Hello friends! I hope everyone is having a splendid start to their March. This has always been one of my favorite months. The air always feels so crisp in March – It’s still a little wintery but you can start to see those hints of Spring. Early Spring flowers are my favorite and one of my favorite holidays, St. Paddy’s, is right around the corner.
While I’ll be sharing some Springtime and Irish recipes soon, right now, it’s all about this cheesy green chile beer bread. If you don’t know already, green chiles are one of my very favorite foods. I will literally seek them out and if a menu item contains green chiles, I will most likely order it. Pueblo, Anaheim, and Hatch Chiles are some of my favorites, and even though Hatch are from New Mexico, you can find them all over the state of Colorado. If you drive around Colorado on a late August or September day, you’re likely to see big metal roasters on the side of the road next to someone turning bushels of fresh green chiles until they’re perfectly charred, while the intoxicating aroma fills the air. To me, this is the beginning of Fall and this smells like home.
Every Fall, I buy roasted green chiles by the bagful (more so several bagfuls) and freeze them to use throughout the year. I was recently craving green chiles, so I pulled a bag of hot Anaheims out of the freezer and got to recipe testing. And when I set out to create some green chile recipes, beer bread instantly came to mind. It’s so easy and perfect for a cool, March day.
For this bread, I make a super simple batter with flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Mix in some beer and honey for a touch of sweetness, fold in diced green chiles and cheese, and you’re good to go. Now for the crazy part – melt a stick of salted butter and pour it over the batter just before popping it into the oven. Yes. It seems like a lot of butter. I thought so too. But I tried this recipe with less butter and it just wasn’t as good. It’s definitely a “trust the process” sort of recipe. The result? A super savory, cheesy, buttery, and decadent beer bread. I mean what more could you want, right?
Now, I know most people aren’t weird like me and have bags of whole roasted green chiles stocked in their freezer. So, if you don’t happen to have a freezer-full, you can sometimes find whole roasted chiles in the freezer section of the grocery store. If you can’t find them there, whole or diced canned chiles work great too! If you do use whole, just make sure you remove the papery skin, stems, and excess seeds before dicing them up for the bread.
After the crust of this cheesy green chile beer bread becomes a golden brown, I remove it from the oven and carefully remove it from the loaf pan. I then set it on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
This bread is dense and moist with a crunchy exterior. It is SO good served warm with or without a smearing of butter and a sprinkle of flaked sea salt. This bread also keeps well in the refrigerator. You can eat it cold or heat in the microwave for a few seconds or toast in the skillet (this is my personal favorite!). It really is just the easiest and yummiest bread!
Eat well and enjoy!
Ingredient Details and Abby’s Tips
- The Flour – You’ll want to use all-purpose flour for this recipe and make sure it is sifted. Sifting the flour helps to make this already dense bread a little bit more airy and fluffy.
- The Baking Powder and Salt – Don’t substitute or skip these ingredients! Baking powder helps to create air bubbles and an airy texture while the salt adds to the savory-ness of this recipe and helps bring out flavor.
- The Garlic Powder – This might seem like a lot of garlic powder, but it ends up being more subtle than you would expect. It adds the perfect hint of garlicky goodness.
- The Beer – Use a light to medium bodied beer for this recipe. Something like a Kolsch, Pilsner, or Belgian beer would work great. I find that less fancy yellow fizzy beers work best for beer bread.
- The Honey – I like using honey as opposed to sugar because it adds a subtle touch of sweetness without being overpowering. A tip for easily getting honey off of a measuring spoon: coat the spoon or measuring cup with a tiny bit of oil first.
- The Cheese – Nothing fancy here. I have found that pre-shredded Mexican-style cheese works best for this recipe. The mixture melts well and doesn’t add any separation or greasiness. If you use a different cheese or blend, I don’t recommend using cheddar for this recipe – It separates too easily when cooked and adds a burnt taste to the bread.
- The Green Chiles – If you can find them, use whole roasted chiles for this bread. You might be able to find these in the freezer section of your grocery store. However, if you don’t have access to these, diced canned greened chiles would also work great! If you do use whole green chiles, make sure to remove the papery skin, stem, and excess seeds.
- The Butter – Like I said before, an entire stick of butter seems like a lot, I know. I was weary about this too. With that being said though, I have tried less butter in this recipe and it just isn’t as yummy. The butter melts perfectly into the batter and makes for a deliciously dense and moist loaf of bread.
Cheesy Green Chile Beer Bread
Description
Savory, cheesy, buttery, and decedent. This super easy cheesy green chile beer bread hits all the right notes.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Slowly pour the beer into the dry ingredients. Next, pour in the honey. Gently stir the mixture with a sturdy silicone spatula or wooden spoon until foaming subsides and you no longer see any dry bits of flour. If the mixture is too dry, add cold water, ¼ teaspoon at a time, until it is just wet enough to incorporate any dry spots.
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Gently fold in the cheese and diced green chiles until evenly incorporated.
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Gently spread the batter into a very lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
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Melt the butter and slowly pour over the top of the batter. Place the loaf pan on a lined, rimmed baking sheet to prevent spills.
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Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is golden brown and the internal temperature is around 210 degrees F. If the loaf starts to get too dark before it is done, tent with aluminum foil and continue cooking.
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Let cool for a few minutes and carefully remove the bread from the loaf pan. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.