THE ULTIMATE CHILI

I have NEVER been a fan of chili honestly, for my whole life. I’ve always felt it was too bland and just all beans. Now AU LOOOOVEEES chili so much, it might be his favorite food. We’ve been in a cycle our whole relationship (11 years!!) with him wanting chili and me saying “no way”. Especially the chili that uses the “chili” flavor packet. Nothing against that and it’s fine every once in a while but it’s not a recipe choice of mine.

And then one day when AU’s Mom was visiting us, she made her chili from scratch and my life and all preconceived notions about chili changed. I immediately asked for the recipe and ever since that day Austin and I talk about that chili. We’ve made it over and over again, we constantly crave it, and it’s that go to food that you just can’t stop thinking about. Once it starts getting even a little bit chilly, we both look at each other and shout “we should make chili!!” (true story). We even made this chili in the dead hot of Summer one evening and it was incredible.

This is not just a cold season recipe, it’s all an year long comfort food absolutely DELICIOUS best thing you’ll taste kinda chili recipe.

With that being said… welcome to your most favorite recipe that you’re going to make all season, THE ULTIMATE CHILI.

It’s spicy (every chili should be!) and it has a massive amount of flavor layered in with spices, seasonings, hot sauce, diced fresh jalapeno’s, and red peppers. The list of seasoning may look intimidating but it’s not, it creates the most wonderful taste in your mouth with a nice big PUNCH of chili flavor that’s not just “hot” or “spicy”. There’s multiple types of beans and one of the main secrets is using the liquid from “chili flavored beans”. The beef is crisped up in a flat layer on high heat and it’s broken down into larger chunks, giving you the perfect texture in your mouth. Whole tomatoes are used and once cooked down broken into multi sized chunks to add to all the layers and textures.

Another little secret is using Trader Joe’s taco seasoning in this. I know what you’re thinking “taco seasoning?!” yes you read that correctly. Trader Joe’s taco seasoning (fun fact- it’s actually made in South Africa!) is a MUST and then of course the additional individual spices are also a must.

It’s best quality, in my opinion, is that the sauce is thicker and all the ingredients give the chili an oomph you can’t find anywhere else. And trust me, I’ve tried my fair share of chili’s in my life and those ain’t it.

I am just so passionate about this chili recipe.

AU’s Mom first made it for us by memory and guessed ingredient amounts to give me a written version. That’s one of the best things about her, she doesn’t follow recipes and can make you a gourmet meal by “feeling”. She also told me it’s based on AU’s grandmas chili recipe (which is so special).

We just love cooking and experiencing family recipes that are loved by all.

And most importantly of all, this Ultimate Chili is made with so much love. It’s true what they say that those are the best meals, right?! This recipe is MOST definitely made with so much love. And it makes a big pot so it’s perfect for sharing. Or freezing, we usually end up freezing whatever we can’t eat over that week and get to defrost and enjoy it all over again.

If you’re wondering if it’s easy, YES IT IS! It couldn’t be easier, it’s all one pot and basically just chopping up vegetables and cooking everything together. And if you’re concerned for the spice level, there are so many ways to eliminate hot spice and make it more mild.

See the notes section below.

THE ULTIMATE CHILI

Print Recipe

Course Main Course

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL
• 2 LB GROUND BEEF
• 1 MEDIUM SWEET ONION DICED
• 1/2 RED PEPPER DICED
• 1/2 JALAPENO NO SEEDS, DICED
• 4 GARLIC CLOVES DICED
• 1 CAN DARK KIDNEY BEANS, 15 OZ DRAINED & RINSED
• 2 CANS CHILI BEANS, 15 OZ USE LIQUID
• 1 CAN TOMATO PASTE, 6 OZ
• 1 CAN TOMATO SAUCE, 15 OZ OR 2 8 OZ CANS
• 1 CAN WHOLE PEELED TOMATOES, 28 OZ
• 2 TABLESPOONS TRADER JOE'S TACO SEASONING
• 1 TABLESPOON CHILI POWDER
• 1/2 TEASPOON CAYENNE PEPPER
• 2 TABLESPOONS GARLIC POWDER
• 2 TABLESPOONS ONION POWDER
• 1 TEASPOON PAPRIKA
• 2 TABLESPOONS CUMIN
• 1/4 TEASPOON RED PEPPER FLAKES
• 1 TEASPOON SUGAR IN THE RAW OR GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1 TABLESPOON SRIRACHA
• SALT & PEPPER
• 1 CAN AMBER ALE OR DARK BEER, 12 OZ LIGHT BEER WORKS TOO!
• GREEK YOGURT, SHREDDED CHEESE, DICED WHITE ONION, JALAPENO'S FOR GARNISH

Instructions

• HEAT OLIVE OIL IN A LARGE DUTCH OVEN OVER HIGH, ONCE HOT ADD IN GROUND BEEF AND BEGIN TO BROWN AND CRISP BY FLATTENING IT INTO A THIN LAYER ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE POT
• ADD DICED ONIONS, GARLIC, PEPPER, AND JALAPENO'S ON TOP OF BEEF WITH SOME SALT AND PEPPER, DO NOT MIX TOGETHER
• LET BEEF BEGIN TO CRISP UP FOR ABOUT 4-5 MINUTES WITHOUT TOUCHING IT, JUST MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T BURN
• ONCE THE BOTTOM LAYER IS CRISP, BREAK UP BEEF INTO CHUNKS (NOT TINY PIECES), MIX TOGETHER WITH DICED VEGETABLES AND KEEP COOKING UNTIL BROWN, TRY NOT TO TURN OR MIX TOO MUCH
• IF THERE IS A LOT OF FAT, DRAIN, AND POUR IN BEER TO "DEGLAZE" THE BOTTOM BY MIXING THE BITS OFF THE BOTTOM WITH A WOODEN SPOON (IF THERE IS NOT A LOT OF FAT, DO NOT DRAIN AND JUST ADD IN BEER- SEE NOTE*)
• STIR IN TOMATO PASTE, THEN ADD IN TOMATO SAUCE AND WHOLE TOMATOES WITH JUICE, MIX GENTLY AND TURN TO MEDIUM HEAT
• SPRINKLE IN TRADER JOE'S SEASONING FIRST, TASTE AND ADD THE REST OF THE SEASONING BASED ON PREFERENCE (THIS IS SPICIER SO IF YOU WOULD PREFER A MORE MILD CHILI OMIT THE CAYENNE PEPPER, RED PEPPER FLAKES, AND REDUCE THE SRIRACHA- SEE NOTE**), WE END UP USING ALL THE SEASONINGS LISTED
• COOK DOWN ABOUT 20-30 MINUTES UNTIL TOMATOES ARE SOFT AND BURSTING, USING A WOODE SPOON BREAK UP TOMATOES INTO CHUNKS AND LITTLE PIECES
• ADD IN CHILI BEANS WITH SAUCE, AND DRAINED & RINSED KIDNEY BEANS (IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE BEANS, ADD IN AN ADDITIONAL CAN OF LIGHT KIDNEY BEANS- SEE NOTE***)
• AT THIS POINT, TASTE THE CHILI AND ADD ANY EXTRA SEASONINGS YOU MIGHT NEED FROM THE LIST, WE ADD A LITTLE SALT AND PEPPER
• COOK FOR 30 MINUTES ON LOW HEAT, MIX A FEW TIMES SO THE BOTTOM DOESN'T BURN
• SERVE WITH SHREDDED CHEESE, DICED ONION, JALAPENO'S, AND GREEK YOGURT

Notes

NOTES:

* IF USING A LESS FATTY BEEF, YOU MAY NOT NEED TO DRAIN BEFORE ADDING THE BEER TO DEGLAZE

**THIS CHILI IS SPICY, IF YOU WOULD PREFER A MORE MILD CHILI, OMIT THE CAYENNE PEPPER, RED PEPPER FLAKES, AND REDUCE THE SRIRACHA OR LEAVE IT OUT. THE TRADER JOE'S SEASONING IS ALSO SPICY SO REDUCE TO 1 TABLESPOON IF YOU WANT IT VERY MILD. NOTE YOU MAY NEED MORE OF THE OTHER SPICES IF YOU REDUCE THE TJ'S SEASONING

***THERE ARE 3 CANS OF BEANS IN THIS CHILI, IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE BEANS, YOU CAN ADD 1 EXTRA CAN OF LIGHT KIDNEY BEANS (DRAINED & RINSED)

We love to serve this with Trader Joes’ cornbread (use their box mix) and add in half a diced jalapeno.
We end up baking it for much less time for about 20 minutes, so just check it early to see if it’s all set!

If you’re a white chili fan instead of red, this INSTANT POT CREAMY CHICKEN CHILI SOUP is my absolute go to and this BUFFALO CHICKEN CHILI SOUP is so flavorful and simple!

So

on this one,