Best Beef Chili Recipe

Name: Best Beef Chili
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: For the chili:; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 medium onions, finely chopped; 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 pounds lean ground beef; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder, or to taste; 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or to taste; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 2 teaspoons oregano; 2 sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or mixed), diced; 1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (or same amount of crushed or puréed); 2 cups water; 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels; For the garnishes:; Sour cream; Grated sharp cheddar; Thinly sliced radishes; Sliced scallions; Chopped onions; Avocado slices; Shredded lettuce; Chopped fresh jalapeños; Fresh cilantro

In This Recipe

Low and Slow
An Outstanding Tip
Adapt It
The Best Toppings
What to Serve With It
How to Freeze Leftovers

17 Award Winning Chili Recipes

FEATURED IN:

I like to call this my Saturday chili. It’s meaty and hearty and satisfying, and it’s been in our meal rotation all through the chilly months for years now. (They are "chili" months, after all, haha.)

This recipe makes a whopping sixteen cups. That’s enough to feed a crowd or to hoard in the freezer for those dreary cold nights when it gets dark way too early and the cupboard is bare.

On any given Saturday morning, I might start this early and give it a long, lazy simmer while I sip my coffee, read the paper, or throw in a load of laundry. I can call up friends and have an impromptu, casual gathering with very little elbow grease.

Best chili in a dutch oven with a ladle. — Sally Vargas

Cook This Beef Chili Low and Slow

It’s the long, lazy simmer that really sets this meaty chili apart. Onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes slowly thicken the chili until it is almost creamy.

You can cut the time down to about 45 minutes, but if you're not in a rush, let it simmer up to 1 1/2 hours. You'll will be rewarded with fantastic, deep flavor.

And of course like all good chilis, it’s always better the second or third day.

For Outstanding Chili, Make Your Own Chili Powder

Instead of puréeing reconstituted dried chilies as most “from scratch” recipes do, I skip straight to using pure ground chili powders like ancho and chipotle powders to save a step.

Ancho chilies are dried poblano peppers and are relatively mild with an earthy flavor, whereas chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeños, and as such, provide a lot more heat, so use the powder judiciously.

Generic chili powder is a mix of chilies and other seasonings like dried onion and garlic, and I prefer to add those “extra” flavors myself.

Ways to Adapt Beef Chili

The amount of chili powder in the recipe provides just a little kick, but you can bump up the heat by adding more chipotle powder if you like it hot.
Use black, kidney, or pinto beans or a mix, if you happen to have them on hand; they’re interchangeable in this recipe.
Also if you want to sneak in a few extra vegetables, you could add diced zucchini, diced squash, or even carrots and celery, but I don’t usually guild this lily. I love it as is.
Swap out the beef, if you like, with ground turkey, pork, or a mix.

Classic chili in a dutch oven with a serving spoon. — Sally Vargas

Best Chili Toppings

As for the “go-withs” there are plenty of toppings to choose from. Set out bowls of them so each person can select his or her own. Here are a few of my top contenders:

Sour cream
Shredded sharp cheddar or Monterey jack
Chopped onions
Chopped radishes
Shredded lettuce
Fresh cilantro
Chopped jalapeños

What to Serve With Beef Chili

Bake a pan of cornbread while the chili simmers and you will have a comforting supper, ready and waiting whenever you are.

Freezing Leftover Chili

Leftover chili will last for at least a week in the fridge, or it can be frozen for up to three months.

Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating, or reheat the frozen soup straight from the freezer in a saucepan over low heat.

More Chili Recipes to Try!

Best Beef Chili

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 90 mins

Total Time 105 mins

Servings 8 to 12 servings

If you don’t have ground ancho and/or chipotle powder, you can use 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoons of chili powder.

For the chili:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or to taste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or mixed), diced
1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (or same amount of crushed or puréed)
2 cups water
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

For the garnishes:

Sour cream
Grated sharp cheddar
Thinly sliced radishes
Sliced scallions
Chopped onions
Avocado slices
Shredded lettuce
Chopped fresh jalapeños
Fresh cilantro

Cook the onions, garlic, and beef:

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 6 minutes, or until the onions soften.

Add the beef and salt. Cook, breaking the meat up with a potato masher or the edge of a spoon, for 5 minutes, or until it is no longer pink.

Sally Vargas
Add the spices and peppers:

Add the ancho and chipotle powders, cumin, and oregano to the pot. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the bell peppers.

Sally Vargas

Sally Vargas
Purée and add the tomatoes:

In a blender, pulse the tomatoes and their juices for 5 seconds to break them up. Add them to the pot with the water and bring to a boil.
Cook the chili:

Lower the heat and simmer for a minimum of 45 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours, or until the liquid is well flavored (the longer the better!).

Add more hot water during cooking, 1/2 cup at a time, if the mixture seems too thick.

Sally Vargas
Add the beans and corn:

Add the beans and corn and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until hot. Taste and add more salt or chili powder, if you like.
Serve with garnishes:

Set out bowls of your favorite garnishes for serving.

This chili keeps for about a week, covered, in the refrigerator and up to 3 months when frozen.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know with a rating and review!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
512	Calories
29g	Fat
32g	Carbs
35g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories	512
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 29g	37%
Saturated Fat 10g	50%
Cholesterol 93mg	31%
Sodium 567mg	25%
Total Carbohydrate 32g	11%
Dietary Fiber 10g	35%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 35g
Vitamin C 34mg	170%
Calcium 245mg	19%
Iron 5mg	27%
Potassium 1130mg	24%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.