Cashew Apricot Chili Recipe - Brian's Favorite Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

Our friend Pat generously shared his secret beer and beans vegetarian chili recipe with us a few weeks ago, but since I didn't have GF beer on hand, I went with a different chili recipe this week.

Brian first experienced Cashew Apricot Chili at a chili cook off in San Diego last fall. He had just started eating vegetarian and it was the vegetarian chili that had him going back for more than his share of samples. It is a great combination of spicy and sweet...both of which Brian loves.

He made his own version of this when we were visiting his parents in Phoenix. He made his a little different, in the slow cooker and used canned beans for the sake of saving time. I decided that since we were going camping this weekend, it would be a perfect make-ahead meal to heat up over our single burner camping stove to warm us up on a cold Colorado night. In addition to being a vegetarian chili, Cashew Apricot Chili is also gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. Here is how I made it this past Friday for our camping trip in Jamestown, CO.

Vegan Cashew Apricot Chili Recipe

Cashew Apricot Chili is a great camping recipe

Ingredients
1 cup dried kidney beans soaked overnight or for at least 6 hours
1 large onion chopped coarsely
4-5 cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 green bell pepper
2 stalks celery sliced
1 jalapeno finely diced
4 apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
10 dried apricots chopped
1 small can of diced green chiles
1 large can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 tbs brown rice flour (optional for thickening)
2 cups raw unsalted cashews
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
A couple shakes of cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg, and ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Rinse your soaked beans thoroughly and add to a large pot with plenty of water to cover them. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Or get 2-3 cans of your favorite beans and rinse them). Set beans aside.

In a large pot heat about 2 tbs of olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until softened. Add jalepeno, green bell pepper, and celery and saute a few more minutes. Add apricots (fresh and dry) and spices and saute a few more minutes. Next add in your cans of diced chiles and diced tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water (more if you like a more liquid chili or less if you like it thicker). Stir in 2 tbs of brown rice flour or any other gluten free flour (corn starch works as well) to thicken the chili. You can also leave this step out for a less thick chili. Stir well and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes. I left the lid on but cracked slightly and stirred it every 10 minutes or so. Next add in your cooked beans and heat another 15 minutes.

At this point you can keep the chili on a low heat until you are ready to serve it. About 5 minutes before serving, stir in the cashews and heat for just 5 minutes more. If you do not eat a dairy free diet, you can garnish this with a dollop of sour cream or I used Labneh/kefir cheese on mine. For dairy free you could top with Daiya cheese or some chopped green onion.

To prepare our vegan chili for camping, I waited on adding the cashews, poured a couple Brian sized servings in a glass container and let it cool before packing it away in the cooler. I then just heated the chili up over our camp stove on Saturday night (the flavors had plenty of time to expand). Medium heat with the lid on and stirring often allowed it to cook at a decent speed without sticking or burning on the bottom. I then added the cashews in the last few minutes of cooking.

We actually ate more than half of the chili on Friday night, so to make the chili go further for the 2 growing boys I had camping with me, I added leftover beans to the leftover chili. I forgot to take a picture before, which is why the chili in the picture looks extra beany.

The great thing about chili is that you can flavor it to your taste and add or decrease or omit ingredients as you like, to make it just your own. For me, this Cashew Apricot Chili recipe was the perfect blend of spicy and sweet, and all of the vegetable chunks, beans, and cashews left no need for meat. This is a great recipe to take to a pot luck, make a big batch of for lunches, bring camping, or to star in your next backyard bbq.

Cashew Apricot Chili with Gluten Free Vegan Cornbread

And what's chili without cornbread? Well dairy free, gluten free, vegan cornbread is not an easy recipe to make...but I did my best. it came out pretty darn dense, and super filling, but again a very satisfying spicy sweet combination, and super filling - which is important when feeding Brian!

Sweet 'n Spicy Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan Cornbread Recipe

This was great to pack for camping. Wrap in tin foil and warm over an open fire with some beans or chili. Yum!

Here are a few more pics from our camping trip in Jamestown, CO. Our last camping trip while living in Boulder since we're moving back to San Diego in a week!