Vegan Green Chile Stew is the ultimate comfort food for any vegan who loves New Mexican green chile! It's a cream-based soup made with vegan "chicken," potatoes, veggies, and fresh roasted green chiles!
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What is Vegan Green Chile Stew?
When most people hear chile, they think of Texas chili which is a thick bean stew with beans, meat, and chili powder. New Mexican chile is a totally different dish. For Green chile stew, I’m talking about roasted green chile peppers from Hatch NM.
These are Anaheim peppers that are grown in the Hatch Valley along the Rio Grande near Hatch NM. (The climate in this specific region gives the peppers their unique flavor).
If you have ever been to New Mexico in the fall, you have smelled the green chiles roasting from seemingly every street corner. It kind of smells like someone burnt their peppers while smoking a joint. The smell used to make me gag when I first moved to NM, but now it reminds me of the magical taste of green chile stew!
Red chiles vs. green chiles
If they don’t roast the chiles, they string them up into ristras. The chiles turn red as they dry out in the sun. One may think that they are nothing more than an iconic New Mexican decoration, but the ristras are functional to dry out the peppers to be used to make their equally popular red chile dishes.
Where to buy green chiles
Green chiles are sold fresh (or frozen if out of season) in most grocery stores and farmers' markets in the Southwestern region of the United States. If you don't live in this region, you can order green chiles in a can or a jar from Amazon or you may be able to find them at a Mexican market.
Are green chiles spicy?
The peppers range greatly in spiciness, so you want to adjust the number of chile peppers to control the amount of heat in your stew. I like to use about 1 cup of medium-level spice chopped peppers. If you use extra hot, it overwhelms the roasted chile flavor in my opinion.
What can I use instead of chicken?
To make this stew vegan, you will want to use faux chicken. I find that Butler soy curls are really easy because you can just toss them into the soup and they will rehydrate and soak up the flavor of the broth.
You can also use any type of store-bought vegan chicken products or make your own homemade chicken seitan, vegan shredded chicken, or my quick and easy seitan recipes and toss them in.
How to make vegan green chile stew
Step 1 - Sauté onion in 1 tbsp of oil for about 3 minutes. (For an oil-free option, just add all veggies to water with bullion and green chile and simmer for 20 minutes).
Step 2 - Add zucchini and mushrooms and sprinkle with salt
Step 3 - Sauté for about 5 more minutes until they start to release their juices.
Step 4 - Add water, Not Chick’n bouillon cubes, chopped green chiles, and peeled and diced potatoes, then simmer on medium-low. (Reduce water by 1 cup if not using Soy Curls.)
Step 5 - Heat soup until it boils, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are just barely soft.
Step 6 - Add Butler soy curls or other chicken strips of choice.
Step 7 - Simmer for about 5 more minutes, then add the soy milk.
Thicken the stew
Step 8 - Thicken your stew by making a vegan roux with oil and flour or use corn or potato starch devolved in cold water.
Step 9 - Let the stew simmer on low for a little bit longer to allow the stew to thicken and all the flavors to mix.
Pro Tips
- Since traditional Green Chile Stew has chicken in it, I use a vegan Not-Chick'n Cubes bullion to give it a chicken flavor, but you can use vegetable broth as well.
- For a fat-free option, just add all veggies to water with bullion and green chile and simmer for 20 minutes. Then continue the recipe according to the directions and use the starch method to thicken.
- If you are using freshly roasted chiles, you will need to peel most of the tough skin off the chiles and remove the stem and most of the seeds. The seeds of the peppers are the hottest part, so if you want a super spicy stew, you can leave them attached. (However, they have a tough texture, so you don’t want too many).
- You can use a traditional roux, or to make it gluten-free or fat-free, simply use corn or potato starch. The traditional roux will give you a heartier stew, but both ways are delicious!
- Be careful not to touch your eyes when handling chiles, they will burn and irritate your skin.
Storage
This is one of those meals that tastes even better the next day after all of the flavors have been mixed together! Store leftover green chile stew in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days or keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What to serve with green chile stew
- Vegan Cornbread
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Vegan Focaccia Bread
- Farinata
- Vegan Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Vegan Drop Biscuits
Gluten-free method
You can easily make this gluten-free or lower fat by thickening the soup with corn starch instead of a roux. To do this, add 1/3 cup of corn starch (or potato starch) to the cold plant-based milk. Stir in the starch until it dissolves, then add the milk to the soup and stir very well until it begins to boil and thicken.
More creamy vegan soups
- Vegan Cream of Broccoli
- Vegan Cream of "Chicken"
- Coconut Curry Soup
- Vegan Cream of Celery
- Vegan Cream of Mushroom
- Creamy Vegan Lentil Soup with Kale and Lemon
- Vegan White Chili
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Vegan Green Chile Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil any mild-flavored oil will work
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1 small zucchini cubed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 cups water
- 2 cubes Not Chick’n bullion or replace water with vegetable broth
- 1 cup roasted green chiles chopped (medium heat) (you can also use jarred or canned green chili)
- 4 medium potatoes peeled and diced into bite-sized cubes
- 3 cups plain soy milk or other plant-based milk of choice
- 2 cups Butler Soy Curls or any imitation chicken strips
To thicken the stew:
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- ½ cup white flour or 1/3 cup GF flour without sorghum or garbanzo beans
Or for gluten-free/ fat-free:
- 1/3 cup corn starch (or potato starch)
Instructions
- Sauté onion in 1 tbsp of oil for about 3 minutes. (For an oil-free option, just add all veggies to water with bullion and green chile and simmer for 20 minutes.)
- Add zucchini and mushrooms and sprinkle with salt
- Sauté for about 5 more minutes until they start to release their juices.
- Add water, Not Chick’n bouillon cubes, chopped green chiles, and peeled and diced potatoes, then simmer on medium-low. (Reduce water by 1 cup if not using Soy Curls.)
- Heat soup until it boils, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are just barely soft.
- Add Butler soy curls or other chicken strip product of choice.
- Simmer for about 5 more minutes, then add the soy milk.
To thicken the stew with a roux
- Mix the oil and flour in the bottom of another soup pot.
- Heat over medium heat until oil and flour mixture bubbles.
- Scoop out the liquid from the soup with a ladle and add it to the roux one at a time stirring well between each scoop. (It will be very thick at first). Continue until all of the soup is added.
- Stir until the stew just begins to bubble and then turn off the heat.
To thicken with corn starch
- Add 1/3 cup of corn starch (or potato starch) to the cold plant-based milk. Stir in the starch until it dissolves, then add the milk to the soup and stir very well until it begins to boil and thicken.
Notes
- Green chiles vary greatly in levels of spiciness. Add 1/2 and then taste test to see how spicy they are. Remember, once you add the milk and thickener, your soup will lose some spice.
- To make this oil-free, omit sauteing vegetables and use the cornstarch method.
- Remove the stems and peel off any hard or burnt skin. (You want the meaty inside of the chile).
- Once all hard parts of the chile have been removed, chop it into small pieces.
- Be careful not to touch your eyes when handling chiles, they will burn and irritate your skin.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
This recipe was originally posted on September 25, 2017. It was updated on September 16, 2021, to include new images and more detailed instructions.
I grew up in Albuquerque and was extremely impressed wirh how this turned out! Delicious.
Albuquerque is my favorite city! I was a teacher at Highland High school for many years. So happy that you like the recipe! 🙂
I saw the comment about using tofu so that answered one question! If using chickpeas, will the aquafaba provide some thickening instead of using a roux?
I have roasted chiles in the freezer and need to make space, so even though it’s the middle of summer this sounds wonderful!
Aquafaba will thicken it a little, but not as much as a roux. You can also use a slurry of a tablespoon or two of cornstarch and water mix to thicken it.
Hi,
What a great recipe!
My soup did not thicken as much as it should have per your picture. I used the roux method, but instead of soymilk I used almond milk; Could this be the reason?
I ended up adding some corn starch at the end to thicken it.
I also wanted to ask if you add the Butler soy curls directly to the soup or after rehydrating, per package instructions? I rehydrated first.
Cheers,
I rehydrate the butler soy curls in the broth of the soup. When you do this, they soak up about 1 cup of the broth, so this is probably the reason that yours wasn't as thick as mine! So happy that you liked the soup though. 🙂
I made this on a dreary, snowy winter day using some chiles I had frozen when they were in season and it perfectly hit the spot. Filling, warming, delicious! The only change that I made was adding some cooked chickpeas for a little extra protein.
It sounds like the perfect meal for a cold dreary day! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
Thanks for posting this recipe, Monica! I am a true Chile-head and look forward to making a huge pot of this for our Solstice party. Have a spicy holiday season &)
You're welcome! I think you'll love this stew! My father (who is nowhere near vegan) actually requests that I make this for him every time he comes to visit. It sounds like a perfect spicy solstice dish! 🙂
We added extra firm tofu instead of the soy strips and extra hot green chiles. Husband and son both ate second servings. Great recipe!
Thanks! So happy that you liked it! 🙂
This turned out delicious, but I did tweak it a bit. I added some chili powder and cumin for flavor, a can of white beans just because I had them and used masa harina as a thickening agent for a more authentic taste. Thank you for the recipe!
I'm happy that you enjoyed it Kathi! 🙂
This is seriously my new favorite soup! I could live on this stuff. I don't need to be gluten-free, so I use seitan in it. It's awesome stuff! Love that it's a creamy version of green chile stew too!
Thanks, Alan, so happy that you liked it! I used to love seitan in it too before we went gluten-free.