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.
Amazing chili! First time making chili from scratch and absolutely delicious! Ate it for 3 days straight! 🙂
This chili was the best! And no heart burn!
I’ll definitely be making this again. Yummy!
FYI – I used California Ground Chili Peppers, which is what I had on hand, instead of chili powder & it tasted great 👍
Delish!
Absolutely delicious 😋
serve with cup of white rice and side of crackers. sour
cream as side optional.
Amazing
I’m not sure exactly what made this recipe so much better than others I’ve tried, but wow, it was delicious and was ready in half the time of others!! I used the season end of green pepper from my garden (about 1/2 cup) and fresh garlic but otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly. I bet it will be even better for tomorrow’s dinner! Thanks so much, it’s definitely a keeper.
Incredible Chili recipe! I opted for the larger can of Tomatoes, added 1/2 a green bell pepper and real garlic and a dash of Worcestershire at the end. SO GOOD!!
This was really a good chili well deserving of all the five stars it has received and as usual, I put my own spin on It by adding a few more spices like Smoked Paprika, Basil, and a can of black beans to accompany the red Kidney beans.
Very delicious!!
Excellent! I modified a little by adding 2 med cloves garlic (instead of powder), 1/2 c celery (with leafy tops) and about 1/4 c each of red, yellow, orange and jalapeño peppers all at a med chop. I also used crushed tomatoes instead of diced and omitted the tomato sauce. I thought the amount of spice and even the sugar would be too much but it wasn’t – it was perfect! Thank you for this great recipe!
Chili was great! I did everything by the recipe except the broth- didn’t have any. So I added an extra two jars of tomato sauce. Because It was a little sour from the tomato sauce I added a bit more sugar to balance everything but the recipe was delicious definitely a keeper!
This is the best Chili ever. My whole family loves it. It is the star of our Halloween party every year.
Great recipe. If you really want to give it that special something, replace the sugar with Cinnamon Sugar or add ground Cinnamon… mmmmmmm… so good.
I made it as is but also put in a sliced jalapeño along with the onions. Perfect over a baked potato, with some corn chips or in a bowl with cheddar cheese and some sour cream! Delicious!
Delicious. I add a a half of diced bell pepper with the onion. Perfect!
Going to try next week
What do I need to substitute with if I leave out the diced tomatoes? Can I just use another can of tomato sauce? Thanks!
My friend said it was perfect!
this recipe is a masterpiece. my partner claims that this chili is what made him fall in love with me lol. ❤️ only thing I added was a tablespoon maybe of onion powder and sometimes I’ll cook half a jalapeno with the beef and onion. but totally not necessary, just personal preference. I don’t even eat chili, but I think this is awesome stuff. thanks!
Love this recipe!! This time I used ground turkey and I like it even better!
Truly the best chili recipe I have made to date. My hubby really enjoyed it as well!
I won a chili cook-off with this recipe! Excellent recipe and very easy directions. Thank you for sharing!
VERY Tasty Chili! I made this recipe tonight, and the only thing I would change is I would do 1Tbsp of sugar instead of 2, but otherwise, the flavor is amazing! So glad I found this recipe.