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.
Bland, I used full fat meat & drained off the spices so I think that is where the flavor went. Add the spices after draining meat.
The recipe calls for only a portion of the spices to be added to the meat. Hope that helps.
looks good
Solid chili recipe. I used this chili for frito chili pie. I subbed the ground beef for ground turkey and no one can tell. Added lots of chili powder, a teaspoon of cocoa powder, and two tablespoons of cayenne pepper for flavor.
Hi this recipe looks great. I would like to make it for a party of 15, should I increase the entire recipe by 5 times? or more? This is my first time making such a large amount. I don’t necessarily need leftovers. Thank you in advance.
This recipe serves 8 so you would need to double the recipe for 15 people. If you click “PRINT” on the recipe, there is a place to change the number of servings. I would suggest changing it to 16, 1 extra serving as this will double the recipe and make it easy!
Thank you so very much! That is exactly what I needed to know.
I’m looking forward to trying this for my volunteer dinner.
Kimberley
Come back and let us know how it works out for you!
Wow !!It’s amazing I just made. At the beginning I thought would be too much cumin but it turned out really tasty with all the ingredients. Thank you so much!
One of my favourite chilli recipes I’ve had. Book marked this one. Didn’t have brown sugar so used maple syrup and only beer I had was Michelob Ultra. Don’t think either of those items would make much difference. Next time I’ll make it a bit spicier.
One of my fav chili recipes!!
Eh its ok but not the best chili ever. Unless I messed something up. Kinda bland!
I followed this recipe step by step but I didn’t have the same results as everyone else. It turned out so bland my boyfriend and I couldn’t even eat it so he decided to put his own spin on it and add brown sugar, corn, and some more seasonings. I only had bud light for the beer so I’m not sure if that’s where I went wrong…I’m in no way commenting to be mean just trying to figure out what went wrong here with mine.
Sooooo good. I am never making another chili recipe again…this one is the Holy Grail!
Best chili recipe
Great recipe! I am adding more bean to it and a mixture of bell peppers to it to thicken it up.
What brand of beer did you use?
We used a dark beer but any beer you have on hand will work!
Looking to make this any special beer I should get? Budweiser fine?
Budweiser would be fine, any beer you have on hand will work!
I haven’t tasted it yet, but it sure smells good in there cooking!! Thank you so much for sharing your personal recipe!! It’s a great act of kindness.
Just made this and it’s wonderful!! Thank you!
This chili is DELICIOUS! I had to omit the jalapeño because I could not find any in the produce section, so I chose chili flavored diced tomatoes instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was perfect! I had shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions for toppings with Italian bread for scooping up every bit of sauce. (Ended up simmering for almost 90 minutes while waiting for the last guest to arrive, but I think it just made it even better!) This will be made again for sure! Thank you for the recipe – it really is The Best Chili Recipe!
So freaking good. I’m so glad I tried this. Family loved it. Will definitely make again. Super easy which is a plus. Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome Irene!
This is an exceptional recipe as made.. My preference was to add 1/2 pkg of regular chili seasoning as I felt it needed just a bit more flavor : ) I only had Hunts Fire roasted diced tomatoes and they were delicious in the recipe. We love it Thank you !
I always use fire roasted tomatoes in my chili it just adds a little something.
Hi there, can I skip the beer? I don’t have that on hand.
Feel free to skip the beer and use extra broth.
This was great!! First time making chili. I did use extra chili powder and cumin. I used 3 pounds of ground meat.