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+ servings
Homemade chili

Easy Homemade Chili Recipe

April Freeman
This recipe is begging you to customize it to your own tastes. Of course, you could follow the recipe exactly as written, and if you do that, you will have a good bowl of chili. But the fun of making a pot of chili is that you can change and adapt basic recipes to make it suit your own tastes. Add a can of diced green chilis to up the spiciness, or if you’re really adventurous, throw in a few jalapenos.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • Large skillet
  • Dutch Oven
  • Large Pot
  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 30 ounce Red Beans from two 15-ounce cans, drained
  • 1.5 lbs Ground Beef
  • 15 ounce Diced Tomatoes with Juice from a 15-ounce can
  • 3 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 3 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup Water

Instructions
 

  • Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Drain the beef, pouring off as much of the fat as possible.
  • Open and drain the two cans of red beans.
  • Put the red beans into a large Dutch oven, along with the tomatoes in juice. Stir well.
  • Add the ground beef, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and water. Stir all of these ingredients together and put the pot on the stove.
  • Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat and then reduce it to simmer.
  • Cover the pot with a tightly fitting lid and reduce heat to low, just simmering the chili.
  • Cook the chili on low heat for about an hour to allow the flavors to blend.
  • Check it occasionally, giving it a stir to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  • Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as corn chips, cheese, or sour cream.
  • Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • Brown the ground beef and drain it, adding it to the slow cooker.
  • Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
  • Reduce the water to ¾ of a cup and add it to the slow cooker and stir the mixture together.
  • Replace the top and cook the chili for six to eight hours on low or two to four hours on high. Serve.
    A freshly-cooked bowl of chili.

Notes

If you prefer more veggies and less meat in your chili, increase the beans, add chopped bell pepper, and another can of tomatoes. If you love onions, stir a diced, sauteed onion into the beef as you brown it.  If you want a leaner version of this chili recipe you could substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the beef.
The only thing you’ll want to do as you adapt this recipe is to be sure to write down your additions and substitutions. That way, the next time you want to make that chili that tasted so good, you will know exactly which changes that you made to the basic recipe.
Chili is a kind of stew that dates back literally centuries. As far back as the 1500s, women in the Aztec capital of Mexico in Central America were cooking stews seasoned with chili peppers. Once the Spanish conquistadors conquered the area and imported beef cattle, they and the natives began making chilis with beef along with the native grown peppers, tomatoes, and beans.
Over the centuries, the primary places that chilis were cooked and served were in northern Mexico and southern Texas. Because the ingredients were largely inexpensive, chili was created and consumed by the working class Mexicans and Texans.
In the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, some Texans from San Antonio set up a chili stand. This stand gave many Americans their first experience with chili. This hearty stew soon became popular and helped spread the love of chili all across Texas and the Southwest.
Did you know that how to make chili can be a controversial concept? Some chili experts take exception to the idea that a good pot of chili should ever include beans. Other people contend that tomatoes are anathema to chili. Vegetarians prefer omitting the meat altogether, and sometimes replace it with meat substitutes, potatoes, or just increase the beans and tomatoes.
Chili is one of those meals that you can make hours ahead of time. A long, slow cooking time allows the flavors of the veggies, meat, and seasoning to blend and intensify. Our recipe has a relatively short cooking time at an hour, but if you want to increase it, you may find that a long time improves the flavor. Be sure that you pay attention to the chili, though, if you opt to increase the cooking time. You may want to add additional water to keep the chili from scorching on the bottom.
An easy way to give chili that slow-cooked flavor is to just put the ingredients in a slow cooker. Our recipe uses canned beans, so preparation is pretty easy. In the morning, before you leave for work, brown and drain the meat, and pop the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker. Set it to cook all day and when you arrive home from work, the fragrance of spicy, meaty chili will meet you at the door.
Keyword Appetizer, Chili, Recipe

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