I love a basic simple chili recipe because you can build on it in so many ways. Add black beans instead of red beans (or add no beans), throw some chipotle chilis in there, maybe ground turkey instead of beef, etc. Hey, you can even throw a little melted chocolate in your chili if you’re feeling wild. Below is my basic chili recipe that all of my other recipes are based on. If you make any fun changes, I would love to know what you do! Post in the comments below.
PrintRed Bean Chili
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound cubed steak meat
- 3 Tbsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 15 oz cans kidney beans
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 30 oz can crushed tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat then add the onions and bell peppers and cook until soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and stew meat and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring the meat occasionally to cook through.
- Add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir together until all of the meat is coated in the spices. Cook for 2 minutes, until the meat is very thick from the spices.
- Add the kidney beans (with liquid from the beans), diced and crushed tomatoes and bring the chili to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer the chili for 30 minutes.
