Warm Up with this Classic Chili Recipe with Beans and Ground Beef Recipe
Nothing beats the cozy comfort of a hearty chili with beans and ground beef on a cold day. This classic recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients like onions, carrots, celery, and a mix of canned beans simmered in a spicy tomato baseāmaking it the perfect dish for family meals, game days, or casual gatherings. Serve it up with a simple side like cornbread, biscuits or sourdough bread, and you’ve got a crowd-pleaser!
I recently asked my Facebook community what their favorite meal was for chilly days. The most common answer was chili! It’s one of ours, too.
As I went to my recipe file to choose which chili recipe to share, I landed on one given to me by a friend who was at one time the cook at the year round camp and conference center we lived and worked at for 24 years. This chili recipe was the one she called her “tried and true” one. It was the favorite of hundreds and hundreds of campers – and she said the bonus was that the leftovers taste as good or better as the day you make it!
Why Youāll Love this Classic Chili Recipe
It uses simple ingredients! – There aren’t any wild and crazy ingredients in this chili recipe. All things included in the ingredient list are things that you can find easily in your local grocery store – and possibly might even have in your pantry now!
It can be customized for your preferences and spicy heat level -The beauty of this chili recipe is that it’s a classic recipe that can be easily altered to fit your personal preference. If you don’t like the type of beans I chose to put in it, you can choose your favorite kind. Taste test as you go. Add less spice if you want a milder chili, and add more spice if you want it spiceier.
It is a warm and cozy comfort food meal! – This warm and spicy recipe is perfect for the chilly days of Fall and Winter. Having a pot of chili simmering in the kitchen makes the whole house feel more cozy.
It makes a big batch! – This recipe makes a pretty generous size batch of chili – making it good for leftovers. Or, if there are only 2 of you at home (like us empty nesters!), it freezes beautifully. I love to freeze it ahead, thaw it in the fridge overnight, and then pop it in the crock pot the next morning to simmer on low all day. It is a wonderful make ahead meal.
Ingredients Needed for this Chili with Ground Beef & Beans
(A printable recipe card with exact measurements is included at the bottom of this post for your convenience.)
Ground beef: I prefer lean or extra lean ground beef. If you want to use ground chicken instead, it will also work.
Fresh vegetables: Onions, celery, carrots, and red pepper are diced to make wonderful and healthy add-ins to this chili recipe. This is a great recipe to use up those vegetables that you might have forgotten about in your produce drawer!
Fresh garlic helps layer in extra flavor.
Chili powder, cumin and hot sauce add the spicy heat to this recipe.
A little bit of ketchup adds a touch of sweetness that also brings out the flavors. It’s my husband’s “secret ingredient” for chili that our kids love!
Canned diced tomatoes, red kidney beans, black beans, browned beans, and canned mushrooms are added to the browned ground beef and vegetables and simmered until the flavors come together to create a warm and comforting chili recipe!
Step by Step Instructions for Classic Chili
- Dice all the vegetables into dices that are roughly the same size (about a quarter of an inch). In a large stockpot or dutch oven, brown the hamburger until it is no longer pink. While it is cooking, salt and pepper it to taste and break it up with the back of a spatula so that it is in small pieces. Once it is cooked through, drain off the grease. Add in the onions, celery, carrots, pepper, fresh garlic and all the powder spices. Saute until the onions are almost transluscent and the vegetables are starting so soften. Salt and pepper again.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney beans and black beans, and brown beans (not drained), as well as the drained canned mushrooms. Stir all the canned ingredients into the browned beef and vegetables. Stir in the hot sauce and ketchup. **Note: If you do not like really spicy food, you might want to skip the hot sauce. Taste test the chili throughout the cooking process and adjust the spices to fit what you prefer.
- Bring the chili to a boil, stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Then cover the pan and turn the heat to medium low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes to allow for the flavors to blend together.
How to Serve Classic Chili as a Chili Bar
Chili is a wonderful meal to choose as a “chili bar” with a variety of toppings and sides that people can pick and choose what they would like. Here are some options for sides and toppings to include in a chili bar along side a big pot of classic chili:
- Grated cheese – Cheddar cheese, monterey jack, or havarti are all delicious options for chili
- Sour cream
- Corn chips, tortilla chips, or fritos
- Crackers
- Cornbread, sourdough bread, buns, or baking powder biscuits with butter and honey.
- Sliced avocados
- Fresh tomatoes
- Jalepeno peppers
- Oven baked rice
Other Chili Recipes
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Classic Chili Recipe with Ground Beef & Beans
Nothing beats the cozy comfort of a hearty chili with beans and ground beef on a cold day. This classic recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients like onions, carrots, celery, and a mix of canned beans simmered in a spicy tomato baseāmaking it the perfect dish for family meals, game days, or casual gatherings. Serve it up with a simple side like cornbread, biscuits or sourdough bread, and youāve got a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 cups diced onions
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped red pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 19 oz can red kidney beans
- 1 can black kidney beans
- 1 can brown beans
- 1 can sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- Dice all the vegetables into dices that are roughly the same size (about a quarter of an inch). In a large stockpot or dutch oven, brown the hamburger until it is no longer pink. While it is cooking, salt and pepper it to taste and break it up with the back of a spatula so that it is in small pieces. Once it is cooked through, drain off the grease. Add in the onions, celery, carrots, pepper, fresh garlic and all the powder spices. Saute until the onions are almost transluscent and the vegetables are starting so soften. Salt and pepper again.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney beans and black beans, and brown beans (not drained), as well as the drained canned mushrooms. Stir all the canned ingredients into the browned beef and vegetables. Stir in the hot sauce and ketchup. **Note: If you do not like really spicy food, you might want to skip the hot sauce. Taste test the chili throughout the cooking process and adjust the spices to fit what you prefer.
- Bring the chili to a boil, stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Then cover the pan and turn the heat to medium low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes to allow for the flavors to blend together.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 339Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 253mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 12gSugar: 8gProtein: 28g
We eat chili almost every Saturday night and have for years. I think my husbandās family did that. We put spaghetti in our chili. Weāre from Louisville, KY. Louisvillians say we make Cincinnati Chili. I donāt know. I just know what we like.š