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An easy recipe for delicious Beef Chili, just like mom used to make. Follow the recipe, or add your own special stuff for an award-winning bowl everyone will love.
When the weather starts to turn and the air is a little crisper, making a big pot of chili is a no-brainer. It’s great when you have a lot of mouths to feed or you want to send a hearty meal to a neighbor or friend.
This recipe cooks up quickly on the stove, in a little more than an hour, with very little hands-on time. Or, make it in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Bell peppers: Or add or substitute carrots, celery, corn, or zucchini.
- Chipotle chili powder: Substitute ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or omit if you don’t like spicy food.
- Kidney beans: 3 cups cooked beans can be substituted for the 2 cans (that’s about 1 cup dried beans before cooking). You can use any type of canned or cooked bean instead of kidney.
- Canned tomatoes: I love the flavor of fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles, but you can substitute regular canned tomatoes and add 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies. Ro*tel tomatoes are good, too.
Step-by-step instructions:
- In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil in over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, chipotle chili powder, thyme, coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until vegetables have softened, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, then add the beef. Break up the larger clumps with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to simmer for 30 minutes longer.
- Remove bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with shredded cheese, scallions, and sour cream.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 8 (1-cup) servings, about 2 quarts chili.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Cool within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days in advance. Reheat the full recipe on the stove over low heat to 165 degrees. Reheat small batches in the microwave.
- Freezer: Cool cooked chili to below 40 degrees on an instant-read thermometer within 2 hours and place into airtight containers. Frozen chili will last 4 to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Instant Pot: Sauté the onions, peppers, spices, garlic, and beef in an Instant Pot until the beef is browned, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaf and mix well. Cook on manual or high pressure for 10 minutes. Fast release the pressure when done.
- Slow cooker: At the end of step 2, transfer the cooked beef mixture to a slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients as directed in step 3, cover and cook the chili on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- More toppings: Cheese, sour cream, and scallions are classics. You can also try diced avocado, cooked bacon, fresh cilantro, minced onion, hot sauce, lime wedges, tortilla chips, corn chips, or oyster crackers.
Homemade Chili Seasoning
The best secret ingredient for chili is Homemade Chili Seasoning, a blend of herbs and spices that takes ordinary ground beef and beans to the next level. Skip the packet and the expensive little jar…
View Recipe
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Beef Chili
An easy recipe for delicious Beef Chili, just like mom used to make. Follow the recipe, or add your own special stuff for an award-winning bowl everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder (see note 2)
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 (15.5 ounce) cans kidney beans drained and rinsed (see note 3)
- 2 (10 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles undrained (see note 4)
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomato purée
- 1 bay leaf
- shredded cheese and scallions and sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil in over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, chipotle chili powder, thyme, coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until vegetables have softened, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up the clumps with a spoon, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to simmer for 30 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with shredded cheese, scallions, and sour cream.
Notes
- Bell peppers: Or add or substitute carrots, celery, corn, or zucchini.
- Chipotle chili powder: Substitute ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or omit if you don’t like spicy food.
- Kidney beans: 3 cups cooked beans can be substituted for the 2 cans (that’s about 1 cup dried beans before cooking). You can use any type of canned or cooked bean instead of kidney.
- Canned tomatoes: I love the flavor of fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles, but you can substitute regular canned tomatoes and add 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies. Ro*tel tomatoes are good, too.
- Yield: This recipe makes 8 (1-cup) servings, about 2 quarts chili.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Cool within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days in advance. Reheat the full recipe on the stove over low heat to 165 degrees. Reheat small batches in the microwave.
- Freezer: Cool cooked chili to below 40 degrees on an instant-read thermometer within 2 hours and place into airtight containers. Frozen chili will last 4 to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Instant Pot: Sauté the onions, peppers, spices, garlic, and beef in an Instant Pot until the beef is browned, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaf and mix well. Cook on manual or high pressure for 10 minutes. Fast release the pressure when done.
- Slow cooker: At the end of step 2, transfer the cooked beef mixture to a slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients as directed in step 3, cover and cook the chili on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- More toppings: Cheese, sour cream, and scallions are classics. You can also try diced avocado, cooked bacon, fresh cilantro, minced onion, hot sauce, lime wedges, tortilla chips, corn chips, or oyster crackers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 381kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 22gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 218mgPotassium: 713mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2519IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 6mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This chili is genuinely excellent.
I love this recipe and highly recommend. So full of flavor.