A classic spicy chili recipe with ground beef and beans to warm your belly on a cold night. Unless you're from Texas in which case putting beans in your chili could end in criminal charges. At the very least neighbours will shun you.
There's something deliciously comforting about a cold night and a warm bowl of chili. The minute the trees begin to rustle I start aching for the kind of food that warms you from the inside out. To me, chili is at its best when it has layers and layers of heat and flavour. Different chiles, spices, beans and slow cooking are the key to getting the best bowl of chili you've ever had.
I know. You ALREADY make the best chili. Here's the thing. You probably don't.
K. Now that I've ruined our friendship, let's continue on.
Trust me, there are good times and tips ahead for us. For one thing you'll be gassy enough to make your pajama pants billow out, and that's almost always fun.
Always, always, always make a big batch of chili the night before Halloween so you don't have to worry about making dinner while answering the door and stealing candy.
karen bertelsen
Table of Contents
How to chop an onion
Onions are the base of everything delicious except sugary breakfast cereal. Chopping an onion is easy enough, but here's a reminder on the fastest and easiest way to do it.
As every hockey mom knows, chili is an easy thing to have for a rushed fall dinner because the prep work really only consists of chopping an onion and smashing some garlic. Then you throw everything into a pot or slow cooker and wait for the house to smell delicious.
Smashing garlic
Forget the garlic press, they're hard to clean and take up drawer space. Lay your peeled garlic on a cutting board and smash it with the side of your knife.
Just place a wide knife over the garlic clove, then with the heel of your hand (or fist) smash down on the knife. This will flatten your garlic. Then you can mince.
Drain or don't drain the fat?
Fat has flavour which means fat = better chili. However, if you're counting calories drain that beef fat!
1 lb of lean ground beef typically has around 3 Tablespoons of fat. That's 345 calories you got rid of. 86 calories per serving.
Once you've cooked your beef (and drained it) all you have to do is add all of the ingredients into your most prized pot and let 'er cook for a few hours.
LOADED CHILI
The other thing that makes this (or any!) chili irresistible is loading it with as many toppings as you can pile on.
Chili without toppings is like doing a crossword puzzle in pencil. It's for amateurs.
Wait. WHAT? You don't put toppings on your chili??? You need to change that this second.
Topping Ideas for Chili
- Sour Cream
- Cheese
- Cilantro
- Crumbled Tortilla Chips
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced Green Onions
- Avocado
- Hot Pepper Flakes
- Pickled Jalapeños
- Fritos!
- Squeeze of lime
- Croutons
Homemade croutons take all of 15 minutes to make, and 10 of those minutes are spent scrolling Instagram while you wait for them to cook.
After a couple of hours of simmering and bubbling, ladle it into a bowl, drop your toppings on, and enjoy. The earthy aroma will fill the house. And possibly make your pajama bottoms dance.
I can't even imagine a better night.
Chili Con Carne.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef
- 1 large diced onion
- 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes drained
- 1 cup tomato sauce you can use canned spaghetti sauce if you have it in the cupboard
- 1 28 oz. kidney beans can drained
- 1 14 oz. can of baked beans in tomato sauce not drained - make sure the beans aren't in molasses. That's TOO sweet.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 Tbsps. chili powder
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. oregano
- ¼ tsp. hot pepper flakes Or more to taste
- 4 shakes hot sauce I use Tabasco
- 2 marinated chipotle peppers mashed (the type from a can)
- 1 chili pepper of your choice I use yellow banana peppers or jalapeño
- ½ tsp. salt
- Big old grinding of fresh pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Cut your hot pepper in half. Remove the seeds and membrane. Finely dice one half of the hot pepper. Reserve the other half.
- Add ground beef, onions, garlic and diced hot pepper to pot and cook until onions are transluscent and beef is browned. Pull beef and onion garlic aside to make room at the bottom of the pot to toast the spices until you can smell them. 30 seconds or so.
- Add remaining ingredients (including the reserved half pepper)
- Bring to boil.
- Simmer for 2+ hours with the lid off.
Notes
- Sour Cream
- Cheese
- Cilantro
- Crumbled Tortilla Chips
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced Green Onions
- Avocado
- Hot Pepper Flakes
- Pickled Jalapeños
Nutrition
What to Serve With Chili
My mother would say french fries because french fries go with everything. However I would say ... Serve your chili with a side of salad and a plate of buttered toast.
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Two questions Karen; what size can of pork and beans, and how can I tell the difference between regular pork and beans and the sweet kind? Your pics with the dark dishes and old flatware are amazing. Moody.
Hi cbblue! You know what? It really doesn't matter what sized can you use, lol. I'm talking about the average sized can of beans in this recipe. So something like a Campbell's soup can. Regular pork and beans will say "in tomato sauce" on the can. Sweet pork and beans will say "in molasses". The molasses kind is more common because baked beans are usually sweet, like Bush's beans. ~ karen!
I love the crunch thing too. Try adding Croutons they are wonderful....
Well now I'm hungry for chili again and we just had it two weeks ago..My ex-husband's family liked to eat their chili over mashed potatoes..Don't knock it till you try it..I love it that way..
Oh yeah..I use two tall cans of kidney beans..one dark red..one light red..never heard of pork & beans in chili but like I said..don't knock it till you try it!!
I love chili, and I'm excited to see you make yours with beans too! My husband and his mother prefer Texas chili without beans, which makes me sad. They also prefer rice with their chili instead of sweet cornbread. Sometimes I want to disown them.
I like to serve my chili on top of sweet cornbread that's been crumbled up, and topped with cheddar cheese and green onions. Now I want chili for dinner. . .
Looks yummy. I love seeing you do food photographs using richly dark dishes, when everyone seems inclined to use white! I know why they do it, but I don't agree. ;-) It never occurred to me to put pork 'n beans in chili.
I used to love chili like this too. Then I discovered harissa and now traditional chili tastes too boring. Seriously, give it a try and see if it doesn’t change your world. Here is a GREAT recipe to start with: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lamb_chickpea_chili.html. Canned diced tomatoes are easily substituted but the harissa is a must. We make ours super spicy and top our bowls with copious amounts of greek yogurt.
Must be a Canadian thing, because that's about how I make my chili too, although I've also been adding the cocoa. Never tried it with cocoa and cinnamon, though! Hmmm.....
And I have yet to find anything that doesn't taste better with sour cream and cheese on top. Except maybe chocolate bars.
My sister's secret is to add a jar of salsa. It really works!
Chili last night here, too! I use ground turkey and add black beans and corn for color and texture. Toppings - yes, all of them!
Looks delicious. I like to fry the spices a bit with the meat and onions before adding the wet ingredients. I also add some cocoa powder. Sounds weird but it is the killer secret ingredient.
Great photo!
I made a pot of chili last Saturday at the cottage & froze it & it will be Friday night dinner this weekend for girls' weekend at the cottage! I like to use my slow cooker - that way I don't have to worry about it burning. (been there. done that) I added a 6-bean mix to it this time, and some mushrooms. It changes every time I make it. Toppings will be shredded cheese & sour cream. Damn. I am hungry, too. Oatmeal for breakfast just sounds BORING now.
Your pictures are fabulous! Very VERY impressive! This blog just keeps getting better & better.
OMG! If my printer wasn't broken, I'd print this image, sprinkle some cheese on it, and eat it! A mouth watering image for sure. How do you can something with meat? If anyone can give me a place to look for instructions? (I'll be heading to google now).
I see THIS chili in my very near future!
Hi maria - You can it the same as anything else, in jars. You have to pressure can it though ( in a pressure canner ) for a long period of time. 45 minutes or so. ~ karen!
Thanks Karen. I've been on the fence about a pressure cooker (they scare the hell out of me), but recently learned that there is such an animal as an ELECTRIC pressure cooker! Now might be the time to gift me this precious baby. Does anyone have any experience with the electric ones?
Yes, Maria. I use an electric pressure cooker to make corned beef. The hardest part was always keeping the kids away while the pressure was releasing. I feel quite safe using it. I also have a regular pressure cooker that was given to me - and I never use it as I'm too afraid. Hmm, I haven't made anything in a while - I think it is time to pull it out again!
Hi Maria. Newer pressure canners have a multitude of safety features on them, unlike the canners of years ago, so they're safe. Just scary. :) Also don't forget when you're looking to buy that there's a difference between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner! You can't can things in a pressure cooker. ~ karen!
Seriously? They are 2 different animals??????? ::sigh:: But can canning be done (NOT the kind where girls/women are on either side of you with arms linked and legs flicking in unison to music, though doing that can get you in hot water ) by the regular hot bath method? I used to do that more moons ago than I want to admit.
Karen, Debbie, others, what canner (brand/model) do you use (if it's ok to disclose that publicly) and would you recommend it?
Ladies, I meant the electric kind, if any of you have and use them. I'm going to go google now, just to be ahead of the game and understand what you'll be talking to me about :) Thank you all.
Maria - There are 2 methods of canning. Water bath and pressure canning. You can only do a few things with the water bath method. Most things need to be pressure canned for safety reasons. Anything like peaches, chili, chicken broth, … all need to be pressure canned. The only thing you can get away with the hot water bath method are things with extremely high acid levels, which most foods we can don't have. :( I own the Mirro pressure canner by the way which works well, but has TERRIBLE instructions with it. Read my post on pressure canning chicken broth to understand a bit more. There are also differences in pressure canners. The two most popular are the Mirro and the Presto, which Raymonde has. Raymonde's has a dial gauge to let you know when the canner is up to pressure. So there's no wondering. However, you have to have your gauge tested every few years. My canner has a weight system, which is slightly more difficult to use but never needs maintenance. ~ karen!
Holy Moses! Have to rethink the pressure canner now. So, in the meantime, I'll just regular or slow cook and freeze. Thank you Karen. You rock!
Here are the USDA's recommendations for canning chili. You can use your own recipe but follow their instructions regarding the rest to be safe and to get the best results! :-)
Oups, forgot to put the link...
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/chili_con_carne.html
Thank you Raymonde. I have to keep telling myself: baby steps, breathe, baby steps...
Oh, by the way, I use a 23 quart Presto Pressure canner. :-)
Damn! It's 7:51 am and for some reason raisin bran isn't gonna cut it this morning.
I want me some chili!!
Years ago, a friend told me to toss in some cinnamon & some unsweetened baking cocoa. It was life-altering.
And corn bread. I have to have corn bread.
Guess what's now for dinner at my house?
Love the pics, btw!
Thanks Beckie! And yes, chocolate or cocoa is great in chili and actually pretty traditional! ~ karen
Hi Karen, you have no idea how timely this post is. My hubby tried making chili on the weekend and it was a total bomb. Even he couldn't eat it. He just started cooking (which I am so pleased about) and kind of prides himself on not using a recipe. BUT, he realizes sometimes you have to at least refer to one, especially after the Chili bomb. Can't wait to share this recipe with him. We are making this tonight!!! Thank you!
PS do the beans in the pork and beans get mushy after a couple of hours cooking? If so, I presume it's not all bad, because it would make the Chili thicker? We never used toppings before. I'm stooopid! Will rectify that.
Hi Tracey - It depends on how long you cook the chili for. Sometimes they do go to mush but it really doesn't make a difference. And tell your husband to stick to recipes until he actually knows how to cook, lol. THEN he can experiment. ~ karen!
Hi Karen, oh my gosh THAT WAS DELICIOUS!!!
We made it this afternoon and just finished chowing down. It might not matter (although we did get into a teensy bit of an argument), we weren't sure if we were to brown the ground beef first, or brown it with the onions, peppers, and garlic...then drain it? It was the best Chili we've ever had!! Thank you so much!
We browned the ground beef by itself and then drained. Paul said I was wrong... Oh, he's the expert now (which secretly I love).
Hi Tracey - Well, I hate to say it but your husband was right. Brown onions, garlic, and ground beef means to do them all together. I'm sure it turned out fine, it just took longer. Glad you liked it. Now that you have the base you can experiment with it. :) ~ karen!
Great pics!! I also throw a dab of sour cream on top on the chili.... its mmm mmmm good
Karen the pictures ate stunning. Even the one with the fat. Just lovely. Now or needs to get less than 80 here so I can make chili! Love this post
I was already planning on making chili today. I always want to with the first hint of fall.
The photo is amazing. I love the darkness of it with the light hitting the cheese and the barely visible steam. Very dramatic. Oh and the chili looks delicious too.
One thing I do differently than you is not only use ground beef, but also cut up a round steak into bite sized pieces to put in. There's something about having two shapes of meat that adds another element to the chili. Yours looks very good.