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Vegetarian Recipes

Heirloom Bean and Mushroom “Carnitas” Casserole

Heirloom Bean and Mushroom “Carnitas” Casserole

What you see here is an excellent, hearty, winter-spirited casserole. It’s simple to pull together, and once in the oven the smell of garlic and herbs baking alongside the heirloom beans, simmering tomatoes, and golden mushrooms will bring neighbors in off the sidewalk. You should make it a.s.a.p!

I found the recipe deep in back of Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen cookbook – (Rancho Gordo forever around here). The technique for cooking the mushrooms is part of what caught my attention. You cook the mushrooms in quite a bit of liquid and then allow them to cook in the residual fat (olive oil) after the liquid evaporates. The technique is like carnitas, the classic Mexican pork dish. Hence the recipe title. But, of course, unlike the traditional preparation, cooking this with mushrooms makes it a vegetarian casserole.

Choosing the Right Beans

The recipe falls into the Dark & Hearty Beans chapter of the book, and Eye of the Goat beans, or other brown beans are what’s recommended. That said, many, many types of beans could work here. I went a bit rogue and used some beautiful Rancho Gordo Yellow Eye Beans. They’re creamy, melty, and mild. They took on the bubbling casserole juices beautifully. I also love the way those beans in particular hold their markings. Beyond those suggestions, I imagine using any creamy white bean would be nice here too – for example, the Alubia Blanca, or Marcella. And, if you only have canned beans on hand – it’s ok! Drain them, rinse them, use them!

Cooking the Mushrooms

I just wanted to leave a visual reference here. This is how the mushrooms looked (above) when I take them off the heat. And now that I’m looking, I could have even gone a bit longer. Do you see how there’s nice browning on the edges? That’s what you’re after. Then, you add all the other ingredients to the same pan (below), give it all a good stir, add a bit of cheese and pop it in the oven. I’ve tweaked the original recipe a bit to allow you to go from stovetop to oven in one skillet (reflected below), and bumped the quantity up by half, because this casserole is popular and goes fast.

 

Variations

Here are a couple ways you might build on this idea!

– With Breadcrumbs: Toss 1 cup of chunky breadcrumbs with a glut of olive oil and sprinkle across the top of the bean mixture before baking.

– Breakfast Casserole: Make three divots in the bean-mushroom mixture prior to baking, crack an egg into each of the depressions & bake until eggs are set, and bean mixture is bubbling.

Heirloom Bean & Mushroom “Carnitas” Casserole

As the recipe highlights, the mushrooms are a fantastic taco filling.

INGREDIENTS
Mushroom Carnitas:
  • 3 cups sliced button mushrooms
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
Casserole:
    • 3 cups cooked heirloom beans, drained
    • 1+ cup canned whole peeled tomatoes chopped; plus 3/4 cup of juice from the canned tomatoes
    • 3 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
    • 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
    • 8 very small fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Start by making the Mushroom Carnitas. In an oven-proof skillet, place all of the Mushroom Carnitas ingredients – mushrooms, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and oregano – and add just enough water to not quite cover the mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a hard boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer; cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 15 minutes, stirring to avoid scorching. Watch carefully: Once evaporation starts, things happen quickly. The mushrooms will start to sauté in the residual oil. Keep stirring until the mushrooms are golden brown. Remove from heat.
3. Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and stir well. Taste, and adjust the salt, if needed. Arrange the mozzarella on top of the mushroom-bean mixture and push them down into the liquid a bit.
4. Bake, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, but start checking in after 30 minutes. When finished, the liquid should be bubbling and reduced a bit, and the cheese starting to melt and turn golden a bit.
NOTES

Serves 6-8

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

I am well and truly into soup mode, with all this cold weather we’ve been having – and corn chowder has got to be one of the most hearty, most comforting soups there is. This thick and creamy soup is packed with fresh veggies, and the addition of coconut milk makes it extra tasty (and vegan too!).

A piece of buttered toast being dipped into vegan corn chowder.

The flavours in this soup are just delicious – the slight heat from the chilli and the touch of sweetness from the creamy coconut milk are such a wonderful combination. I might even try it with sweet potatoes next!

This vegan corn chowder is already super filling due to the potatoes and corn, but I do love a bit of buttered toast dipped in… it’s autumn in a bowl.

⭐ What is Chowder?

Chowder is a thick kind of soup, usually made with milk or cream – but this vegan corn chowder uses coconut milk instead, which makes it even tastier.

It’s generally left chunky (unlike a smooth blended soup), which makes it feel much more hearty and filling than a thinner soup. I did partially blend my coconut corn chowder, because it helps to break down the potatoes and corn, making the soup extra thick and creamy – though I didn’t make it totally smooth.

(you can if you want to, though! I’m not the chowder police.)

Overhead shot of vegan corn chowder with buttered toast.

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🥗 Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for vegan corn chowder laid out with text overlay.
  • sweetcorn – I used frozen corn, but you could use canned or fresh corn instead, if you prefer.
  • unsweetened coconut milk – use the canned stuff, as it’s thicker and creamier than the kind that’s designed for drinking. I used light coconut milk, but regular would also be great (and would make an even creamier soup).
  • onion
  • celery
  • carrot
  • potatoes – you could even try using sweet potatoes (or a bit of both kinds) instead, if you want an extra hint of sweetness in your soup.
  • vegetable stock – I used a crumbled stock cube plus some water, but liquid stock would also work well.
  • red chilli – just use a small amount to begin with! You can always spice up your soup more later if it needs it, but adding too much chilli is a good way to quickly ruin a tasty soup.
  • smoked paprika
  • cumin
  • garlic

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t want to buy a whole pack of red chillies to only use a small amount, a dollop of sweet chilli sauce will also work really well in this recipe.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

To make this vegan corn chowder, I used an immersion blender (hand blender) to partially blend the soup. It helped to break down the potatoes and corn, making the soup extra thick and creamy.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can choose to leave the soup unblended – but if you’d like to make soup regularly, a hand blender is definitely something worth buying, as they’re not expensive, and they’re a tool you’ll probably use regularly. I make soup about once a week, so my immersion blender is one of my most-used kitchen tools.

Here’s a great one on Amazon, with really positive reviews:

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OVENTE Electric Immersion Hand Blender 300 Watt 2 Mixing Speed with Stainless Steel Blades, Powerful Portable Easy Control Grip Stick Mixer Perfect for Smoothies, Puree Baby Food & Soup, Black HS560B

OVENTE Electric Immersion Hand Blender 300 Watt 2 Mixing Speed with Stainless Steel Blades, Powerful Portable Easy Control Grip Stick Mixer Perfect for Smoothies, Puree Baby Food & Soup, Black HS560B

I use this kind of hand blender at least once a week to make homemade soup.

If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

$17.08

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A bowl of vegan corn chowder topped with cilantro.

🖨 Printable Instructions

Buttered toast being dipped into a bowl of coconut corn chowder.

Print

Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

This creamy vegan corn chowder recipe is made with coconut milk, which makes it extra luxurious and extra delicious!
Course Appetiser, Light lunch, Soup
Cuisine American
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 3 people
Calories 360kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) potato (~ 3 medium)
  • 1/2 large onion (or 1 small)
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 large celery stick (~ 80g / ~ 3 oz)
  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) frozen sweetcorn
  • 1/2 small mild red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 400 ml tin coconut milk (~ 1 1/2 cups) – I used light
  • 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
  • 500 ml (~ 2 cups) water
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Dice the potato, onion, carrot and celery stick fairly small (1cm or less). Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat, and add the chopped vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes or so, until fragrant.
    Diced potatoes and other vegetables in a saucepan.
  • Add the frozen sweetcorn, chilli, garlic, smoked paprika and cumin. Mix well, and cook for a couple more minutes.
    Sautéed vegetables and spices in a saucepan.
  • Next, add the can of coconut milk and the vegetable stock – I used a stock cube and water, but you can use liquid stock if you prefer.
    Vegetables and coconut milk in a saucepan.
  • Bring to a simmer, and cook for 25 minutes or so, until all the vegetables are very soft.
    Chunky corn chowder in a saucepan.
  • Use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup, breaking down some of the potatoes and corn, and leaving some whole.
    Vegan coconut corn chowder in a saucepan.
  • Season to taste, and serve warm.
    Coconut corn chowder in a bowl with buttered toast.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.2g | Protein: 8.4g | Fat: 15.4g | Saturated Fat: 8.5g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 552mg | Potassium: 1083mg | Fiber: 7.6g | Sugar: 5.7g | Calcium: 554mg | Iron: 3mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Does this corn chowder reheat well?

Yes! The leftovers are great reheated – just microwave until piping hot. This means you can also prepare the soup in advance if you need to, and reheat when you’re ready to serve.

Can I freeze corn chowder?

Soup generally freezes very well – just allow it to cool and store it in an airtight tub in the freezer.

How should I serve corn chowder?

Because of the potatoes and corn, this is a hearty soup that doesn’t really need anything else alongside. However, I do love it with a slice of crusty, buttery toast for dipping.

🥣 Other Soup Recipes

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Buttered toast being dipped into a bowl of coconut corn chowder.

Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk)

Easy red lentil soup topped with Greek yogurt and red pesto.

Seriously Easy Red Lentil Soup

A bowlful of creamy potato and spring onion soup.

Creamy Potato and Spring Onion Soup

Vegetable gyoza soup in a bowl.

Vegetarian Gyoza Soup

The post Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder (with Coconut Milk) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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