Now that it’s officially fall, it’s time to make my favorite fall comfort food, a pot of delicious homemade chili. While I have several chili recipes on the website already, this classic beef chili recipe is my absolute favorite. Like, it’s so good that I can’t stop going back for spoonfuls. Not only is this classic chili recipe super flavorful and easy, but it can be customized in a number of ways to make it your very own’s extremely customizable. Scroll down for ideas for customizing the proteins, spices, liquids, vegetables, and toppings!
I like to add fresh jalapeños, cheese, green onion, and crushed tortilla chips to my chili!
Ingredients for Homemade Chili
There are so many ways to make homemade chili, but here’s what you’ll need to make our classic beef chili:
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic create the base layer of flavor for this pot of classic chili. Feel free to add double or even triple the garlic if you’re a garlic lover!!
- Ground Beef: I love a slightly higher fat content beef for chili because it makes the pot extra rich and it’s more affordable than lean ground beef, but feel free to use the type of ground beef that you like the best.
- Beans: We use a combination of kidney beans and black beans in our chili for a little extra color and texture in the pot, but you can also experiment with adding pinto beans!
- Diced Tomatoes: Diced canned tomatoes (with their juices) add more flavor and texture to the chili. If you don’t like chunks of tomato, you can substitute with crushed tomatoes, which have a much finer texture.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste really helps thicken the chili and gives it a super rich tomato flavor, which is the perfect backdrop for all of the chili spices.
- Chili Seasoning: We use our homemade blend of chili seasoning, which includes chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Brown Sugar: This is the secret ingredient that helps balance the adicity of the tomatoes and heat from the chili seasoning. A little goes a long way to help balance the flavors without making the chili taste sweet.
How Long Should You Cook Chili?
Chili is one of those dishes that tastes better the longer it cooks (to a point). You’ll want to let this chili simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes, but it’s something that you can leave simmering gently for up to a couple of hours. If you do plan to let your chili simmer for a longer period of time, make sure to put a lid on it so it doesn’t dry out. Check it occasionally to see if it is becoming dry, and if so, add a little water.
5 Ways to Customize Homemade Chili
- Use a different protein: Feel free to substitute ground turkey, chicken, pork, or even lentils or more beans in place of the ground beef.
- Add Other Liquids: Instead of using water to make the gravy, try using vegetable juice (like V8), dark beer, or beef broth for even more flavor.
- Customize the spices: Try using chipotle powder or smoked paprika for a smokier flavor. Add a little cocoa for a richer, earthier flavor, or a dash of cinnamon for warmth.
- Add Extra Vegetables: If you’re looking to add more flavor, color, and nutrients, try adding zucchini, bell pepper, poblano peppers, jalapeños, corn, sweet potato, or butternut squash.
- Get creative with toppings: This is where chili gets really fun! Browse your pantry, fridge, or freezer for any fun toppings you might have. Anything that goes well on a taco will probably also go great on a bowl of chili! This also allows each family member to customize their own bowl, which is super helpful with picky eaters!
Ideas for Chili Toppings
Customizing my bowl of chili with fun toppings is my favorite part. I can eat the chili all week and no two bowls will be the same! Here are some ideas for what to put on top of a bowl of chili:
- Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Green Onions
- Diced Avocado
- Cilantro
- Crushed Tortilla Chips
- Crushed Saltine Crackers
- Pickled Jalapeños
- Diced Red Onion
What is your favorite chili secret ingredient, add-in, or topping? Share in the comments below!
How to Store and Reheat Chili
Chili is the ultimate meal prep food because the recipe makes a big batch, the leftovers taste better the next day, and it’s extremely freezer-friendly!
Chili can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days, or, after chilling overnight, you can transfer it to the freezer for longer storage (about three months). I recommend dividing the chili into single-serving portions before refrigerating or freezing to make easy grab-and-go reheatable meals for the rest of the week.
Chili can be reheated in the microwave by heating in one minute intervals, stirring between each, until heated through. You can also reheat chili on the stove top over medium-low heat, stirring often. You may need to add a little water when reheating on the stovetop if it gets too thick.
Homemade Chili Recipe
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($4.79)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($1.09)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.50)
- 1 6oz. can tomato paste ($0.55)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
Chili Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp chili powder** ($0.30)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.03)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a large pot with the olive oil and cook over medium heat until they are soft and translucent.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and continue to sauté until the beef is fully browned.
- Drain the beans and add them to the pot along with the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup water, and all of the ingredients for the chili seasoning. Stir until well combined.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow it to simmer over a low flame for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (the flavor gets better the longer it simmers).
- Give the chili one final taste, adjust the salt or seasonings if needed, then serve hot with your favorite toppings.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Video
Serve with a side of Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread!
How to Make Homemade Chili – Step by Step Photos
Start by dicing one onion and mincing two cloves of garlic. Cook the onions and garlic with 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until they are soft and transparent.
Add one pound of ground beef and continue to cook until it is fully browned.
Drain a 15oz. can each of black beans and kidney beans and add them to the pot along with a 15oz. can diced tomatoes, a 6oz. can of tomato paste, and one cup of water.
Stir that all together until the tomato paste is well incorporated. Doesn’t look like much yet, but just wait…
Add the chili spices to the pot of chili. I used my recipe for Homemade Chili Seasoning, plus a little brown sugar. 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar. If you don’t have all the ingredients to make your own chili seasoning, you can add a store bought packet of chili seasoning at this point.
Let the pot simmer for at least 30 minutes over low heat with a lid on top to allow the flavors to blend and for the natural sugars in the tomatoes to caramelize, which reduces the acidity. If you have time, let it simmer longer. Now your “basic” chili is done!
How easy was that? Now go crazy with the toppings. Look in your fridge for leftovers and see what fun things you can use to top your basic chili to make it not so basic anymore.
Sucha good chili!
OUTSTANDING! Perfectly balanced spice blend. You can dress up or down as you wish, according to taste, but the recipe as written, will go into my master file. Everything you want a good bowl of chili to be!
I made this chili twice the first time I follow the recipe and it was fabulous. This time I didn’t have any pinto beans so I used refried beans and black beans didn’t have tomato paste use my tomato sauce. The The refried beans thickened it up and gave it a different taste and it was very good.
So so simple and so so delicious!! Even my bf who hates beans loves this recipe! Haha
Made this again today. Such a genius and versatile recipe. Fixes my chili craving.
Great repice. I have been cooking what Canadians call chilli for years but this recipe teaches a good base. I have one change to the steps. I cook the beef first and remove to to a large pot. I then fry my onion and celery next in the left over greese and add the garlic for the last minute because it cooks faster than the others. Then everything goes in the other pot. Add add peppers etc after that. I love the flexibly that basic chilli recipes allow someone to clean out the fridge. Corn, carrots, mushrooms you name it can end up in the chilli. I even cook macaroni sometimes to stretch it out. My husband and son love it everytime it’s served.
This is a really great recipe as-is or as a base. Also works great in a slow cooker if you brown the meat first and then throw it in with the other ingredients for 4-6 hours.
Most recently I made it with ground turkey instead of beef, chicken broth instead of water, and I added celery, carrots, and corn in an effort to sneak extra vegetables in. My husband can’t do spicy food so I left out the cayenne and used smoked paprika instead. I let it simmer for about an hour and served it with Mexican cheese and crumbled tortilla chips. Easy, delicious, and fairly healthy too!
My son loves this chili. My boyfriend does not like chili, but he said this is the best chili he has ever had and he says that every time I make this recipe. I generally follow the recipe, but have had to replace things from time to time if I didn’t have an ingredient. One thing that My son prefers is crushed tomatoes instead of diced.
Hey this website sucks a lot to navigare, way too much nonsense at the start, and too much scrolling to get the the recepie. just list ingredients and the step by step proccess. Come on.
There’s a button right at the top for you to click and skip straight to the recipe. Come on.
Alternatively, I’ve given out this website frequently, often after coworkers smell the leftovers I bring from the night before! Your website is much easier to navigate than most recipe blogs in my opinion and I love the ability to change the ratios on the fly. The price per serving seals the deal; sometimes I build a whole week’s menu based on the per serving cost alone. Thanks for what you do!
I find this website incredibly easy use and I really appreciate that. The write-ups before the recipes are informative and engaging, often with dash of humour, yet they are also to-the-point and don’t include a bunch of pointless blather. The recipes are laid out in such a way that it’s always easy to find what I’m looking for.
One thing I’m especially grateful for is that you repeat the measurements of each ingredient in the step-by-step photo instructions, so I don’t have to scroll all the way back up to the ingredient list at the top to check. I really appreciate your attention to detail with things like that:)
I agree with Nick and Anna. I love the layout of this website. Budget Bytes/Beth taught me how to cook. I was really intimidated when I first started cooking, but the step by step photos made me feel comfortable. That was probably close to 10 years ago in college that I started using Budget Bytes and now I’m a confident cook and love to be in the kitchen! Thanks, Beth – your website definitely doesn’t suck!
This by far is my go-to website for delicious, easy-to-make recipes. I have yet to find one recipe that does not fit this bill. I stopped buying pre-made chili kits because of this website. And I have shared this website with so many people.
I’ve been craving this all weekend since coming across the recipe. It also rained over the weekend, adding to my already strong craving! I finally made this tonight after getting everything I needed from the grocery store. As Beth suggested, I added zucchini, corn, and cocoa powder. The result: it hit the spot! The chili was rich, dense, flavorful, and fulfilling. I made Beth’s cheddar drop biscuits (https://www.budgetbytes.com/cheddar-drop-biscuits/) to go with the chili. Such a good combo. I can’t wait to eat leftovers for lunch tomorrow. #amazing #sooogoood
This tastes really good, especially since it’s my first time making it, my family really enjoyed it. Thank you!!!
Thus chili is really thick!
I’m sorry but no pinto beans and plus sugar makes it a no in my books.
…Okay? You don’t have to make it if it’s not to your preferences, you know. No need to be rude.
Sugar is to calm the tomato acid. Some people like it a bit more mild. And most of us like beans in it. I’m from AZ, so beans it is! Beans is also a staple in most people’s diet. It’s a good filler, and good protein. There is no one way of making a good pot of chili.
Ha ha.
You’re such a joy!
(I hope life gets better for you).
Oh. My. God. BEST CHILI I’VE EVER HADDD
I’ve even switched up the ingredients a few times and…IT’S STILL GOOD!
I’m a vegetarian so I switch the beef with, Morning star crumblers!!
I didn’t have black beans one time so I used a can of pre-made lentils and oh my god that was sooo good.
I’m not kidding, I’ve tried explaining the greatness of this recipe to my friends and they’re like “Jeez Amy, It’s just chili, I’ve had chili before” BUT YOU HAVEN’T HAD THIS CHILI YET! Try it. And then you can tell me if you like it or not (Pewdiepie Refrence) Okay anyway, its the best, Try it! I’ts my favorite thing ever to make! Super simple too! I add in some red hot chili flakes and let it simmer for as long as I want! (Last time I did an hour and oh boy, that baby was scrumptious af) Okay bye! Thank you for making this recipe!
This is not only a delicious recipe as written, but very easy to adjust too. I’ve made it before exactly, but since then, we’ve gone vegetarian, so I made it using impossible burger this week.
Swapped 1 lb ground meat for 1 lb impossible burger
Added 2 diced bell peppers
Added 1 cup frozen corn
Increased to 2 cups liquid, using vegetable broth
Swapped 1 15 oz black beans for kidney beans
I cooked the onions alone in the dutch oven while I cooked the impossible burger halfway in another pan. Since I was increasing the veggies so much, I wanted to make sure the burger had enough contact with the pan to crisp. Then I added the rest of the veggies, the burger, and cooked until the burger was brown. I continued as the recipe steps indicate except for the final 30 minutes. I left the lid off to reduce more. I may not have needed a full 2 cups liquid, but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too dry!
That looks good, whatever it is! :D
Sincerely,
Chris from Texas
This is absolutely the best chili recipe we have tried and we make it all the time. I’m making it now! We are vegan so we skip the meat and add extra beans instead. Also, the cacao powder and cinnamon give some nice flavor and extra health benefits.