The Best Chili Recipe
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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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.
I won 1st place with this chili contest at our church today! Everyone loved it!!!
Yay! Congrats, Vicki! Thanks for using our recipe 🥳
The BEST chili I have ever made! I used all the ingredients in the amounts listed, except I used a seeded Poblano instead of bell pepper. Wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve always been afraid to add sugar to chili but that was a game changer! The first chili I ever ate that didn’t sit in my stomach for a day! The spices were wonderful! My fussy cousin who lived in the Southwest for over 20 years raved about the taste! Nothing is ever authentic enough for her when it comes to Tex Mex cuisine 🤦🏻♀️ Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
So glad it was a hit for both of you! Thanks for the review, Anne 🩷
I’ve made this several times now and it is always a hit.thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe!!!! I’ve tripled it without changing a thing and it always is a star!!!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for the sweet review! 🥰
I won a free weekend of camping thanks to this recipe!! Thank you!!
That is awesome! Congrats, Kathy 🥳
Made this recipe a dozen times, it does bring the heat so hold back a bit if you don’t like it hot.
Also consider using Northern beans instead of Kidney beans.
This was the best chili I’ve made yet. I did cook the meat separate so I could drain the fat, and went 1.5 pounds on the meat as I like a meaty chili. Soo good! Printing so I can make again and again.
Is there a way to do this in the crockpot?
Hi Bridget! It could be kept warm in the crockpot, but there are many different steps that don’t make it conducive to making in a crock pot. 🙁
Cook the bacon and keep it for the end. When plates are ready to serve, you add the crumbled bacon into each bowl, they’ll remain crispier this way than if you dump them during the whole cooking process.
Can you make this the night before an event? If so, refrigerate or leave in a crockpot on warm.
Hi Monica! I would recommend refrigerating it overnight. You can put it back in the crock pot the next day to warm it up if you’d like. 🙂
Shouldn’t you drain the beef after cooking? Thats a lot of fat with the bacon grease too
I don’t, if you’re using a very fatty beef (80%) you may need to.
it took me hours to do this recipe and 90 bucks to buy all the stuff. x3 ingredient amount. it tastes yummy. I accidentally put too much black pepper tho. im new to cooking
Hi Courtney! This is honestly quite shocking to hear. Are you sure something wasn’t accidentally mis-measured? Did you make any substitutions? I can barely get my kids to eat anything and they eat this without any problems, even being very sensitive to spicy things, I wouldn’t call it spicy at all. Let me know your thoughts, I’ve actually never received such a negative review on this chili in its entire history (it’s actually won hundreds of cookoffs). 🙁
This has to be a troll post. This chili is really good
Can I replace ground beef with ground turkey?
Sure thing! 🙂
This recipe is easy to follow, quick to make, and utterly delicious. Much better than any other one I’ve tried making!
If I omit the beans and double the ground beef, would I need to double the seasonings?
Thank you!
Hi Dani! I haven’t personally tried it so I can’t say for sure how to alter the spices.
I use this recipe for chili every time I make it! Best chili recipe ever!
This is my second time making this Chili recipe. It is so delish 😀
Literally, won a chili cook-off last year with this recipe. Outstanding!!
Came back around this year to find/use again. Thanks so much for all of your soup recipes—all uniquely wonderful and tried and true!
The best recipe for chili! So easy, no need to make it hours in advance, and it’s so delicious even without the bacon. I make this weekly!!!