The Best Classic Chili is a traditional chili recipe just like mom used to make with ground beef, beans, and a simple homemade blend of chili seasonings.
This classic chili is perfect for a weeknight meal because it can be made in minutes. The only thing to chop is an onion.
I’ve been playing around with this recipe for the past few months, making it many times. My family didn’t mind the repetition at all because I really do believe that I ended up with the best chili ever!
How To Make Homemade Chili
Note: This is a summary. The full printable recipe and step by step video are located at the bottom of this post.
- Heat olive in a large soup pot.
- Add chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef and break it apart with a wooden spoon.
- Cook for 6-7 minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne.
- Stir until well combined.
- Add diced tomatoes, kidney beans, beef broth, and tomato sauce.
- Stir well.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
What do you top chili with?
In addition to the chili ingredients listed in this recipe, you may also want to have these things as toppings.
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- sliced green onions
- saltine crackers or oyster crackers
- diced avocado
How To Store
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Or, store in the freezer for up to three months. Transfer the container to the refrigerator to thaw the day before you want to reheat it.
Pro Tip – Is It Too Spicy?
The brand of chili powder you use will have a huge difference in how spicy your chili will be. Different brands of chili powder have VERY different levels of spiciness.
I always use McCormick Chili Powder (No affiliation) because it is flavorful without being spicy.
More Great Chili Recipes
Find more of my recipes on TikTok
The Best Classic Chili Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion -diced
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder*
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper** -optional
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large soup pot and place it over medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground beef to the pot. Break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the beef is browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne. Stir until well combined.
- Add the broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), drained beans, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Bring the liquid to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat (low to medium-low) to gently simmer the chili, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Check out all of my great ground beef recipes.
Great chili recipe! I tweaked it by using only 1 tsp of sugar and 3 tablespoons of chili powder since I did not use the cayenne pepper. I will never go back to package chili mixes again! Thank you!
I used ground Turkey instead of Beef. I also did not add the sugar or salt. I added a can of White beans. It was delicious and so easy to make. Perfect!
I love this chili!!! I had a 1 1/2 lb of chili grind ground beef and made in crockpot. My gas stove is on the blink, so couldn’t brown meat, etc. just dumped all ingredients in to pot. Yum! Delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Making it tonight for game-day! I made a double batch and I am going to serve it up with some cornbread. Thanks for sharing!
This was the BEST chili I’ve ever made or had. I think it might be the beef broth, but the spices were perfect. I hate to say this, but I made one change. I doubled the recipe and added one can of red kidney beans and one can of black beans, rinsed. It was so pretty!
Excellent that’s all I can say!!!
Your chili recipe just replaced my stand by recipe. It’s excellent. Thank you so much. The only thing I didn’t add was the sugar. Just personal preference.
5 STAR! I’ve had a go-to chili recipe for about five years now. This one just replaced it. It was easy to make and the flavors are excellent. At first I thought, I’m putting a lot of chili powder and cumin in this, then I remembered that has beef broth in it too. Delicious thank you so much for this recipe. Oh I did forgo the sugar though. Just personal preference. Excellent website!
First off let me say YEEEEESSSSSS!!!! I am particular about how my food tastes..so much to where I get full blown attitudes about it…but this!!! OH…My..God!!! I followed receipt to the T and this is thee best chili I have had in my 34 years of living…thank you SO much for sharing this with us!!!
I definitely give it 5 stars and i love to hear comments from REAL FOODIES like me!!!!
Oh my goodness. This is the best homemade chili recipe I’ve come across. I’ve been searching for a from-scratch recipe since giving up all processed and canned foods. For years we’ve been just mixing in some ground beef and onions with Hormel canned chili. This homemade chili recipe tops our old standby and has now become our go-to chili recipe!
Added bonus: Leftovers are AMAZING because the flavors have had a chance to meld and develop. So, so good!
Can this be made in the slow cooker/crock pot?
My suggestion would be to follow the recipe but add everything and cook on low for 4 hours.
I halved all the spices and still found it a tough to spicy for my little people, so would go down even more on the chilli powder next time, otherwise delicious! I also used quorn mince (meat replacement) which worked well.
I agree. Also, I used brown sugar instead. Next time, I need to just use 1 teaspoon or 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder and no Cayenne. I also added a can of black beans.
I made it this week. I am very sodium conscious and used no to low salt ingredients. Except for the beef broth. Seemed too salty for me on the first night, But OK on reheats. Will make again with low sodium beef broth.
BEST EVER!!
Oh my gosh! This chili is soooooo good! I’m on my 3rd bowl lol thank u for sharing this wonderful recipe. My new “go-to” chili!!
Yummy! We all enjoyed this recipe, thank you! Only thing I would do differently next time is make more of it!
This was the most simplest, easiest recipe for Chili I ever made. The family loved it also.
Easy to make and great tasting result. Since I don’t like ground beef in the soup, I used small pieces of beef intended for fondue and kabobs. I also used Chili-Serrano pepper , removed seeds. The chili was a great social- gastronomic success.
This is seriously the best chili ever! It has just the right amount of spices. I didn’t have any tomato sauce so I added an extra can of diced tomatoes, and added an extra can of beans. Yum yum! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I’ve made many chili recipes and they were good but this one is amazing!! My husband said it was the best chili I e ever made and to make it like this all the time!! I added corn and sweet peppers.