This beef and bean chili is loaded with ground beef, red beans, black beans, tomatoes and spices. It’s an easy way to get a big pot of hearty chili for a cold night, gameday, or any night of the week.
Chili is a family favorite, not just because a big bowl is delicious with corn chips or cornbread, but because the leftovers are the best! There’s something about chili that makes it taste better the next day. We use the leftovers to make chili dogs, top a baked potato, make chili fries, or serve it over spaghetti for quick weeknight meals.
For more chili with beans recipes try this turkey white bean chili or this chili cornbread casserole that will not disappoint!
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Ingredients
- Oil – Use olive oil, or your favorite oil as long as it is suitable for sautéing.
- Aromatics – Onions and garlic add to the flavor.
- Ground Beef – Use the ground beef with the fat content of your choice. You can go super lean with sirloin or if you want a little fat for flavor go with ground chuck or ground round.
- Spices – Chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and chili de arbol (dried whole chili pepper) add flavor, color, and spice.
- Pantry – Beef broth, diced tomatoes, black beans, and red beans make this chili convenient and easy to make. We use petite diced tomatoes so there are no big pieces when the chili is done.
- Suggested toppings and sides – corn muffins, crackers, corn chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, chopped cilantro, diced white onions, sliced jalapenos peppers, hot sauce, just to name a few.
Recipe tips
- Go easy on the salt with this recipe because canned ingredients usually contain a good amount of salt already. You can always add at the end if needed.
- If you are sensitive to salt replace the canned ingredients with reduced sodium alternatives. There are good low sodium options for canned beans, tomatoes and broth.
- Reduce or eliminate the cayenne pepper and the chili de arbol to make the beef chili milder if you don’t like food too spicy.
- If you are wondering what type of ground beef to use, I’m partial to using a higher fat content to make chili because it adds extra flavor, although I do drain some of the excess oil.
- Typically, the lean-to-fat ratio in ground beef is: 80% lean / 20% fat for ground chuck, 85% lean / 15% fat for ground round, and 90% lean / 10% fat for ground sirloin. Choose your favorite.
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Use a large, heavy pot (we used a 6-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven). Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until they start to soften, stir frequently. Add the garlic, cook 1 minute, stir frequently.
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and stir to combine with the onion-garlic mixture. Arrange the meat in one layer and cook for 3 minutes.
Stir, while breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon and cook another 3-5 minutes until the ground beef is browned. Stir occasionally.
If there is too much oil in the pot after browning the beef drain some of it. The easiest way to do this is to take the pot off the heat and pile the beef mixture to one side of the pot.
Tip it slightly so that the oil pools opposite the meat. Use a ladle or large spoon to remove excess oil and add it to a small bowl, can, etc. Remove as much as you like. I do keep 1-2 tablespoons in for flavor, but it is up to you.
Level the pot and place it back over medium heat.
Lower the heat to medium and add the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir well until combined with the ground beef.
Add the diced tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaf, and dried chili peppers (chili de arbol, if using), stir. Raise the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil (it will take about 5-6 minutes to boil). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors develop and come together, stir occasionally.
Raise the heat to medium, add the red and black beans to the pot, stir. Cook the chili, half-covered, until it starts to simmer.
Then, uncover the pot and cook for 45-55 minutes (longer if needed) until the chili thickens and all those wonderful flavors come together. Stir occasionally. Keep the chili at a simmer, lower the heat to medium-low (or lower) if the chili starts boiling too vigorously.
Taste the beef and bean chili and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.
Serving and storing
Serve the chili with cheese, sour cream, green onions, or your favorite toppings.
Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat it in a saucepan or in the microwave until heated through (at least 165°F).
You can freeze the chili for 2-3 months. Cool it quickly and place in an airtight containers that is appropriate for freezing. Remember to leave an inch or two of space to allow for expansion.
You may also like these hearty beef recipes:
- Mini Meatloaves
- Vegetable Beef Soup
- Cuban Picadillo
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Carne con Papas (Cuban-style beef and potatoes)
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Beef and Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil or oil of your choice
- 1 Large Onion finely diced
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper optional – leave it out if you do not like spicy
- 1½ pound Ground Beef
- 3 (14.5 ounce) Cans Diced Tomatoes (we use petite dice)
- 4 cups Beef Broth
- 1-2 Bay Leaves
- 1-2 Dried Whole Chili Peppers we used dried Chili de Arbol, optional – leave it out if you do not like spicy
- 2 (15 ounce Cans) Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 2 (15 ounce Cans) Red Beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat (at least 6-quart). Add the onions and cook for approximately 5 minutes until they start to soften, stir frequently.
- Add the garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef and stir to combine with the onion-garlic mixture. Arrange the meat in one layer and cook for 3 minutes.
- Stir, while breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon and cook another 3-5 minutes until the ground beef is browned. Stir occasionally. If there is too much oil in the pot after browning the beef drain some (or all) of it – See Notes.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper stir well until combined with the ground beef.
- Add the diced tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaf and dried chili peppers (if using) and stir. Raise the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil (will take about 5-6 minutes).
- Then, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 30 minutes to let the flavors develop and come together, stir occasionally.
- Raise the heat to medium, add the red and black beans to the pot, stir. Cook the chili, half-covered, until it starts to simmer. Then, uncover the pot and cook for 45-55 minutes (longer if needed) until the chili thickens.
- Stir occasionally at first. As the chili thickens and reduces, stir more often to prevent sticking on the bottom. Also, keep the chili at a simmer, lower the heat to medium-low (or further) if it starts boiling too vigorously.
- Taste the beef and bean chili and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- The easiest way to drain some (or most) of the oil from the pot is to: take the pot off the heat and pile the beef mixture to one side of the pot. Tip is slightly so that the oil pools opposite the meat. Use a ladle or large spoon to remove excess oil and add it to a small bowl, can, etc. Remove as much as you like – I like to keep some for flavor. Level the pot and place it over medium heat, continue with the recipe.
- If you are sensitive to salt replace the canned ingredients with reduced sodium alternatives. There are good low sodium options for canned beans, tomatoes and broth.
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