Cooking With Beer: 7 Vegan Recipes for Beer-Infused Dishes

You’ve heard of cooking with wine, but what about cooking with beer? The popular hoppy beverage has made its way into the food-trend scene, and for good reason: it’s delicious. From moist stout cupcakes and beer-battered tofu tacos to chocolate stout brownies and beer macaroni and cheese, we’ve compiled a list of the tastiest beer-infused vegan dishes to whet your appetite. So, raise your glass, but don’t take a sip. Instead, enjoy beer cooked into your food. Cheers!

But first, which beers are vegan?

Before you get cooking, it’s important to check that the beer you’re using is actually vegan. Sometimes animal products, like casein or gelatin, are used as fining or clarifying agents in the production process. But also, some brands use animal products in their beers. (Stouts, for example, are sometimes brewed with lactose, which comes from cow’s milk.) If you’re not sure which beers are vegan, before you head to the grocery store, check out our ultimate guide to vegan beer.

7 vegan recipes for beer-infused dishes

Once you’ve found the right beer, it’s time to get cooking. Just try to resist drinking all the beer as you go! 

Thyme & Love

1 Vegan Beer Brats

With baseball season in swing, beer-infused brats are the perfect addition to any Beer Day celebration. Do like Thyme & Love and cook your favorite Beyond Meat brats in a bath of your go-to summer brew for a flavor you won’t soon forget. Served between soft pretzel buns and loaded with all the fixings, dress up this classic with a side of potato salad (or even baked beans!) for the ultimate meal. 
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Vegan Yack Attack

2 Thai BBQ Beer Can Cabbage with Daikon Slaw

If you’re the kind of person who likes to experiment with your food, try these inventive sliders from cookbook author (and VegNews contributor) Jackie Sobon. Packed with barbecued beer cabbage (which involves gutting a cabbage, adding beer into it, and slow-grilling the beer-stuffed cabbage until tender and infused with hoppy goodness), the sandwich’s Asian-inspired barbecue sauce and bright daikon slaw make for an incredible handheld.
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Vegan Yack Attack

3 Beer & Brat Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Another delicious culinary invention from the kitchen of Jackie Sobon, this Oktoberfest-worthy macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. The cashew-based sauce is completely swoon-worthy thanks to its luxuriously creamy texture and added oomph from the Golden Ale beer. We’d smother almost anything with it, but Sobon pairs it with perfectly cooked pasta and hearty chunks of vegan seitan bratwurst.
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Minimalist Baker

4 Vegan Beer Chili

Is it okay to drink alone if you pour the beer into a pot of chili? We say yes, which is why Minimalist Baker’s one-bowl wonder is our staple for nights spent curled up on the couch. Although the recipe serves eight, we find it’s best suited for the single lifestyle. Simple ingredients? Check. Easy prep? Yep (less than an hour). Freezer-friendly? You bet! Plus, the beer gives it a robust flavor, and the beans give this soup substance. Serve it in a pint glass for a festive touch and enjoy your party of one.
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Hot for Food 

5 Vegan Beer & Cheddar Bread Bowl Dip

Beer and cheese is the harmonious adult equivalent to peanut butter and jelly, which might explain why Hot for Food created the ultimate gooey, cheesy, plant-based dip perfect for a movie night in (Seaspiracy, anyone?). The dip relies on potatoes and cashews for its classically thick consistency, while the beer, spices, and pickled jalapeños enhance its bold, complex flavor. The dip is poured into a bread bowl and topped with vegan cheddar, green onion, and coconut bacon, so forgo the accouterments and start ripping this bowl apart.
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Healthy Happy Life

6 Crispy Beer-Battered Tofu Tacos

Those who say they don’t like tofu obviously have never had Kathy Patalsky’s beer-battered creation. The blogger transforms these bland bricks of soy into crave-able, beer-soaked bites that are simple yet satisfying when paired with pickled onions, cabbage, avocado, vegan chipotle mayonnaise, and hot sauce. The tofu is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and tastes delicious inside a warm tortilla. We’re making extra to add to our salads, sandwiches, and Buddha bowls.
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Chocolate Covered Katie

7Chocolate Stout Brownies

Stout is an acquired taste, but everyone can learn to love its chocolate accents, thanks to these decadent vegan brownies. Concocted by healthy vegan dessert blog Chocolate Covered Katie, these guiltless brownies are fudgy, stuffed with chocolate chips, and are a surefire pleaser. Note: Katie highly recommends you let these sit overnight in the refrigerator before serving, so plan ahead and make these the night before. We won’t judge if you celebrate a day early by eating the batter.
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Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.