Cold weather and crockpots are locked together in my mind like peanut butter and jelly or Bert and Ernie. Here in Birmingham we’re due for our first actual frost of the season, so naturally I want to whip out the crockpot and get busy. Plus it’s Halloween and my hubby Shannon has spent the entire day deep into the construction of an epic Halloween display and I don’t want to deal with making an involved dinner- one dish meals are, frankly, magical. So with very little effort I know I can put together a delicious meal that will have enough leftovers to freeze for Shannon to take to work with him. So really, Crockpot Beer Chili is kind of the best meal ever.
Chili is amazing. There are so many ways to make it and tailor it to your family’s tastes. By using vegetables and vegetarian meats it lends itself to a Meatless Monday effortlessly! And the addition of beer gives chili a depth of flavor that can’t be beat. I wanted to use a beer that was rich and bold and local, so I chose a beer from a local brewery I love- Good People Brewing Company. They’re an awesome bunch of folks that make some of the best beer in Birmingham. We’ve experienced a serious renaissance of local brewing recently and I feel very lucky that we have so many to choose from!
Cooking dried beans this way is such a money saver- much cheaper than buying canned beans and so, so simple. I used corn and Morningstar Crumbles (a ground beef substitute my family loves) in mine but you could easily add zucchini; diced peppers, onions, and tomatoes; or any vegetable of your choosing. Chili is a great way to get an easy, economical, heart-healthy, veggie-packed, low fat meal in front of your family that they will LOVE.
Ingredients:
One package red kidney beans
Two packets chili seasoning (I chose mild)
Tomato sauce- one 29 oz can and one 8 oz can
Frozen corn- a small package approx 16 oz
1T garlic powder
1T onion powder
1 can beer (you can go bold or mild based on the darkness of your selection)
Optional- one bag Morningstar Crumbles
Directions:
Soak your beans overnight in a bowl full of water. You’ll want to give them enough space to swell and expand. In the morning, drain, rinse, and add to your crockpot. Cover with 1 inch of water and set your crockpot to high. Cook your beans for 5 hours.
Once your beans are cooked, drain and rinse them, and return them to the crockpot. Add both cans of tomato sauce, the chili seasoning packets, the onion and garlic powder, and the frozen corn. Stir thoroughly to combine. Add the can of beer and stir it in. Cook in the crockpot on high for at least another hour to give the alcohol time to cook out and for the flavors to blend.
You can serve with shredded cheese, crackers, or corn chips. To continue with the heart-healthy, low fat theme I enjoyed mine with baked corn chips and it was sooooo good!
How does your family enjoy their chili?
Crockpot Beer Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- One package red kidney beans
- Two packets chili seasoning I chose mild
- Tomato sauce- one 29 oz can and one 8 oz can
- Frozen corn- a small package approx 16 oz
- 1 T garlic powder
- 1 T onion powder
- 1 can beer you can go bold or mild based on the darkness of your selection
- Optional- one bag Morningstar Crumbles
Instructions
- Soak your beans overnight in a bowl full of water. You'll want to give them enough space to swell and expand. In the morning, drain, rinse, and add to your crockpot.
- Cover with 1 inch of water and set your crockpot to high.
- Cook your beans for 5 hours.
- Once your beans are cooked, drain and rinse them, and return them to the crockpot.
- Add both cans of tomato sauce, the chili seasoning packets, the onion and garlic powder, and the frozen corn.
- Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Add the can of beer and stir it in.
- Cook in the crockpot on high for at least another hour to give the alcohol time to cook out and for the flavors to blend.
- You can serve with shredded cheese, crackers, or corn chips.
So glad to see you used local beer lol
I need to try this. Sounds yummy!
Sounds like a fantastic recipe. My husband might not be too fond of the meatless part but if it has beer in it I’m pretty sure he’ll try it, lol. He’s been asking me to make chili for a few weeks now. I’ve just got to pick up the ingredients.
I’ve never tried adding beer to my chili. I’m sure it adds a nice flavor once it cooks down.