Best Ever Chili Recipe
414 Comments
Sep 21, 2024
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This is seriously the best chili recipe (if I do say so myself). It’s a classic beef chili with a comforting blend of meaty richness simmered with hearty vegetables and warming spices that will have your family begging for seconds.
The Best Chili I’ve Ever Had — Here’s Why
Based on everyone’s reviews below, I think it’s safe to say that this is an award-winning chili recipe. It has the perfect hearty texture, the best blend of spices, and it’s a cinch to make. That’s why it’s one of my favorite one-pot meals to make when the temperature drops. Each spoonful instantly puts a smile on my face and reminds me of just how good simple comfort foods can be. Here’s what else you’ll love about my version:
- I added a secret ingredient. And that’s bacon! It’s no big surprise if you know how much I love bacon, but it does add a sweet, smoky, and umami-like depth of flavor that really sets this chili apart from others.
- It’s easy, simple, and budget-friendly. These are things I always try to prioritize with my recipes without compromising on quality or flavor. And it’s why it’s perfect for serving a crowd or for weekly dinner meal prep.
- It’s extremely adaptable. I have a few ways you can tweak this recipe in the recipe card notes below. But similar to my vegetarian chili, turkey chili, or white chicken chili, you can always tweak my chili recipes to your liking.
Chili Ingredients
- Ground beef: You can buy ground beef that’s anywhere between 80% and 90% lean. I prefer 90% so I don’t have to drain any excess fat. But you could purchase 80% and then drain off any residual fat, it’s up to you.
- Bacon: Bacon adds a wonderful smoky flavor to the chili. I’d consider it the secret (or not-so-secret) ingredient!
- Beef broth: I recommend purchasing a high-quality beef broth for the best flavor.
- Dried spices: Besides the usual suspects of chili powder and cumin, I add smoked paprika for a touch of campfire flavor. You could even add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for a little more heat.
- Tomatoes: Almost any variety of canned tomatoes in their juices will work here. But I love fire-roasted tomatoes for extra flavor.
- Beans: I’m using a combination of black beans and red kidney beans which are classics in chili, but you can use any beans you like.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below
How to Make The Best Chili
Cook the bacon. I let my bacon cook until it’s perfectly browned and crispy.
Saute the vegetables. Saute the diced onion and bell pepper with the bacon for a few minutes. This will allow the veggies to cook in that delicious bacon fat.
Brown the ground beef. Add the ground beef to the pot, cook until browned, and drain off any excess fat. Then, stir in the spices and seasonings to bring out the best flavor of the meat and veggies.
Add the tomatoes, broth, and beans. This forms the bulk of the chili. Then, give everything a good stir, and simmer the chili for about 30 minutes. The key here is to cook this low and slow, giving the chili enough time to meld all those flavors together.
Tasty Chili Toppings
- Shredded cheese or sour cream: Anything from shredded cheddar cheese to crumbled cotija or feta works well. And for sour cream, the creamy coolness plays nicely with the warm spices.
- Onions: Sliced green onions or diced red onions go perfectly with chili. If the bite of red onion is a little strong for you, run the diced onion under running water and pat dry.
- Jalapeños: If you like spiciness, diced fresh or pickled jalapeños are delicious additions.
- Cilantro or parsley: A sprinkle of chopped herbs gives a nice pop of fresh flavor.
Storage Tips
To store leftovers, let the chili cool to room temperature before placing it in storage containers. It will stay good for 4 to 5 days in the fridge. For freezing, use a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and store it for up to 3 months.
When reheating, thaw frozen chili overnight in the fridge. Then, reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through. If the chili thickens too much for your taste, add a splash of water or beef broth.
Common Questions
Absolutely! You can get a headstart on your chili prep by chopping the vegetables and mixing your dried spices in a separate container the day before. Even better, mix your dried chili spices in a larger quantity so you can spoon out just what you need when you need it. This is a great tip for when you’re prepping for big party days like Halloween or the Super Bowl.
Yes, you sure can. I’d recommend cooking the beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic, in a skillet on the stove first, then transferring that to your Crockpot along with the beans, diced tomatoes, spices, and broth. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
Traditional chilis are made with beans. But a chili without beans is known as Texas-style chili or chili con carne. You can also use chickpeas, lentils, or other diced veggies and maintain the same flavor profile of this classic recipe.
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Classic Meatloaf: A family favorite around here.
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast: Another comfort food classic.
- Tuscan Chicken: A chicken dinner no one can resist.
- Braised Short Ribs: This fall-apart meat is so delicious.
- Beef Tenderloin Roast: A must-make for the holidays.
- Taco Soup: Another delicious way to enjoy ground beef.
If you make this chili recipe, especially for a chili cook-off, I’d love to know how it turns out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Best Ever Chili Recipe
Description
Video
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven My favorite pot for making chili!
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon, sliced ½-inch thick
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika, or smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce can) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, you can use diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce can) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce can) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional garnish: avocado, red onion, shredded cheese or sour cream
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Heat a large pot on medium heat, add the sliced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat if bacon is browning too quickly.
- Cook the veggies. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot, stirring frequently. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
- Cook the beef. Add the ground beef, breaking into small pieces with a spatula, until cooked through. Strain off any accumulated liquid and fat from the pot.
- Add the aromatics. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the tomato paste, and dried spices, and cook until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the rest and simmer. Add the canned tomatoes with juices, drained beans, beef broth, and bay leaf, and give it a stir. Increase the heat to high until the chili comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Serve. To serve, remove bay leaf and ladle servings into individual bowls. Garnish with avocado, red onion, cheese, cilantro or other toppings (I've got ideas above).
Lisa’s Tips
- Serving Size: This recipe makes about 9 cups, enough for 6 good-sized servings.
- To store: Place cooled chili in an airtight container and store for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
- To freeze: Use a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and store for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- To reheat: Thaw frozen chili overnight in the fridge. Then reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, until warmed through. If the chili thickens too much for your taste, add a splash of water or beef broth.
- To control the amount of salt in your chili, choose low-sodium or unsalted beef broth, beans, canned tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- Add heat with diced jalapeno, hatch green chiles, or chipotle peppers in adobo, or 1¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Play with other seasonings like coriander or this cajun seasoning that has a little bit of everything.
- Bacon can be tricky to slice. To make it easier, place your bacon in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to firm it up.
- You can also serve this over nachos or make chili dogs.
- Make sure to use a large pot, to accommodate all these ingredients. My favorite is the beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven you see pictured.
Nutrition
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Recipe originally published September 2020, but updated to include new information and photos for your benefit!
I had a glut of tomatoes from the garden, so I doubled the recipe and used fresh peeled tomatoes and like another commenter I used beer instead of beef broth, probably much less than four cups (double recipe remember) due to the extra liquid from the fresh tomatoes. It turned out great and I think the spicing is on point. I’m thinking of making more and pressure canning it in quart jars.
I’m glad you were able to tweak this chili recipe to your liking, Peter!
I also make baked potatoes and make chili potatoes-so good-and chili dogs!
Sounds amazin, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing.
Close to my recipe. I don’t use bacon I use chorizo. And I don’t trust any chili recipe that doesn’t have fresh hot chilies. Without chilies it’s bean soup IMO.
Chorizo is a great alternative for the bacon. And you can definitely add fresh hot chilies to this! ;)
That looks a like a great chilli recipe, but being in the UK I was a bit surprised to be told I could add cayenne as well as chilli powder; here chilli powder is just ground chillies, so 2 tbs would be rather a lot But I followed the link and found that the ingredients of chilli powder are:-
Organic Chili Powder, Organic Cumin, Organic Oregano, Organic Coriander, Organic Garlic, Organic Rice Concentrate, Organic Allspice, Organic Cloves.
I’d use most of those, probably not clove
Our chili powder is a blend of a lot of spices, so if you’re already planning to use those, great! I hope you love this recipe, Sue.
This seriously is the best ever chili recipe. Having always loved my tried and true chili recipe, I wanted to try something different. Lisa’s recipe knocked my old recipe out of the ball park. The bonus is the ingredients are common. Thank you Lisa! PS, your Greek Lemon chicken is another one and is a crowd pleaser! It’s another staple in my house.
Yay, I’m so happy you loved my chili recipe, Lynn! And my lemon chicken recipe as well. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
LOVE this quick and easy chili recipe! Easy to meal prep with the spice mix ahead of time and chopping the veggies and storing them in the freezer. The spice combo, especially with smoked paprika, has such a delicious depth of flavor. Thank you for this recipe!
Thrilled to hear you love this chili recipe, Tenisha!
YES!! This is the best-ever chili!! It’s been moved into regular rotation on our family’s schedule.
Amazing! Happy to hear your family is loving this chili recipe, Dona.
This recipe was easy to follow and turned out delicious, the fire roasted tomatoes are a new must for future recipes (every Downshiftology recipe we’ve tried has turned out great to be fair!). We added a few extra spices at the end to taste, so delicious, thanks Lisa!
Thrilled to hear you’re loving this chili recipe, Siobhan!
What a delicious recipe thank you. I realized I had no broth on hand so instead used a can of Guinness. It was terrific but next time I’ll follow to the tee as I like to do that on the first round. Not that everyone has Guinness in their fridges in did turn out to be a tasty sub. ;)
Thanks for the broth substitution idea, Deb!