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.
So many of you have made this chili recipe and loved it so much that you keep coming back for more. This is hands-down our most popular chili recipe on Fit Foodie Finds and we can’t wait for you to make it!
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Best Chili Recipe!
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?
This is truly the best chili recipe ever. It’s filling, flavorful, and fool-proof delicious. A big bowl of this is perfect for game day, a weeknight dinner, or even a fall party.
Why You’ll Love it
- 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!
Made with Classic Chili Ingredients
There’s a big debacle on the internet about 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. We’ve even made this chili recipe with a plant-based ground to make it vegetarian.
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 (gives this recipe a delicious tomato flavor)
- diced tomatoes (adds great texture)
- tomato puree (helps to thicken and intensify the flavors)
Beans
While some traditional beef chili does not call for beans, we like to up the ante a little bit in the nutrition department and include 2 different variations to make this the most epic chili beans recipe. Pinto beans and kidney beans add texture and fiber to this beef chili recipe.
Feel free to swap the beans for a different kind such as black beans, garbanzo beans, or cannellini beans.
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
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.
Traditionally, chili used to be served without beans, but in my opinion, it’s so much better with beans!
o 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), or add a jar of salsa.
Good chili toppings include shredded cheese, green onion, sour cream or Greek yogurt, Fritos, tortilla chips, and chives.
How do you make chili spicy? To make this beef chili spicy, you can add a few tablespoons of diced jalapeños, poblano peppers, or green chiles. You can even add a few tablespoons of hot sauce.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
How to make truly the BEST chili recipe!
Here is a quick rundown of How to Make Chili. Make sure to scroll all the way down to the recipe card to get the full ingredient list and instructions.
- 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 the 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
Check it out!
Best Chili Mac and Cheese
Chili mac and cheese might be the best dinner of all time. Make it once and eat it all week long. Bonus, it’s kid-friendly and protein-packed! PS: the base of this chili mac is made from this beef chili recipe!
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
- Crockpot Chicken Chili
- Lazy Girl Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
- White Bean Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Chili Recipes
Leftover Chili Ideas
Got leftovers? Here are a few ideas on how to repurpose this recipe:
Chili Baked Potatoes: Top either a baked potato or baked sweet potato with leftover chili and shredded cheese.
Chili Nachos: Are you a fan of nachos just like us? Place a bag of tortilla chips on a baking sheet. Then, top with leftover chili, shredded cheddar cheese, and other nachos toppings.
Chili Mac and Cheese: It doesn’t get much better than combining 2 of your favorite things into 1 dish. That’s exactly what we did in our Chili Mac and Cheese recipe.
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.
- Let your beef chili cool completely.
- Then, transfer it into an airtgiht container or freezer-safe gallon-size bag.
- Remove as much air as possible and seal.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
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.
Great Jones
The Dutchess
This is hands-down our favorite Dutch oven. It’s a 6.75 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven that’s super high-quality and gorgeous.
Best Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef we used 15% 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.
My nephew and I thought this was delicious. I followed the recipe as written.
We’re absolutely obsessed with this chili! Sneaking in one more batch of it tonight during this unseasonably chilly spring before summer!!
*We use black beans and chickpeas instead of pinto and kidney beans.
Yay! Makes me think I need to sneak in one last batch before summer too 😀
This was disgusting.
I followed this to the T, used high-quality ingredients, and it reminds me of some cheap canned chili.
I’m honestly not sure why this has so many good reviews.
I’m going back to my recipe, which is infinitely better than this one.
I’m genuinely upset that I wasted my food/time with this recipe.
I’ll be using this to make compost…
Hi Ray, We’re so sorry to hear this! This beef chili is one our of fan favorite recipes, and a staple in our own homes, so hoping we can get to the bottom of this for you. Can you share if you made any modifications either in cooking method or ingredients?
Hi Ray, you sound really fun!!
So glad I found this recipe. Me and my husband eat it about once a week now! Sooooo good.
I grew up on homemade chili, but my mom doesn’t havea recipe written down. I tried this today, and it’s excellent. So close to her recipe! I did add half a jalapeno with just some of the seeds, and some finely diced celery, mushrooms, and used ketchup instead of tomato paste. Fantastic flavors, and this recipe makes a LOT! Will definitely make again.
OMG we’re blushing, Natalie! And the add-ins you used sound DELISH!
In your discussion before the recipe, you mention you use tomato puree but in the recipe itself, you use tomato paste. Since you also include tomato sauce, I assume the tomato paste is the correct one to use?
Okay, you need to make this chili. I made this according to directions, I might have added a bit more onion. I didn’t have chili beans, so used a can of black beans. All I have to say is delicious, easy and satisfying. I would also add, as with any recipe, you use quality ingredients, you superior results. I used fresh spices from my favorite mail order supply. Topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalapenos.
This recipe is delicious. I added Tabasco and serrano peppers for added heat.
I love this recipe. It’s my go to now.
YAY! So glad to hear you love this chili.
This Chili recipe was dynamite!!
Very good and so easy to make. I have been craving some chilli since the weather had been in the teens. Definitely hit the spot.
This one turns out absolutely perfect each time!
Really delicious and easy to make!
Yummy recipe! I don’t usually follow a recipe verbatim , I usually use it for inspiration. However I did follow this one (except I did add half of a diced orange bell pepper and a small diced jalapeño.) This recipe was so delicious especially with all the toppings. We were using the corn chips scoops to scoop it out of the bowl absolutely delicious thank you for this recipe. Whole family approved!!
This was so good! I usually never follow a recipe verbatim but use it for inspiration. However I did follow this recipe (except for added 1/2 a large orange bell pepper and 1 small finely diced jalapeño) and it was amazing! Soooo good wih the cheese, cilantro and green onion toppfscoops
I’ve been looking for a classic chili recipe for awhile and I finally found one I love, my husband loves, and my kiddos love. It’s so easy to throw together, tastes amazing, not too many beans and I’m already craving my leftover s for lunch tomorrow. Make this!
So glad this is hubs approved!
I loved this chili! I’ve already made it twice, the second time doubling it so I could share with my parents and have some to freeze. It’s easy, but doesn’t taste like you made it in less than an hour. Adding it to my regular fall/winter rotation!
Great recipe, would try this at home
Easy and delicious!
this chili was ok but i have made better