This easy Chili recipe is one of the best comfort foods on my family’s menu! Hearty ground beef and red kidney beans simmer until thick and flavorful in a delicious sauce spiced with chili seasoning, made extra-tasty with plenty of onion, garlic and red bell pepper.
The best chili is thick and has beans in it, and you can’t convince me otherwise
Hands down, a meal of chili and cornbread is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Everyone in my family loves it (the chili, I’m pretty alone with the cornbread, but great – more for me) and it’s SO easy to make. Absolutely a mom win!
We start by sautéing our onion and then add our ground beef to brown. Once that’s done, we stir in the seasoning and tomato paste and toast that for a moment to get the best flavor base. The rest is basically no work at all – just add everything to the pot and simmer. Done!
The fam loves it with rice or bread, and I will happily indulge in all of the crumbly cornbread. And don’t forget the toppings – sour cream and cheese are a must for us, bonus points if you’re not like me and actually remember the avocado at the store 😅😂
Ingredients I use
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
- Ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef because I don’t like the taste and texture of fattier ground beef in chili. If you use beef with a higher fat content, I highly recommend draining it after browning.
- Bell pepper: Feel free to skip, or use a green one if you prefer. I love green peppers, my family does favor yellow or red. I like to add it because it adds some natural sweetness.
- Kidney beans: I like red kidney beans best in chili. You can use black beans, or do one can of each if you prefer!
- Beef broth: You can use water and beef bouillon in place of broth.
- Brown sugar: Add this to taste, and according to how acidic your tomatoes are. You can also use molasses in place of the brown sugar, which is very delicious!
- Cocoa powder: Is this controversial? I don’t know, maybe it is 😂 I started adding cocoa powder to my chili sometime last year, initially I tried it once to confirm my own opinion that it’s bogus 🤣 Unfortunately, I was wrong – it adds a certain depth and deeper color that I really enjoy. I will say, I cannot stand the way it smells when I stir it into the ground beef, but that’s just a short moment and then you cannot make out the taste in the chili. If you’re sensitive to smells, stir it into the broth instead of the browned beef.
How spicy is this chili?
Because I season my chili with individual spices instead of a packet of chili seasoning, you can make it as mild or as spicy as your family likes!
I use salt and pepper, dried oregano, ground cumin and smoked paprika. The majority of my seasoning is chili powder, but you can swap some of it or even all of it for ground paprika if your kids are young or you don’t like spicy food.
If you use all ground paprika, I recommend starting with 2 tablespoons and not the full 3 tablespoons – add more as needed.
If your family is super into spicy food, feel free to add a pinch of cayenne pepper as well.
How to make really good chili the easy way
Let’s walk through the recipe and I’ll share all of my tips, so your chili turns out perfectly the first time you make it!
Recipe walk-through/kitchen tips
- Sautéing the onion: I like to chop the onion very small for chili, it’s just how I prefer it. It also makes it quicker to sauté – give it time to fully soften for the best flavor. If you chop it small, it will take 5-6 minutes.
- Browning the beef: Like I said, drain the grease after browning the beef if you prefer. Even though I use lean ground beef, I still drain it because I just don’t like the taste.
- Blooming the spices: It’s important to bloom the spices and to roast the tomato paste for the best flavor. This just means to stir everything into the beef and onion mixture over medium heat for a minute, until it becomes very fragrant! It’s easy, but it makes a difference.
- Simmering the chili: If you like a thick chili, absolutely simmer it uncovered! This will let the liquids evaporate as it cooks, leaving you with a rich and thick chili. Also, don’t trust the recipes that tell you to simmer your chili for 20-30 minutes. Give this pot 45-60 minutes for the best flavor and texture, and a chili that is not watery!
Want an extra-thick/creamy chili?
If you like an extra-thick and slightly creamy chili, I highly recommend blending ¾ – 1 cup of the kidney beans before adding to the chili. It makes the chili very thick and adds a nice creaminess to it without having to add cream or any other thickeners.
Serving ideas
As I said, personally, cornbread is a must! Here is a list of all the side dishes and toppings my family likes to have with chili:
- Cornbread (me!) or homemade bread (everyone else in my family 😅)
- Avocado, shredded cheese and sour cream
- Rice or polenta
- Corn chips
My kids also like to use leftover chili as a filling for flour tortillas. It becomes a little thicker after a night in the fridge, which is perfect to turn it into a wrap!
Leftover note
Speaking of leftovers, chili absolutely tastes better the next day! This is not to say you can’t eat a freshly cooked pot of chili, but it’s a great recipe to make ahead on purpose.
Storage: If you want to make it ahead or you have leftovers to store, keep the chili in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat on the stove until it reaches 165°F throughout. You can add a splash of broth if it gets too thick for your taste.
Freezer: This is a very freezer-friendly meal. Freeze the cooled chili in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in a pot on the stove until it reaches 165°F throughout.
Easy Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion (finely diced (about 1.5 cups))
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (diced small (about ¾ cup))
- 3-4 cloves garlic (minced (about 1 tablespoon))
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chili powder (OR replace with ground paprika for a mild chili)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional for more depth)
- 2 (15-oz) cans red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar (or to taste)
Instructions
- Sauté onion: Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the oil, then add the onion and cook until softened – about 6 minutes.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 large yellow onion
- Brown beef: Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until browned and crumbled, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Once browned, drain grease if desired and stir in red bell pepper and garlic.1.5 pounds lean ground beef, salt & pepper, 1 medium red bell pepper, 3-4 cloves garlic
- Add aromatics: Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low. Make a little space in the middle of the ground beef mixture and add the tomato paste and all seasonings. Stir to toast and caramelize until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the cocoa powder, if using.3 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 tablespoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a good simmer. Stir well, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until the chili is thick and flavorful. Check the seasoning and adjust to taste, then serve with your favorite toppings!2 (15-oz) cans red kidney beans, 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce, 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes, 1½ cups beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
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