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.
This was so yummy thanks so much for sharing another recipe to share with my friends
Making this right now. My house smells soooooo good.
Love love love this chili recipe! I will definitely make it again and like many others have done play around with it by adding more ingredients. It is a super delicious chili base!
Very easy and super good recipe. After combining ingredients and following the basics, I simmered it covered in the oven at 350 for approximately 1 1/2, stirring occasionally. It is easier than constantly watching it on the stove. Doubled it to freeze a couple meals for another day. Thank you for posting the recipe!
Tried this recipe because I didn’t have gluten free chili mix and it turned out great. It was easy and delicious. Used onion powder because one in my family can’t eat onions. Will definitely make it again.
This was good. I think I’d use less sugar next time. But overall a great recipe. Thanks!
I had a church event. Quite a few chill’s receipts were presented. It was not a chill cook off but an all day conference.Chill and corn bread were the man entrees. Out of one hundred fifty or so present for the conference, I received uncountable compliments. Older group, not hot, not too spicy and just the right thickness for scooping!!!
Highly would recommend this receipt.
Great recipe! Very accurate! Very Tasty! Thank you. Hope u have more.
Best chili yet! Next time I will try with half sugar and half salt.(Only because i think i forgot the salt and added 1/4 tspn.) My lips are burning but not my stomach! I added the cayenne pepper. So good!
Reminds me of my dad’s chili! Everyone loved his chili. I used a clove of garlic instead of garlic powder.
My favorite chilli recipe! Thanks so much!
Excellent, next time no salt no sugar
The sugar cuts the acidity and makes the flavor more mellow but still spicy. It’s an old Itaiian grandma’s trick – or so i am told. I liked to add diced tricolor peppers and corn. An extra can of diced tomatoes and a full can of paste, instead of sauce. Plus some spiced sausage, in addition to the beet. All good.
Yes, I concur. I doubled the tomatoes, kidney beans, added black beans, sauce, used water instead of broth and added more of the spices to feed x amount of people.
This is a excellent recipe. I used ground turkey instead. Turned out very good. I also addd sliced mushrooms.
Making a vegan version of this using tofu instead of beef, it smells so amazing!
We loved the taste of this except that it was too salty. Next time I will use low-salt tomato sauce, tomato paste and tomatoes along with low-salt beef broth and leave out the 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
OMG😍 The best I ever had!!!!
I have tried probably over 70 chili recipes in my 60 years of life. The only one I’ve ever liked was the one my mom used to make with Johnson’s Brick Chili. You can’t find that anymore in MO or KS, unless you want to pay 40 bucks to have 6 bricks of it shipped. So tried this recipe tonight, as it had lots of reviews and almost 5 stars. I FINALLY FOUND THE RECIPE CLOSE TO WHAT MY MOM MADE!!! This REALLY is the BEST CHILI I’ve tasted since I was a kid! And it is SO SIMPLE and INEXPENSIVE! Cinnamon rolls are in the oven, and I am feeling like I am 12 years old again! YUM! (It may sound like a lot of chili, cumin and garlic powder, and I am the first to hate spicy foods! But this is not too spicy for me, and is the perfect blend of spices! Tastes almost as good as Runza’s back in Nebraska!😋
This is the second time I’ve tried making chili, and I realize the reason I didn’t like the first one was that it didn’t call for cumin. It just didn’t taste right. This one is excellent! I couldn’t find ground cayenne pepper or beef stock where I live so I put in a couple of chopped jalapeno peppers and some beef stock made with boullion cubes. My search for the perfect chile recipe is over.
I made this for the first time ever making chili and it was the best…..
I was craving chili so I Googled a recipe Came Upon This one. I used a pound of beef and a pound of turkey meat and I use red onions instead of white. I did not have any chili powder so I added smoked paprika and turmeric. I did not have tomato paste. I added the pepper and the garlic powder. Omitting the sugar and the salt. Added the rinsed beans which were also low sodium. right now it’s simmering for the 20-25 minutes I tasted it it tastes delicious now I just have to make the cornbread. I cannot wait to eat this!! thanks for the quick recipe this is a keeper!!
Love this recipe. We just omit the sugar-tastes better to us.