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
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ½ tablespoons chili powder divided, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 14.5 ounces crushed tomatoes 1 can
- 19 ounces canned red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 ½ 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 45-60 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.
Best chili we’ve had in a very long time
Such an easy recipe to be SO delicious and complex! Really quality chili in 1.5 hours. Left all of the veggies and my whole family still ate it! Everyone loved! Just enough heat and packed full of flavor!
Great recipe, I always do 50:50 pork sausage and beef. I used smoked sea salt + white pepper, 2 jalapenos with seeds (they all run different so try before you go all in), smoked paprika, red bell pepper. I dont like beans in my chili but my husband does, so I kept the amount and I like the ratio. Its less beans per bite but enough for fiber which I am okay with. I also added an extra 1/2 tablespoon of dark chili powder.
This is a great chili and I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been making chili and looking for great recipes since 1973 when I first attended the University of New Mexico. This is terrific full of flavor just enough heat very complex and easy to make. With the add-ons cheese, sour cream, jalapeño, this is definitely going to be my go to recipe!
Not a whole lot of flavor. Meat to bean ratio is off. Trying this new chili recipe aside from my Pumkin Chili that I enjoy making during the Holidays. I liked the fact that the key flavor ingredients are browned with the meat in this recipe, but did not care for the texture of the chili and the lack of depth of additional missing flavors and ingredients that could have been there.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Ann.
That is certainly surprising after what the Chilli Master wrote above about the rich flavor!! (Re: Ann’s Comment vs Anthony Romeo’s)
Delicious!! I didn’t have tomato paste and didn’t use the bell pepper because my family are plain eaters and the onions and garlic made it taste amazing!
I would add another can of kidney beans next time so it goes a little further because the meat to bean ratio is mostly meat which is great but it was almost gone for supper so a little further would have been nice.
This is my new chili recipe!
Made this tonight, so simple, so yummy. Saved to my Pinterest board
Thank you for sharing!
Awesome Chili Recipe, absolutely perfect, right heat, full of flavor, very complex, rarely do I say this I wouldn’t change a thing, this is a keeper!
This chili has become my go to recipe! it’s so delicious and well rounded. I’ve served it to people who are sensitive to spice and it was a hit with them too! Especially love how easy it is to put together
Worst chili I have ever made. The beef overwhelmed everything and even after I doubled all the spices and vegetables it still tastes like tomato beer with a kick.
Also feel the exact way. No one wanted to eat it after the smell and flavor. Tastes and smells like a tomato boiled in beer.. disappointed because this site usually has really good recipes.
Good recipe.However, I substitute 2 jiggers of sourmash bourbon for the beer, add a pound of frozen corn, and double the total quantity of beans(kidney,chili & pinto). Be sure not to overcook beef and onion or pour off more than half of the beef fat, as it will rob the flavor. Tomato paste and sugar are critical to ensure slight tanginess. “Chunking” preserves flavor better than aggressively dicing vegetables.
Heating on very low setting for several hours covered is best for a smooth taste & texture.A soupy consistency at the start reduces tendency of meat to stick to the bottom and optimizes mixing of flavors. I will never use a thickener.
Serve with southern style cornbread, mango relish and whiskey.
The best chili I’ve ever made. It makes a good amount too. I will definitely use this recipe again!
Sooo good. Good value. But who remembers when you could make a pot of chili for a few bucks. This cost about $15.00 and that’s with ground beef on sale at $5/lb. Tomatoes from my garden (frozen) and I skipped the beer.
This is the second time I’ve made it. Thought I had diced tomatoes in the pantry, but ended up with two cans of crushed tomatoes. Which worked out fine. Doubled the garlic, and added paprika, cayenne and white pepper to the spice mix for an extra kick. Had Guinness in the fridge, and it worked well with this recipe. Tasted it about halfway through the simmer part, and added some beef better than bouillon for some added salt and richness. Froze half and used half in my meal prep for the week. With or without my modifications, it’s a great recipe and will be in my regular rotation.
Thank you! We loved the chili! I recommend using shiner bock for the beer.
This is the best chili. I made it, and I will always make this one now. That is how much we liked it, and how good it is!
Easy to follow and great every time I make it!
I found that it lacked a lot of flavour. I had to double the spice, triple the tomato paste, and used about 3 teaspoons of salt to get it to taste right. Also added a beef bouillon cube on top of the beef stock for more flavour. Maybe this was just a very mild chilli. But my partner agrees that it lacked in flavour. It looked very visually appealing though!
Can you omit the beer or substitute something else for the beer?
You can use additional beef broth in place.
Made this for dinner tonight! I ended up adding in pinto beans and some extra spice. Easy to follow recipe and the simmering brings out so much flavor!
Who would have thought putting beer in chili, this was pretty awesome will definitely make again. We tripled the recipe and doubled it, we then froze it to break out later.