Congratulations, you’ve found the actual BEST Chili Recipe! It’s won dozens of cook-offs and is about to knock your socks off. Made with bacon (and the option to omit bacon if needed) and ground beef and simmered on the stove for just 30 minutes, this is my family’s go-to cool weather comfort food.
Chili Cook-Off Champion!
Something savory/cozy for you today because believe it or not Fall is here, which means cold weather and hearty comfort foods like baked ziti, my favorite meatball recipe, and this best chili recipe!
This recipe is actually one that I shared last year, and since then I’ve made it probably 50 times. Not only am I completely obsessed with it, as of this writing it’s also won over two dozen Chili Cook-offs! While I’ve never entered it into a cook-off myself, so many of you who have tried this chili recipe have commented or e-mailed me that it’s taken home first place and I don’t even know how to express how happy that makes me!
So, yeah, I do feel a little bit extra proud of this chili cook-off champ recipe right here.
Not only does it taste amazing, it’s shockingly simple to make. Basic, no-fuss ingredients and just 30 minutes of simmering yield a complex and rich flavor that’s simply unparalleled.
This best chili recipe (alternating weekly with my potato soup) is on regular dinner rotation for me as soon as the weather starts to dip below 70 degrees. It’s easy to make, incredibly filling, and the flavor is out of this world.
Let’s get started.
How to Make the Actual Best Chili Recipe
- Start with bacon! Cook until crisp, remove to a paper-towel lined plate, and reserve a bit of the grease for cooking your veggies. The flavor that develops from this step elevates a great chili recipe to the best chili recipe.
- Cook your onion and pepper until soft, add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add your ground beef, cook until mostly browned (but not all the way cooked through).
- Add all your seasonings.
- Stir well, cooking beef through.
- Add the remaining ingredients (and your bacon from step 1!), give everything a good stir, and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes and until liquid is reduced.
Tip: Make your chili even better by choosing the right toppings when you serve it! Sour cream is a must, but shredded cheddar, corn chips, sliced jalapeños, avocado, or green onions are all great choices, too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for at least 3 months.
Kind of. For best flavor, you will still need to follow steps 1-4 of the recipe as written, then you can transfer everything to the crockpot and heat it there (I don’t add the bacon back in until I’m ready to serve). Cook on low until ready to serve.
The bacon imparts an incredible flavor and is the secret ingredient that makes this chili the best chili recipe and an award winner. If you’re entering a cook-off, use it! However, you can leave it out if you absolutely must. Please see the notes in the recipe for instructions on making this chili bacon-free.
I most often use 90% lean ground beef but any percentage will work just fine (I’ve used all of them, but usually end up draining some grease if I use 80%). Ground turkey or chicken or really any ground meat will work here, but keep in mind the flavor will be slightly altered!
What Goes Well with Chili?
Obviously, bread is my chili side-dishes of choice. Because this chili is so hearty and filling on its own, a slice of cornbread makes for a sufficient side for chili.
Enjoy, and make sure to check out my other easy dinner recipes!! And make sure you let me know what you think when you try this! I love hearing about the cook-offs it wins and if you really agree that it’s the all-time BEST chili recipe!
Let’s cook together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
The Best Chili Recipe (Award Winning!)
Ingredients
- 5 strips uncooked bacon chopped¹
- 1 large yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 lb ground beef (455g) (I use 90% but any will work)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder²
- 1 Tablespoon ancho chili powder²
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoons ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper³
- 1 ¼ cup beef broth (295ml)
- 15 oz can dark red kidney beans lightly rinsed and drained (425g)
- 15 oz can black beans lightly rinsed and drained (425)
- 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes undrained (411g)
- 7- oz can fire roasted green chilis (198g)
- ¼ cup tomato paste (66g)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Preferred toppings particularly sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and corn chips
Instructions
- Place chopped (uncooked) bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until crisp and cooked through. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and drain all but 1 ½ Tablespoons of grease.5 strips uncooked bacon
- Add onion and pepper and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.1 large yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).3 cloves garlic
- Add beef, breaking apart with a spatula as you cook. Once meat is partially (about 50%) browned, add sugar and all spices (chili powders, paprika, cumin, onion powder, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper) and stir well.1 lb ground beef, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon chili powder², 1 Tablespoon ancho chili powder², 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ¾ teaspoons ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper³
- Add all remaining ingredients — beef broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, chilis, and Worcestershire sauce — and your cooked bacon and stir well.1 ¼ cup beef broth, 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, 15 oz can black beans, 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes, 7- oz can fire roasted green chilis, ¼ cup tomato paste, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Bring to a boil and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 30 minutes to allow flavor to really develop.
- Serve with preferred toppings (sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and corn chips are a must!)Preferred toppings
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared this chili recipe 10/05/2018. Post has been updated to include more notes, a video, and more helpful information 09/11/2019.
Alaina
THIS IS THE BEST CHILI EVER!!! Amazing flavor, super easy and my husband loves it!
TWall
Tonight is my 4th time making this recipe. I make one major change. I double the ingredients. This chili is that good! You will need a large Dutch oven, but only to cook it, as it disappears very very fast around my friends and family. Those that wasn’t a spicier version, may I suggest stir in’s? No need to spice up an entire pot, stir in diced peppers, hot sauces, etc but there is no need to “turn up” an entire pot. This is coming from a self proclaimed pepper head. Thank you for an amazing chili recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
What an amazing comment, thank you so much! I am so glad that the chilli has been such a hit among your friends and family. Enjoy! 🙂
Pammy
I didn’t enter this into our church chili cook-off but I should have! Several people commented how good it was and my family loved it as well. I made a few tweaks only because I didn’t have everything the recipe called for. I used chipotle in place of ancho, ketchup in place of tomato paste and I used Premium Better than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base. I also added an extra can of kidney beans. Yummy!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the Chili Recipe, Pammy! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Rick
At 70 I’ve made a lot of different pots of chili, and I had high hopes for yours. I made it yesterday and had a bowl that didn’t seem right. I followed your recipe to the letter but, rather than shoot off a quick inconsiderate appraisal, I opted for the “it’s always better the next day” motive. Well, it didn’t help. Here’s the rub; the smoked paprika was over-bearing and ruined the chili. Maybe if it were 3/4 tsp. it would make it better, and I like smoked paprika. It was just over powering. If I made this again, it would have no paprika. I’ve never been a fan of paprika in chili since it doesn’t really deserve to be with such other hot pepper flavors.
Sam
I’m sorry to hear the chili wasn’t a hit for you, Rick! Sounds like it comes down to a matter of personal taste, the paprika is one of my favorite things about the flavor (I love the smoky depth and subtle sweetness) but I do appreciate the feedback! If you do try it again without the paprika I’d love to hear what you think!
Carrie
What if I only have chicken broth?
Sam
That’ll work! I hope you love the chili!
Carrie
It came out amazing and I actually used a meatloaf mix of pork and beef. THANK YOU for this awesome recipe will definitely be making this again.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Carrie! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Chili. Thanks for giving my recipe a try! 🙂
Hayley
Oh my goodness! I LOVED this chili recipe! You are brilliant! I was looking for a delicious recipe and saw that the reviews for this one had 5 stars and had won dozens of chili cook offs! So I decided to make it for our church cook off and I won!!! Thank you so much! This recipe really is all it’s cracked up to be!
Sugar Spun Run
Congrats, Hayley, on your award-winning chili! I am so happy that you won your chili cook-off with this recipe and glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂
Lacey Ellsworth
How large is a serving size? 1 cup? 8 fluid oz? 611 seems like a lot of calories.
Sam
Hi Lacey! I haven’t measured this chili recipe in cups after making it, I will have to do it next time. The recipe makes 6 servings so the calories are for 1/6th of the recipe. I hope that helps!
Lon
I , like a lot of other people here won a chili cookoff with this recipe! It was the first time I had made this recipe and was hands down everyone’s favorite. Only thing I changed from the original recipe was a 50/50 combination of ground beef and hot Italian sausage for the meat. It probably added a little more heat but was offset by the sweet flavors that the sausage has. Thanks for the recipe. It will be my go to chili from now on.
Sugar Spun Run
That is amazing, Lon! Congrats on your win! I am so happy that you enjoyed this “award-winning” Chilli recipe! 🙂
Tim Harris
Our church group wanted to do a chili cook off and with this recipe I won. Set aside the feeling of winning, this was an easy and delicious recipe.
I had made a few alteration. I added a chopped Serrano pepper..I like it spicy. Well it was a bit much my wife said and if I wanted to win I needed to not go hot. So the second change was to counter the heat I added 2 more tablespoons of brown sugar.
This was a happy change because it made it a sweet initial bite followed by some heat. Great combo for the win.
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Sugar Spun Run
Congrats on your award-wining chili! I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the chili and that you found the recipe easy to follow. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Bea
Sam- entered my very first block party chili cook off with this recipe and almost won first place (2nd place) actually. (Only cause the neighbor who won had all his family vote for him!) My crockpot was the only one empty at the end of the party and people kept going back for seconds- thank you so much; great seasonings and the bacon put it over the top!! You’re my new baker bestie!!
Bea (chicago)
Sugar Spun Run
Bea, that is wonderful news! I am so happy that your crockpot was empty after you served this award-wining chili and that everyone enjoyed it so much. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
David
I just made this on Saturday, 9/28, doubling the recipe because we like leftovers. I must admit to omitting the beans because, very simply, my family doesn’t like beans in chili.
This was the best batch of chili I have ever made in more than 35 years of using other’s recipes and making my own!
I did not have, and could not find, Ancho Chili Powder in our local grocery store. So I used fresh Poblano pepper, washed and diced, approximately 1/4 cup. I did not add this until Step #5 of the instructions.
Served with cornbread and it was a big hit! I have already sent links to our family and friends.
Leftovers tonight! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, David. I am so happy to hear that the chili was a big hit. Glad everyone enjoyed it! 🙂
Steven
I just made this and doubled the recipe for our church Connect group tonight. Added a bit more seasoning. DELICIOUS!!! Not only the best chili I ever made but the best I have ever had. Thanks.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Steven. I am glad that you enjoyed the chili and hopefully, others did too. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment, I appreciate it! 🙂
Liz
Absolutely delicious! Rave reviews from all who tried it! Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Liz! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the chili. 🙂
Debra
I made this Saturday and it was so delicious. My husband absolutely loved it and raved about how it was “the best chili he’s ever had.” He stated the same thing yesterday when he ate some of the leftovers. ☺️
Will definitely be my go-to chili recipe from now on. Thank you, Sam!
~Debra
Sam
Thank you so much, Debra! I am so glad everyone enjoyed the chili. 🙂
Lynn Brown
I, honestly, thought doubt this is the best chili I’ve ever had & it wasn’t the “best”. However, it’s actually the best quick chili I’ve ever eaten.
I, of course, tweaked it for my family. I doubled the ingredients (except the green chilies) added fire roasted crushed tomatoes but it still needs more liquid. I left out the red peppers because I didn’t have any. I used a can of black beans, light red kidney beans, can of chili beans (lol grab the wrong one) & a can of white shoe peg corn.
Dang it was a hit. My son is worried he won’t get seconds.
Again best quick recipe I think I’ve ever eaten. Kudos
Sam
Thank you so much, Lynn! I am so glad everyone enjoyed the chili so much. 🙂