Hearty Ground Beef Chili Recipe || A comforting, crowd-pleasing main dish, made with ground beef, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, and chipotle spice. Best served loaded up with—sour cream, cilantro, corn chips, and cheddar cheese.
Game day 2019 is over, but this Super Bowl favorite is just warming up for the season. Yup, this classic crowd pleasing beef chili is the perfect cold-weather, weekend-gathering meal. It’s make-ahead-of-time convenient and loaded with comforting flavor.
AND it keeps well, so freeze up a few meals—you’ll thank yourself later.
This past game day was a family affair, and we stuffed our faces with loads of homemade guacamole and corn chips, followed by this classic beef chili, made hours before guests arrived. The fixings (green onions, cilantro, cheddar cheese, and sour cream) were also chopped, grated, prepped, and ready to go. Pre-prep—it’s the way to go people.
We love a good chili and this one, for me, hits all the flavor points. It’s your classic chili, with a few less common (but not out there) chili ingredients (lime juice, green onions, basil, chicken broth) thrown in, which in my unbiased opinion makes the chili that much tastier.
This recipe calls for half a teaspoon of chipotle powder in addition to all the regulars (chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne). It has a pretty distinctive flavor, so you don’t need much. Unless you are crazy about chipotle, in which case, throw caution to the wind. Not a chipotle fan, go ahead and skip it, the chili will be plenty flavorful without it.
Chicken broth is used alongside the puréed canned tomatoes, giving the chili the perfect density. If you don’t have chicken broth on hand, use an additional can of tomatoes or tomato sauce.
Looking for the perfect side? These buttery all dressed cheddar biscuits are just what you need. Best served warm, straight from the oven.
xo
P.S. Try these Winter-busting, hearty favs:
Hearty Ground Beef Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3.5 lbs lean ground beef a little more or a little less is fine!
- 3 medium yellow onions finely chopped
- 5 large cloves of garlic minced
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chipotle powder - skip if you're not a chipotle fan
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 green onions ~ 1/2 cup - washed and finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 can tomato paste 156 ml
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
- 2 cans whole tomatoes 2 x 796 ml - gently purée tomatoes and their liquid in a blender or food processor on a low setting
- 1 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1 can black beans 540 ml
- 1 can kidney beans 540 ml
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, gently purée tomatoes and the fresh basil on a low setting, just until smooth. I do this in two batches. Set aside.
- In a large stove top pot on medium high heat add olive oil and ground beef. Brown, stirring frequently — about 10 minutes. I use lean ground beef, so there's not much fat to drain. Drain if there is an excessive amount of liquid.
- Stir in onions and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add spices, salt, green onions, and bell pepper. Stir well.
- Add the remaining ingredients (tomato paste, broth, puréed tomatoes and basil, bay leaf, lime juice, and beans). Sir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes (stirring occasionally).
- Remove bay leaf and serve with your favorite fixings!
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