The Best Chili Recipe
Learn how to make the best chili recipe with this easy to follow recipe and enjoy year-round topped with gooey melted cheese, sour cream, and green onions.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 564kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon - chopped into small pieces
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 medium onions - diced
- 1 teaspoon salt - plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 3-4 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans - drained (not rinsed)
- 2 cups broth - (beef broth, bone broth, chicken, vegetable) plus more as needed
- Optional Toppings - sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Cook the bacon - Add the chopped bacon to a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the bacon is hot and sizzling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally. Once the bacon pieces are golden, remove the lid and allow your bacon pieces to cook until the desired doneness is reached. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of leftover bacon grease.
- Brown the ground beef - over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon grease back to your Dutch oven, and add the ground beef. Brown the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Transfer beef to a clean plate and set aside.
- Cook the onions - Add the remaining tablespoon of bacon grease to your pot and set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and sugar. Mix well to combine. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, stirring continuously. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Return the beef and add some beans - As soon as your onion and tomato mixture reaches a simmer, return the bacon and ground beef to the pot. Stir in the kidney beans and add 2-3 cups of low-sodium broth (beef, bone, chicken, or vegetable broth). Mix well to combine.
- Simmer - Allow your chili to simmer for 15-20 minutes before serving. Add additional salt, pepper, or spices, if needed, and add additional broth if your chili is too thick.
- Serve - Serve with all your favorite toppings including sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, and Tobasco sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Beef: I recommend using 85-90% lean ground beef.
- Bacon: Unless you don't eat pork, don't skip the bacon! Such a flavor game-changer. If you prefer not to include it as part of the chili, feel free to serve it on the side as a topping.
- Beans: I added red kidney beans as they are (in my opinion) the classic chili bean. Black beans are another popular bean choice. You will also notice that I drained, but did not rinse my beans - this was intentional as that bean liquid does come with some great flavor. This is completely optional, so feel free to rinse those beans if preferred.
- Seasonings: The chili powder used in this recipe is not spicy. If you want some heat, add 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper. Also, start with just 1 tablespoon of cumin. Cumin easily overwhelms the other flavors. Finally, if preferred, swap the garlic powder for 5-6 cloves of fresh minced garlic.
- Broth: add a low-sodium broth instead of water. Choose your favorite store-bought version or try my homemade chicken stock or bone broth recipe.
- The longer you allow your chili to simmer, the more time the flavors will have to mix with each other. This is a good thing! So unless you're in a hurry, let your chili simmer a while (note on this- cover your pot and reduce heat to the lowest possible setting).
- As written, this recipe is gluten-free (although, you may want to double-check the packaging on the bacon to be extra safe)
Nutrition
Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 1044mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 544IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg
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