The Best Chili Recipe is one that is loaded with beef and beans and absolutely full of flavor… just like this one! Chili is hands down one of my husband’s favorite meals (and I love it because it’s easy to make)!
This easy chili recipe cooks on the stovetop and is perfect served alongside Homemade Cornbread, buttered toast or Buttermilk Biscuits. Add in your favorite toppings like cheese and onions for the perfect meal.
How to Make Chili
While I sometimes make crockpot chili, this easy version is great for a weeknight meal!
Seasonings:
- The seasonings in this recipe are chili powder and cumin. Store bought or homemade chili powder work well in this recipe.
- What is in Chili Powder? Sweet paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano and cumin.
- Mix Chili Powder into the raw ground beef before cooking to ensure every morsel is seasoned to perfection.
Beans:
- I use canned red kidney beans but pinto beans or black beans work as well.
- Rinse beans (unless using chili beans) before adding to remove excess salt and starches.
- Chili beans add great flavor! What are chili beans? Usually either pinto or kidney beans with added flavors in a chili style sauce.
How to Cook Chili
- Brown the beef, onions, garlic and some of the chili powder.
- Drain any fat.
- Simmer Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered.
To Thicken Chili
When making chili on the stove, I simmer it uncovered which allows the chili to naturally thicken without having to add cornstarch or flour. While thickening chili by simmering is the best option, you may not always have time to let it reduce. If you don’t have time to simmer it to thicken you can sprinkle in a little bit of cornmeal or make a cornstarch or flour slurry and add it in.
If you can spare a few extra minutes, just let it simmer uncovered.
Variations
Spice Level This chili is just right for our liking but you can increase or reduce the spice level to your liking. For extra heat, leave the seeds in your jalapenos or add a few dashes of hot sauce or a sprinkle of chili flakes.
Ground Beef Any ground meat will work in this recipe from chicken to turkey. If your meat has a lot of fat, be sure to drain it before simmering.
Beer I love the depth of flavor that a bit of beer adds. Feel free to skip the beer and use extra broth.
Swap the Spices Spice up your chili any way you’d like. To make a tex-mex chili, toss in a packet of taco seasoning.
Can You Freeze Chili?
100% yes!!! Chili freezes and reheats beautifully. We freeze it in single sized portions for lunches or in freezer bags for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
Defrost in the fridge overnight and heat in a saucepan (or the microwave) to serve.
More Chili Recipes You’ll Love
- Instant Pot Chili
- Easy Crock Pot Chili Recipe
- Texas Chili
- Green Chili Recipe
- 15 Bean Slow Cooker Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili
The Best Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2½ tablespoons chili powder divided, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (19 ounce) can canned red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 1 cup beer
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine ground beef and 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder.
- In a large pot, brown ground beef, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Drain any fat.
- Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes or until chili has reached desired thickness.
- Top with cheddar cheese, green onions, cilantro or other favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Tex Mex© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Toppings for Chili
My #1 favorite of course is cornbread or just plain ol’ toast with butter. Pretty much any bread to sop up whatever is left in the bottom of my bowl! 30 Minute Dinner Rolls are great with chili too! If you need to stretch out the meal, serve it over white rice.
I always put out a collection of toppings… and while everyone has a different idea as to what goes with chili I have a few staples:
- sour cream
- red or green onion
- cheddar cheese or monterey jack
- jalapenos
- cilantro, avocado & lime wedges
- croutons or tortilla chips
Is Chili Healthy
Yes, it’s lean beef loaded with tomatoes and beans (and veggies if you’d like). Tons of fiber, protein and flavor all in one bowl! Be sure you’re using lean beef and drain any fat (or use ground chicken/turkey if you prefer).
Choose low sodium or low sugar products to reduce the salt and sugar in this recipe.
added corn and a quarter cup of tomato juice. did not use bell pepper or beer. absolutely loved it.
Great chili but did and a tablespoon of cocoa powder
10/10! Made as is, so good!
This is my favorite chili recipe. Can the beer be substituted for red wine?
Hi Hailey, you can replace the beer with broth if you prefer. I have never tried replacing it with wine, but if you do, I would only add ¼ to ⅓ cup of wine.
Great recipe, omitted jalapeños, but everything else we did. I did saute veggies first then added hamburger and meatloaf mix-defrosted by accident with 1.5T chili powder mixed throughout. bloomed spices bottom pot after removing excess liquid. let it simmer 1.5 hours. beer was a nice tough used a larger although dark beer would of been better.
I followed most of this recipe to a T , added some Kashmiri spices to the beef for some added kick , let it simmer a full hour more than recommended for added depth in flavour and was highly disappointed. This chili was bland and forgettable.
Why do you drain the fat? Does it adversely affect the flavor?
I drain the fat to keep an oily layer from floating on top. It definitely doesn’t hurt the flavor, and if you don’t have much fat, you can skip the draining.
Excellent! I was able to let it simmer over an hour and it really thickened. Personally, I think you’re right about the beer adding a nice deep flavor..it really does. Loved by the entire family! This will be my new go to chili recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Can’t believe I thought chili powder only consisted of pepper powder until now, Thank you.
this is literally the best chili recipe I only tweak it a little bit. I use kinders wildfire chili seasoning and for my diced tomatoes I do fire roasted rotel and fire roasted crushed tomatoes it really elevates this dish with the combination of everything. also corn is a great addition thank you so much for this recipe I have won a chili cook off with it and going to a chili cook off today.
I love this! Good luck at your chili cook off today David!
I’ve made this recipe based on the original recipe, which is amazing, as well as several different variations! My personal favorite is adding a few slices of bacon, a can of green hatch chilis, and a few Adobe peppers and cutting down the broth by about half. Delicious!
Great recipe! I put in an extra can of beans, an extra jalapeño and held back on chili powder a bit.
instead of beer I did a can of v8, and didn’t put a can of tomatoe paste in, I didn’t want to open a whole can for such a small amount.
It had a good base, I just added a few things and took a couple of things out for our liking.
I’ve made a lot of chili in my 73yrs , and this one is top so far, the perfect combo just brings this chili together too perfection. Congrats!!
I’ve made this 3 times it is delicious I use 3 cans of beans and a pound of hamburger because I like a lot of beans in my chili
I’ve been craving chili and ran across this recipe. I didn’t want to go shop so I used what I had. 1lb ground beef, 1lb beef breakfast sausage for my meat. I also left the seeds in the jalapeño for a little heat. I used a 28oz can of petite diced tomatoes, didn’t have crushed and I omitted the tomato paste because I HATE to open a can for 1 TBSP lol. I used a 12 oz bottle of dark beer rather than a cup. This chili was AMAZING. Just the right amount of heat (seeds in) and it cooked down very well over 45 to 75 min. DEFINITELY use the 1.5 TBSP of chili powder in the meat while cooking. It really does make a difference! I bet I could win a chili cookout with this recipe. Printing it for future use! Thanks again.
This recipe just didn’t do it for us. But I like this page for many others.
Oh no! This recipe is normally a hit with readers Kalah. I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it as much as we do, thank you for trying it.
My go-to chili recipe that I’ve been making for years! Paired with Damous Dave’s cornbread and lots of cheese 🤌
Delicious.
This was good but I was disappointed. It tasted more like a tomato sauce with a little chili spice. And not thick enough, even the next day. I followed the recipe to the letter and my spices were fresh. 🤷♀️
If it wasn’t thick enough, it probably needed to simmer a bit longer.