier meals that you’ve altered to be enjoyed during the summer? Share in the comments!
xo, Aly