Chili recipe or Chili con carne, chile con carne is an easy and spicy stew made with chili powder, ground beef, tomatoes, kidney beans, and chili seasonings. It is believed to have originated in southern Texas or in the northern parts of Mexico. Some people believe the traditional chili dish does not require the use of tomatoes or beans but this is not widely accepted. Whatever is the case, the chili recipe is easy to make and very spicy – which is the hallmark of this stew – spicy and made of meat and chili powder; hence the word: chili con carne which means Chili with meat.
Table of Contents
Chili Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 tbsp of chili powder
- 500 grams of lean ground beef
- 1/2 tsp of paprika powder
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 cup of fresh tomato sauce
- 1 cup of fresh diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp of oregano
- 2 beef seasoning cubes (crushed)
- 400 grams of drained red kidney beans. You can use black beans in this easy chili recipe.
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
- 1 cup of chopped Onions
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
How to Make Chilli from Scratch
- Place your pot on the stovetop and add 2 tbsp of olive oil to it
- When the oil is heated up, add 1 cup of chopped red onions
- Saute for 3 minutes on medium heat until the onions are translucent
- Go in with 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds until it is fragrant.
- Next, add the ground beef
- Break the ground beef with a spatula into small chunks
- Cook the minced beef for 6 to 7 minutes until it is no longer pink; ensure you stir intermittently to prevent clumping of the ground beef.
- Season this easy chili recipe with 2 and 1/2 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of oregano, 1/2 tsp of paprika powder, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper, 2 beef stock cubes – crushed into the chilli recipe, 2 tbsp of tomato paste.
- Add adding all the chili seasonings, stir to combine.
- Go in with 300 ml of hot water
- Also, add 1 cup of tomato sauce
- Add 1 cup of diced tomatoes and 2 tsp of sugar. The sugar helps to remove the sour taste of the tomato ingredients in this chile con carne recipe. Stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the chilli and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir after cooking the chile con carne for 10 minutes and then add 400 grams of red kidney beans. If the chilli is too thick, you can add a little water or broth to it.
- Next, cover the chili con carne and cook for 20 minutes to soften the kidney beans and also give time for the ingredients to be well absorbed by the beans and the beef.
- Stir to combine after 20 minutes and turn off the heat. Allow the chilli recipe to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Easy Chili Recipe
Easy Chili Recipe - How to Make Chili
Equipment
- Crock Pot
- Instant Pot
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2½ tbsp chili powder
- 500 grams ground beef lean ground beef
- ½ tsp paprika powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup fresh tomato sauce
- 1 cup diced tomatoes fresh
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 cubes beef seasoning stocks crushed
- 400 grams red kidney beans drained. If your kidney beans are fresh, you need to properly cook them first before adding them to this chili con carne recipe. You can use a crock pot or instant pot for cooking the fresh beans. For this recipe, I am using canned beans because they are cooked already, it reduces the cooking time.
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp sugar The sugar helps to tame the sour taste of tomatoes in the chili recipe
- ½ tsp black pepper ground
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Place your pot on the stovetop and add 2 tbsp of olive oil to it
- When the oil is heated up, add 1 cup of chopped red onions
- Saute for 3 minutes on medium heat until the onions are translucent
- Go in with 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds until it is fragrant.
- Next, add the ground beef
- Break the ground beef with a spatula into small chunks
- Cook the minced beef for 6 to 7 minutes until it is no longer pink; ensure you stir intermittently to prevent clumping of the ground beef.
- Season this easy chili recipe with 2½ tbsp of chili powder.
- Also, season the chili con carne with 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of oregano, ½ tsp of paprika powder, ½ tsp of ground black pepper, 1½ tsp of salt, and ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper.
- Add 2 beef stock cubes - crushed into the chili recipe. If you are using beef broth, no need of adding the beef stock cubes.
- Also, go in with 2 tbsp of tomato paste.
- After adding all the chili seasonings, stir to combine.
- Go in with 300 ml of hot water. When using water, it is good to add beef stock to make the chili recipe tasty. But when using beef broth to substitute for water, then no need of adding beef stock cubes again.
- Also, add 1 cup of tomato sauce
- Add 1 cup of diced tomatoes and 2 tsp of sugar. The sugar helps to remove the sour taste of the tomato ingredients in this chili recipe. Stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the chili and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir again after cooking the chili con carne for 10 minutes and then add 400 grams of red kidney beans. If the chilli is too thick, you can add a little water or broth to it.
- Stir the kidney beans to combine with other ingredients.
- Next, cover the chile con carne and cook for 20 minutes to soften the kidney beans and also give time for the ingredients to be well absorbed by the beans and the beef.
- Stir to combine after 20 minutes and turn off the heat.
- Allow the chilli recipe to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Using Beans in Chili
When using kidney beans, black beans, or any uncooked beans. You need to cook the beans until it is soft before adding to the chilli recipe. There are controversies about the addition of beans to chili. Classic chili recipe does not require the use of beans but most commercial chile con carne sold in the United States have beans added to it. Whenever canned chilli is sold without beans in it, it is called "chili no beans". Some companies do pre-cook beans and sell them Chili beans; because the precooked beans are intended for use in chili. So whether you add beans to your own chile con carne recipe or not; it is a matter of choice as no opinion is generally accepted. Oftentimes, when chili is used as a topping, it is made without beans.Addition of Tomatoes
Just as controversial as the use of beans is in chili, tomato also is considered by some as an optional ingredient. Where people add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, or tomato paste there is a need to add sugar to tame down the tangy taste of the tomato component.Use of beef broth
Also, adding beef broth or bouillon cubes make the chili recipe tasty. You can decide to go with anyone but if you add the beef broth, no need of adding the stock cubes again.Chili toppings
- Grated cheese
- Saltine crackers
- Cornbread
- Pork tamales
- Tortilla chips
- Corn chips
- Flour tortillas
Chilli can be served with cooked white rice or pasta.
Variations
There are many chilli variations such as vegetarian chilli, white chili, and green chili.
Vegetarian chili
The vegetarian chili recipe does not use meat but rather substitutes meat with tofu, potatoes, or quinoa. Other common additions to vegetarian chili may include sweet corn or mushrooms.
Vegetarian chili can also be called chili non carne (which simply means chili without meat); other common names for vegetarian chilli recipe include chili sin carne or chili sans carne.
White chili
This chilli variant is white in appearance and watery like a soup rather than thickened as a stew. White chili is made with white beans, green chili peppers, chicken or turkey, and broth of either chicken or turkey. It is served with sour cream or white cheese (such as Monterey Jack).
Green Chili (chili verde)
This is another variant of chile con carne recipes that uses green chili and pork instead of beef, you may also like this beef recipe. Green chili is made by roasting green chilis and cooking them with pork in a slow cooker but with chicken broth. Green chili is also called chili verde and it is also spicy because it incorporates different types of peppers to adjust the degree of the spiciness. Peppers such as poblano, serrano, habanero, or jalapeño may be used for making chili verde.
Green chili is commonly used as a filling in the mission burrito recipe.