The best chili recipe you’ll ever eat is right here! Our classic beef chili is made with ground beef, beans, diced tomatoes, and a homemade chili seasoning.
Chili for Days
Chili for days you say? That’s right! This classic chili recipe will give you chili for days because boy does it serve a crowd. And, did we mention that it’s truly the best chili recipe on the internet?
- Amazing Meal Prep: Chili is an excellent meal prep idea because it will literally give you chili for days. This particular recipe serves 6-8 and you can easily double it and freeze for later! Plus, you can turn it into our Chili Mac and Cheese recipe for more variety!
- Healthy: Our beef chili recipe is made with lean ground beef, beans, and tons of veggies making it high in protein, fiber. It’s also made with a homemade chili seasoning canceling out any additives you may find in the store-bought kind.
- Made in No Time! In less than 45 minutes you can have dinner on the table!
Classic Chili Ingredients
There’s a big debacle on the internet whether classic chili has beans or no beans. In my opinion, the best chili recipe is a base of ground beef, tomato, spices, and BEANS. I love the number of fiber beans add to this dish and I promise you won’t regret adding them.
Beef
The star of the show here is ground beef. I’ll give you one secret, the fat in your beef matters! We’re big fans of 80% or 85% fat because that little bit of fat adds so much flavor. If you go any leaner, you risk compromising flavor and texture.
Can I substitute a different ground meat? Ohhhh, if you must! Yes, ground chicken or turkey both work for this recipe. you can even try a plant-based ground!
Tomatoes
One of the reasons I love chili is because it’s made with tomato products. Thick, creamy, and so delicious. This recipe calls for 3 different kinds: tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato puree.
Beans
While traditional beef chili does not call for beans, we like to up the anty a little bit in the nutrition department and include 2 different variations. Pinto beans and kidney beans add texture and fiber to this beef chili recipe.
Chili Seasoning
Do yourself a favor and make your own chili seasoning. I promise you the flavor is better AND there isn’t any added junk. Try our homemade chili seasoning and keep a batch in your cabinet at all times.
homemade chili seasoning ingredients
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Ground cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Salt
- Ground pepper
#1 Secret Ingredient for THE BEST CHILI RECIPE
Every chili needs a little bit of sugar in some form to bring out all of the savory flavors from the chili seasoning. Our classic chili recipe calls for a little bit of maple syrup. It’s warm, unrefined, and absolutely delightful.
Don’t have maple? Swap it with some brown sugar or even some honey.
Chili 101
What is the best secret ingredient for chili? The best secret ingredient for chili is a little bit of sugar. Whether you use white sugar, brown sugar, or my favorite, maple syrup, a little bit of sugar will bring out all of the savory spices of your chili.
Does traditional chili have beans? Traditionally, chili used to be served without beans, but in my opinion, it’s so much better with beans!
How do you make chili more flavorful? To make chili more flavorful, we suggest using more homemade chili seasoning. We always recommend making your own spice blend at home because you can really control the flavor that way. Other ways to add more flavor include:
- More salt
- More heat (diced jalapeño, hot sauce, or green chiles)
- Add a jar of salsa
What are good chili toppings? Good chili toppings include shredded cheese, green onion, sour cream or Greek yogurt, Fritos, tortilla chips, and chives.
How to make truly the BEST chili recipe!
- Saute ground beef: add ground beef, onion, and garlic to a stockpot or Dutch oven and saute for 7-10 minutes to fully brown.
- Add rest of ingredients: Next, add the rest of the ingredients including the chili seasoning and mix to combine.
- Simmer: Bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve: Serve immediately with your favorite toppings!
Topping Ideas
In my opinion, chili isn’t chili without the toppings! I’ll share what we at our bowl of chili with and some other ideas.
- shredded cheese
- chips – tortilla or Fritos
- green onions
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- chives
- hot sauce
Can I make this chili recipe in the Crockpot or Instant Pot instead?
This ground beef chili can easily be made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. While we haven’t tried either of these methods, you can follow a similar method to the other crockpot and Instant Pot chili recipes we have on Fit Foodie Finds.
Crockpot Chili Recipes
Instant Pot Chili Recipes
Can I freeze beef chili?
Beef Chili is the perfect chili recipe to freeze! We wrote an entire post on how to freeze soup and it works the exact same way for chili.
We recommend freezing in a freezer-safe gallon-size bag or freezer-safe storage container. Make sure that you remove as much air as possible before sealing.
How do I store beef chili?
Store beef chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat: Either place multiple servings of the beef chili back into the stockpot and heat over medium heat until boiling or place 1 serving of chili into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Best Chili Recipe
The best chili recipe you’ll ever eat is right here! Our beef chili is made with ground beef, beans, diced tomatoes, and a homemade chili seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef (we used 85% fat)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 15-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 cup beef broth (chicken broth or water works too)
Optional toppings
- shredded cheddar cheese
- Fritos
- green onion
Instructions
- First, heat a large stockpot over medium/high heat.
- Then, add ground beef, yellow onion, and minced garlic and sauté for 7-10 minutes or until beef is fully browned.
- Next, add pinto beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and maple syrup to the pot and stir to combine.
- Add spices and 1 cup of broth and stir to combine.
- Bring beef chili to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
- Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
Nutrition information is for 6 servings and does not include toppings.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/6 Calories: 367 Sugar: 11 Fat: 14 Carbohydrates: 38 Fiber: 11 Protein: 24Keywords: chili recipe
Delicious! I got in the mood after having some of Costco’s Beef Chili, and your recipe really kicks it up a notch! I love the unapologetic use of beans – 2 kinds! – they’re awesome and so many people have a problem with them. Sorry no photo, ate everything 🙂
★★★★★
#beans4life!!!
Amazing recipe! The second time I made it, I swapped ground beef, for ground hot italian sausage and wowowowowoww. Delish.
★★★★★
HUBBA HUBBA! What a great swap!
This looks really good and I plan on making it today. If I don’t have maple syrup, would it work just as well with regular syrup?
That works! Or you can add brown sugar. Really any kind of sweetener will do the job!
This is the best and easiest chili recipe I have ever tasted or made. The seasoning is outstanding and I keep a mix in my cabinet for an even faster throw together meal.
Happy I came across this one. It was the maple syrup that caught my eye!
★★★★★
I agree with you 100%. I always have our chili seasoning in a jar in my cabinet!
This recipe is easy and delicious af. It is beyond good! Didn’t have celery but subbed red pepper and was happy with the final product! Highly suggest this bomb ass recipe!
★★★★★
Other than the beans, which by definition aren’t in chili, but you called that out, great recipe. Added seranos. Needed more kick but ya know, Texan. Thank you for the very mobile friendly site as well.
★★★★
Glad you loved this!
Best Chili recipe is our first on a search for a homemade chili recipe that we love. A couple of the spices made me nervous, but I followed the recipe exactly. It’s a winner! Very nice flavor. Thank you.
★★★★★
So glad you guys loved this!
This chili recipe is awesome! The spice combo is perfect, just the right amount of heat and the maple syrup is literally genius. So delish! This will be my go to recipe for chili from now on!
★★★★★
So glad you guys loved this chili!
yummy
★★★★★
Excellent recipe for an easy family meal. I prepped everything over lunch and chili was ready for dinner! And it’s worth noting that I have zero cooking skills!! Five stars!
★★★★★
Glad you guys love this!!
I made this recipe the first time I ever cooked for my in-laws and wanted to impress them with my (beginner) cooking skills, ha! It was delicious and everyone loved it. The maple syrup is so subtle, but adds a lot of flavor. This has become our go-to chili recipe in our family! We love to add cheese & frito corn chips to the top. Our version is probably not nearly as healthy as the recipe is intended, but it makes it so yummy.
★★★★★
I typed in “world’s best chili”, and this is the first recipe that came up. OH MY GOD!! I have made a LOT of chili over the years, won Navy cook-offs, etc., but have been trying new recipes forever. This is the one! The only change I made was my own fault–I fell asleep during the simmering, so it was a little thicker than it should have been. I added another 3/4 cup of beef broth, (made with Better Than Bouillon), and let it cook another ten minutes. Thank you thank you thank you! I can’t wait to try your other recipes. My daughter just asked if there was any left over for her lunch tomorrow. Nope! We scraped the tureen! Doubling it next time and staying awake!
★★★★★
So glad you guys love this recipe!!
This is a wonderful recipe!! I didn’t have any tomato sauce so I used a big squirt of ketchup instead and added a small can of diced green chilies. I also reduced chili powder to 2 Tbs to accommodate the kids and added an additional can of beans to stretch the recipe further. It had a wonderful balance of sweet, spice, and acid! I make chili often and this recipe was definitely one of my best batches ever. I served it with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and chives. Comfort food at it’s finest!
★★★★★
Glad you guys loved this!!
I loved this receipe. I used fire roasted diced tomotoes and added some fresh diced green and red peppers. I omitted the beans because I am not a huge fan of them but I think next time I will put them in. Delish!!
★★★★★
I subbed the beef for some plant “beef”.
Chili still slaps. Also accidentally made twice as many onions. Still slaps.
Winter is here!!
★★★★★
RICKY, so glad you loved this chili!
I have nothing against plant beef– but I’m wondering if I could fool my strictly red meat boyfriend. If I hid the product and didn’t tell him about the substitute, do you think he would notice?
From a vegan who lives with non-vegans – Honestly, probably not. I’ve had straight up vegan beef served to non-vegans who couldn’t tell the difference, and in a chili where everything is all simmered anyway? No chance 😉
YASSSS!
This is seriously delicious and one of the best fall weather meals. The seasoning blend is perfect! My husband said it tasted like his Grandma’s, which is a solid seal of approval! I like my chili a bit thicker so i think next time I will try either adding some corn or draining some liquid from the diced tomatoes. Will be adding this to the cold weather rotation! Thank you!! 🙂
★★★★★
Grandma’s chili FTW!!!
I thought I had tried all the chili recipes in the world but this one is definitely going in the #1 spot in my chili file. My family loved this recipe. I used “Better Than Bouillon” for the broth (check out the interesting Food52 article on it) and I used an immersion blender on the diced tomatoes (some around here don’t like their tomatoes chunky) and LOVED it.
★★★★★
So glad you guys loved this chili recipe!!
Perfect!!! Can I use frozen beef for this?
★★★★★
I would thaw the beef first so that you can easily saute it!
So easy and delicious! I added some red pepper flakes for a little extra kick
★★★★★
FAVVVVV chili recipe!
Yum!!! Add hot peppers for extra spice
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Love that addition!