Vegan Beer Bean Chili

Fall is officially here which means…colder weather, pumpkin spice everything, Christmas music playing way too early and FOOTBALL Sundays! If you ask me, there is no better way to compliment a cold Fall day than with a giant pot of CHILI making your whole house smell like culinary heaven! I love Beer Bean chili because not only is it PACKED with flavor, it is full of protein, fiber and…. is made with BEER :)

Ingredients

1 medium onion
2 medium bell peppers
1 zucchini
2 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup of basic beer (we use an ipa or pale ale)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1 (15 oz.) can of each: pinto, kidney, and black beans (or any combination of your favorite beans!)
1 ½ cups hominy (precooked or canned) or corn kernels
juice of ½ a lemon or 1 lime

Optional Toppings:

Red onion, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado, Greek yogurt

How to Make It:

Chop up the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots into small pieces. Dice garlic into small pieces.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a LARGE pot. Add the onions and cook them until they start to look a little brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, and salt and cook for another minute.
Add the beer, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and broth then scrap any spices that started sticking to the bottom of the pot. Let that all simmer together for 5 minutes.
After simmering the above ingredients, use an immersion blender (or regular blender/food processor) blend all ingredients to smooth out the consistency of the chili. If you like chunky vegetables in your chili, you can skip this part…but trust me, the extra effort to blend it is worth it ;-)
Next, add the beans and the hominy/corn. Stir everything and turn down the heat to medium-low. Place a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, stir it around and if you still want a thicker chili take off the lid and let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. When the chili looks good to you, add the lemon juice then taste test. Taste again and see if it needs more chili powder or salt. Throw in some cayenne pepper if you like your chili hot.
Serve warm with some fresh toppings like red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro.
I like to pair this with some sort of biscuit #ilovecarbs and a side salad!