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.
Excellent! Loved this recipe so I saved it AND wrote it down 🙂 doubled everything except I completely forgot to add the beans and that was fine too. Definitely will be making this one again-thank you for sharing.
How much is a serving size?
I’m on a special diet and need to record my sodium intake. I plan to alter this recipe to lower the sodium. It will end up being 141mg per serving but I need to know the serving size in order to measure my portion. Thank you for sharing it.
Ideal recipe for classic no bs chili,my family loves it so much
My boyfriend made this for me for dinner and it was his first time making chili. (I do most of the cooking in our household but lately I have had to work different hours than normal.) When I got home tonight I was impressed by the aroma. I couldn’t wait to get into my comfy pants and dig in. It was absolutely delicious. He left out the sugar and the cayenne pepper and it was perfect for me. You can tell it’s chili but it’s not too spicy. I had him share the recipe to my phone so next time I can make some! Thanks!
Delicious. We add a can of cannellini beans and light red kidney beans.
Served guests & we all Loved this chili!!
Just made it for a large event, everyone loved it! Tripled the recipe no problem! The only change I made was adding a can of diced chili peppers per another reviewer’s recommendation. Also added some precooked (by me) steak sliced to add an “expensive” addition to the presentation. Not necessary for a successful result but it did work!
This is my go to chili recipe for the past 10 years!! Excellent. We add Fritos, Sour Cream and Finely Chopped Onion for toppings. Yummy!! When I first printed this recipe there were 454 votes! Now there are over 3000!
This has been my go-to chili recipe for quite a while now. It’s a no-fuss recipe made with great ingredients ( I usually add 2 different cans of beans/ kidney and black.) It cooks in such a short period of time and it’s DELICIOUS! Dinner on the table in under an hour. The leftovers are even better the next day or frozen and reheated at a later date. My whole family loves this!!!
The perfect balance of sweet, salted, and spicy! Loved it so much that I will make a new one after just a week so I can share it with my friends (first time I ate it all by myself). You really nailed this recipe, Amanda, thank you so much!
I love making chili and rarely use a recipe. The last few times, though didn’t turn out well. I tried your recipe for my kids that “hate chili!” and they LOVED IT! Pretty much stayed to the recipe and they said it was the best food ever. High praise! Thank you so much! This will be my go-to for chili.
Getting Chli ready for dinner. In tasting it while cooking it, I give it a thumbs up! Can’t wait to dinner. Maybe I’ll sneak some for lunch 😆 first time making this.
Delicious
Delicious! The only alteration I made was to make it vegan by using Impossible Burger and BTB no-beef base. I used just a pinch of cayenne. Came together beautifully and the final result was rich, complicated, and flavorful. I served it with homemade cornbread. Thank you so much!
I added about 2 tablespoons of honey just to make it sweater for me but in general the chilli was great!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and everyone in my family loves it and it tastes really really good i’m actually gonna make it today for lunch Thank You!!!!!
I tried this recipe it was very good, I added one green pepper 🫑 though when cooking with the onion,and top the chili with cheddar cheese, I will be making this recipe again it was very good , I also served it with chili cheddar cheese bread , thank you for the recipe I enjoyed it very much and I hope to try more recipes
It’s really good I 2x mine and my family enjoyed it I added pinto beans 🫘 and it was fine.. thanks
This is my husband’s favorite chili. We 5x the recipe every time we make it.
I want to make some with no beans for another family member. How much should I decease the spices if we don’t add the bean???
This is a great recipe delicious and my family loves. It didn’t have to change a thing about it.