Go Back
Bean and Beer Chili

Bean and Beer Chili

Shock Munch
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

Chili:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (see notes)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 green peppers, diced
  • 1 red peppers, diced
  • 2 ribs of celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (optional)
  • 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 oz can diced green chilies
  • 1½ cups precooked or canned hominy, drained and rinsed (see notes)
  • 1 cup of beer (I used O'Fallon Smoked Porter)
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1½ tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • ½ tablespoon chipotle chili pepper
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (optional)
  • 1 cup vegetable broth or water
  • Juice of ½ a lemon

Toppings:

  • Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Sour cream
  • Green onion
  • Sliced Jalapeño
  • Cooked elbow noodles
  • Cilantro or parsley
  • Serve with rice or alone.

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil, over medium heat, in a dutch oven or a large pot.
  • Add the onions and cook them until they become translucent, then a little brown (5-10 minutes).
  • Now toss in the bell peppers, celery, and carrots. Stir everything around and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Make a well in the middle of your cooked vegetables in the pot. Pour a capful of olive oil in the pot and cook the garlic in the center of the well until you can start to smell it (approx 30 seconds). Stir the garlic into the rest of the vegetables.
  • Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and salt and cook for 1 minute.
  • Now it's time to add the beer, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, green chili's, and broth. Be sure to scrap the bottom of the pot to unstick any vegetable or spice bits. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Now add all the beans and hominy. Stir all the ingredients together and turn the heat down to medium low. Cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the cover and stir, if the chili isn't as thick as you normally like it, keep the lid off and simmer for another 10-20 minutes.
  • Once the chili is at the thickness you like, add the lemon juice. Now taste. Depending on the brand of canned tomatoes you purchased, you may need to add the brown sugar to even out the acidity in the tomatoes. Taste again and add more salt or seasonings if need be.
  • This chili isn't very spicy, so feel free to add hot sauce and/or cayenne pepper to achieve the spiciness you like best.
  • Serve and eat as is, or on top of some rice.
  • Add any toppings you like!

Notes

Picky eaters in your house? Love mushrooms but other people in your household loath them? Have no fear your food processor is here!!! Throw the mushrooms in your food processor and pulsed them until they are cut into tiny little mushroom bits, just shy of a puree. Add the tiny cut up mushrooms instead of the sliced mushrooms and no one will ever be the wiser!
When you add the mushrooms to the cooking pot, I'll admit they made the vegetable mixture look WEIRD, you will think you just ruined the chili. Rest assured, they will cook down and vanish into the chili. No one will know you added them! It's the prefect way to sneak extra vegetables into the chili for picky eaters.
Hominy- I found this in the aisle that housed Mexican food at my local grocery store. It's kinda like corn, but more puffy looking. You can substitute corn for hominy if you don't like the taste.