This is the BEST Chili recipe that is so quick and easy to make on the stovetop. It’s rich, hearty and loaded with ground beef, vegetables and beans. Make a pot for dinner in less than an hour.

 

Chili is the ultimate comfort food. It’s a perfect dinner for the cooler weather that we will have soon. We make chili all fall and winter long. It’s an easy dinner that we usually serve with crusty bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread.
If you are looking for other chili recipes try our Easy White Chicken Chili , Copycat Wendy’s Chili or be adventures and try Cincinnati Style Chili recipe.

Traditional chili is made with ground beef, veggies, and beans. Every chili recipe is made a bit different from the spices that you will decide to include. This chili has the BEST flavorful profile for the entire family.

When making chili, remember that everyone enjoys a different level of heat. This is a great recipe that can be amped with the addition of hot sauce or add even more diced jalapeno peppers. That’s why I like to use this specific chili recipe for potlucks.

As I mentioned, this is an easy chili recipe. It can be made on busy weeknights or cooked low and slow for comforting weekend dinner. In addition to a bread choice, serve shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce or jalapeno peppers on the side.

Best Chili Ingredients

Homemade chili recipes are always pretty easy and very forgiving- any home cook can pull of a good, tasty chili! It all starts with ingredients though, and we went with a nice balance between fresh and canned ingredients to make this recipe as easy as possible while still keeping that fresh, “homemade” flavor. To make chili yourself, here’s all the ingredients:

• Ground Beef –
• Onion – Go with white onion, yellow onion, or Vidalia onion here. Purple or red onions can work too, but those first three onions tend to taste the best cooked.
• Jalapeno Pepper – A jalapeño pepper definitely gives the best balance between spice and pepper heat for something like a chili recipe. If you want it spicier, try to save as much of the “ribs” or pepper membrane- the white stuff inside the pepper that the seeds are attached to- as you can. Alternatively, upgrade to a spicier pepper like a habanero pepper.
• Bell Pepper
• Garlic – Minced garlic from the jar works just fine here.
• Seasonings – For chili spices, we used a blend of chili powder, cumin, a touch of sugar, salt, and pepper. You’re welcome to experiment and find whatever chili seasonings you like best!
• Crushed Tomatoes – Canned tomatoes are perfectly fine for chili recipes. You cut down on a lot of prep time and still get tasty chili in the end.
• Kidney Beans – Again, canned kidney beans are going to speed things up quite a bit. Remember to drain beans off before adding them!
• Diced Tomatoes – Using crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes in chili gives you a unique texture: smooth sauce with some occasional bites of tomato in there.
• Beef Broth
• Tomato Paste – Canned tomato paste or tomato paste tubes are a bit of a secret weapon for any tomato sauce recipes. They add that deep, slow-cooked tomato flavor that you normally have to cook hours to get- it’s basically free flavor!

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Chili from scratch

Making chili from scratch is dead simple and pretty easy to clean too- you only need one pot for chili! The longest or hardest part is probably just dicing your peppers and onions (see why we used canned ingredients here?). In case you need a visual guide, here’s a quick chili recipe you can follow along with:

• Browning ground beef is our first step. Set a large pot over medium-to-high heat and add ground beef. Stir occasionally while ground beef browns to prevent scorching.

• Bump the heat down to medium and add onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and minced garlic. Mix vegetables in and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Drain off excess fat– don’t worry if there’s still some beef fat leftover, it might add to the chili’s flavor!

• At this point, add remaining ingredients to pot and stir to combine. Bring chili to a boil before reducing heat down to a simmer.

• Let chili simmer for at least 50 minutes, making sure you stir occasionally to cook evenly and prevent scorching. Serve chili warm with a side of thick, crusty bread and enjoy!

Storage / Freezing

Storage: It always seems like you end up with plenty of leftover chili, so it’s worth it to know how to store it best for later. Let chili cool completely before transferring to a resealable airtight container. Keep leftover chili in the fridge for 3-4 days- 5 if you want to test your luck!

Freezing: For long-term storage, freezing chili is another solid option. For best results here, transfer leftover chili to a large freezer bag and make sure you squeeze out as much excess air as you can before sealing it up. Keep bags of frozen chili in the freezer for 3-6 months- for best results, let thaw completely in the fridge before reheating chili in slow cooker or on the stovetop.

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