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.
Excellent! It’s hard to find a recipe for chili that will give you that all day flavor in under 30 mins. I followed the recipe exactly except that I slightly increased the amount of chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, brown sugar, and cumin, but only to match the extra tomatoes I added to increase the serving amounts. I also subbed the water for the recommended beef broth. It came out honestly incredible! Highly impressed and will keep this recipe on hand for sure.
This turned out very tasty. I only used kidney beans, and skipped the black beans, to save a buck. Also just used a cheap packet of chili seasoning. Great for low income families (like myself). Very filling, warm, and comforting. Added some hot sauce in mine after scooping into my bowl. I liked that the recipe wasn’t spicy though, because its kid-friendly. My son loved it.
I broke my hand and needed easy but filling recipes that will keep me fed over the week. Thanks for this!!! Saved my life and tastes amazing. Loved the suggestions and added Schwarzbier, carrots and a bell pepper.
hot DAMN that’s so good!! Mine is a bit on the four stars of hottness side – I added a small can of cooked jalepenos. Used ground turkey in place of beef and pinto beans instead of black. Your chili spices are PERFECT for any protein. I love your recipes. Thanks so much!!
Fabulous! This was a hit the first time I made it, pot #2 is on the stove now. This time I’m adding green bell pepper, a dash of smoked paprika, chicken broth in place of water and an extra can of beans. Smells great! I even made up a few batches of your seasoning to give as gifts to family for Christmas this year. Thank you!
Now that we are vegetarian, I make this with a ground meat alternative and it is delicious!! I’m glad we did not have to give up this wonderful chili recipe!
Blooming the spices with before adding the tomatoes and beans made a huge difference.
Just did the taste test….Damn….that’s really really good
Hi,
I just made this, with the addition of some lemon juice, smoked paprika and dark soysauce, minus the meat since I’m vegan.
I basically had nothing in the fridge and no clue what to cook, but when I stumbled upon this recipe, I realized I had some potatoes and some carrots in the freezer, so I just threw everything together.
It is turning out really tasty, the addition of soysauce helps the colour as well as the flavor. Really happy that I’ll be having some tasty, healthy lunch for me and my BF tomorrow, when I was totally clueless what to serve just one hour ago.
Thank you Beth :)
Thank you for this! I was looking for a very basic chili recipe that I could adapt to my husband’s and my tastes, and this was it! My intent was to double the recipe (I love leftovers for the freezer) so I used 2 lbs ground beef and while I kept it at one onion, I added a bell pepper and two minced habaneros. Instead of diced tomatoes (I can’t stand tomato chunks) I used a 28 oz can of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup beef broth. Doubled the spice mixture and added 1 tsp smoked paprika. After letting it simmer close to an hour I added a can of pinto beans and a can of kidney beans. Topped it with shredded Mexican cheese blend and wow was it good! Yes, I gave it a good amount of tweaks, but without this recipe as a base I wouldn’t even have known where to start.
What a great recipe, thanks so much! I made this again recently, for the first time using the homemade spices instead of a store bought packet, a little more “kick” than what they give you in the store but not in a bad way at all! Cheapest meat this week was ground pork so I used that and a chocolate stout for the liquid, very tasty. I love my black beans too so I used one can of kidney beans and two cans of black beans, plenty of protein and very tasty!
Just made this in slow cooker with dry beans, so so good! Thank you. I’ve made 5 or 6 your recipes now and each one of them is a winner. Appreciate you!
This was delicious and so easy.
I put it all in a crock pot, set it on low for 8 hours and didn’t have to do a thing!
I just used a can of mixed beans because I had it. And I added green pepper.
I know it sounds strange but take a ladle of chili and put it into a bag of fritos. It’s delish! Will be trying with this recipe.
We loooooove this recipe!!! I make 2-3 batches at a time sometimes and we live off it for a week haha (my husband and me.. my 3yr old wont try it)
I add smoked paprika its sooo good.. ive started using less garlic and onions just bc i have issues with them sometimes but i dont cut them out completely