Great chili recipes should meet a handful of requirements: They must be relatively forgiving, improve with slow cooking, and be welcoming to your favorite toppings. This easy recipe, which won a 2006 reader poll in honor of our 50th anniversary, meets all of those criteria.
Use canned beans and boxed stock to keep things extra simple, but look for low-sodium versions to keep the saltiness in check. For the meat, go with ground chuck, which is 80% lean ground beef and 20% fat. Other than that, this homemade chili recipe is flexible. Running low on one of the dried herbs? Use more of the others. Like a hint of smoke? Add chipotle chiles or some smoked paprika. Want more heat? Stir in a bit of cayenne pepper.
While many chili recipes call for slow cookers or Instant Pots, we prefer a stovetop. But if you’re serving it for a game day, that’s when any device with a “keep warm” setting comes into play. Make space on the table for a spread of chili toppings like sour cream and cheddar cheese; fresh veggies like diced tomatoes, bell peppers, and green onions; tortilla chips; and hot sauce. For a full weeknight meal, serve it with buttermilk cornbread or sweet potato wedges and a salad.
Ground beef chili not your thing? Find what you’re after with our recipes for ground turkey chili with white beans, stew beef chili with a homemade dried chile purée, or white chicken chili.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 35 minutes
Yield
8–10 Servings
Ingredients
2
1½
8
3
5
1
1
½
½
1
1¾
1
1
1
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chuck and sauté until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano and thyme. Stir 2 minutes. Mix in crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, beer and tomato paste. Simmer until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Mix in beans. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Do Ahead: Chili can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cool, then cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat before serving.
Editor's note: This recipe was originally printed in our December 1995 issue. Head this way for more of our best Super Bowl recipes →