Kidney Bean Chili

It’s been raining here all week which made us really want some warm, cozy chili. We especially love this chili served over mashed potatoes but it also grows great with tortilla chips or some garlic bread.

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Serves: 4

Time: 1.5 hours (30 minutes active time)

Ingredients

3 cups cooked beans* or two cans kidney beans

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 bell peppers, chopped

black pepper

1 onion, (2 cups) chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cups veggie stock (gluten-free option, soy-free option)


If you are cooking the beans from dry, cook the beans according to the instructions below.

While the beans are cooking, saute the mushrooms in olive oil until browned, about 15 minutes. Grind some fresh black pepper onto the mushrooms about halfway through cooking. Once the mushrooms are done, set them aside and saute the chopped peppers in olive oil about 10 minutes and set aside.

Once the beans are cooked, in a large pot, sweat the onions over medium low heat until they start to go translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for an additional 2 minutes before adding the spices. Continue to cook, stirring, about 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the liquid is thickened. Add the beans after 25 minutes of simmering. Add the sauteed peppers and serve hot with garlic bread, tortilla chips, or mashed potatoes.


*Cooking kidney beans from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the kidney beans in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cup of dried kidney beans to the pot.  Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 tsp cumin.  Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 17 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook kidney beans from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the kidney beans which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt. For this recipe, also add 1 tsp chili, and 1 tsp cumin to the kidney beans as they cook.

Cook the kidney beans until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours).  We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: kidney beans cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Black Bean Chili

Delicious warm chili for these cold nights. Happy solstice y’all!

We love eating this chili with garlic bread.

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Serves: 4-6

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (35 minutes active)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1+ 1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp taco mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 medium zucchini, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup of corn, optional

2 cups drained and rinsed black beans*

3 cups vegetable broth (gluten-free option, soy-free option)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup brown or wild rice

1-3 cups of water

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar


In a big soup pot over medium heat saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until the onions are soft and fragrant about 7 minutes.  Add the chili powder, taco mix, garlic powder, salt, pepper, tomato paste, and zucchini.  Stir well and continue to cook about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and corn (optional) and cook another 3 minutes until the tomatoes start to release their juice. 

Add the rice and the broth. Reduce heat to an active simmer and cook about 40 minutes until the rice is almost tender.  Add 1 cup of water, beans, and apple cider vinegar and cook another 15 minutes, stirring regularly.  If it starts to stick on the bottom, add more water. Enjoy!

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*Cooking black beans from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the black beans in an Instant Pot, add 1 cup of dried black beans to the pot.  Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne.  Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 19 minutes letting depressurize naturally.  Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook black beans from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the beans which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt.

For this recipe, also add 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne to the black beans as they cook. Cook the beans until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours).  We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: black beans cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Vegan Cincinnati Style Inspired Chili

Anne’s husband grew up eating Cincinnati chili when he visited with his grandparents. Anne created this recipe with Beyond Beef so they can give him a nostalgic taste of childhood without cooking meat (because Anne doesn’t enjoy cooking meat). Like any recipe on our blog, this one is an interpretation. We add mushrooms and beans because we like the way the chili tastes with those additions. This recipe can be made without those ingredients if you do not enjoy them. A signature part of the Cincinnati chili from John’s childhood is that it was served with spaghetti and oyster crackers, and if gluten is not a problem for you, we invite you to try it with both. If not, the pasta can be replaced with a gluten-free pasta.

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Serves: 4

Time: 1 hr (30 minute active time)

Ingredients

1 13.5oz can kidney beans, drained

1 13.5 oz can of water

8 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1 box of spaghetti (gluten-free option)

oyster crackers (omit for gluten-free option)

For the sauce:

3 tbsp liquid from pickled banana peppers

1 13.5 oz can tomatoes

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp oregano

1 tsp cocoa powder

For the beef:

1/2 block Beyond Beef

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp taco mix


Heat a large pot. Once hot, add 1/2 block of Beyond Beef (this has oil in it, so you don’t need to add oil). Stir to break beef into small crumbles. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the “for the beef” seasonings and cook an additional 2 minutes or until the beef is golden brown and still has some moisture. While this is cooking, thinly slice your mushrooms and chop the onions and garlic.

Set the beef aside and add some oil to the pan. Once the oil heats up add the mushrooms and onions and cook these on a low heat stirring frequently. While these are cooking, put all of the “for the sauce” ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Once the mushrooms have released their liquid and the onions are slightly translucent add the garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp of salt to the pan. Cook for one more minute, being careful not to burn the spices. Add the sauce to the pan along with a can full of water (you can use this water to clean out your tomato can) and simmer this stirring frequently until it reduces by half, about half an hour.

Meanwhile boil a large pot of salty water. The water should taste about as salty as seawater so that the spaghetti soaks in the water and is perfectly salted when done. Don’t worry if these feels like a lot of salt; you will be draining the water. Once the water is boiling add a box of spaghetti and cook according to the package directions.

Once the sauce has reduced add the Beyond Beef crumbles and the drained beans. Cook another 15 minutes allowing flavors to meld. Serve over cooked spaghetti, optionally garnish with oyster crackers.

Enjoy!

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