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 and easy chili recipe. Will be a chili go to recipe!
Haven’t served this yet, but as it simmers, we can hardly wait for that first bite. Ok, I admit it, I have been taste testing it along the way. So easy to put together. All the ingredients I needed are in my pantry (aside from the ground beef, of course!) Will make this many times over during this cold season.
I have made chili before and it was nothing like this!! I absolutely love it. I wanted to test the waters so I put a little beef sausage in it and it’s out of this world! My kids keep sneaking to get more! Best recipe, hands down!
This recipe was just as I had hoped for….a delicious classic chili recipe!
This was a delicious simple recipe! I put it together quickly and easily. I didn’t use sugar (watching carbs) or the tomato paste. I let it cook down a little longer to thicken up. Adding the cheese and stirring in also helped to bind it all together.
I made it without the can of tomatoes as my husband doesn’t like them. I added red bell pepper with the onion. We both felt that it was very sweet. Could the changes I made impacted the sweetness? Also used turkey meat instead.
My husband put less than half the sugar in this dish and it was still too sweet. I like the spices, but the sugar ruined the entire bstch!
Great spice combination and balanced amount of tomato in the recipe. I did 2 modifications – first: 1.5 cups of dark beer with 3 beef boullion cubes instead of 1.5 cups of beef broth. Second I added 1 tbsp cocoa powder. The flavor was rich and hearty. I will definitely make again!
I made 2 separate pots of this tonight. One with beans and one without. This recipe is awesome! Everyone loved it! I will definitely make again. Just double the recipe right from the start, doesnt make enough.
Omg it was great except I added ground
Pork and some chicken wings it was so awesome my family devoured it and I made a double batch.
This is the BEST Chili recipe I have ever made! Family raved! Thank you for sharing!
This chili recipe was easy to follow and it was delicious. Since I don’t eat beef I substituted with ground turkey and chicken broth. I doubled the recipe and it made a full pot.
Really fast and easy but way too much sugar, and not enough salt. This may just be a taste thing but I found it to be very sweet, and I had to add more salt. Next time I make this I’ll probably cut the sugar down to half a tablespoon or 1 tablespoon. Maybe 2 whole tablespoons would be necessary if your tomatoes are extremely acidic though.
The sugar and beef broth ruined the chili taste this is not a five star recipe sorry wanted to try something different just didn’t work for me
Tripled the recipe;
used Italian style diced tomatoes (added seasonings);
also added chopped carrots (1#), celery (6 stalks), & green pepper (4 peppers) to the onions.
Omitted the sugar, & cayenne pepper.
WONDERFULLY DELICIOUS!
Cheese, sour cream, green onions, & shredded Mexican blend cheeses as topping offerings;
and cornbread – all as suggested!
Many Thanks!
Absolutely perfect as written!! Thank you forsharing your recipe!
Was nostalgic for my mother’s chili recipe but did not have it written down. This is a replica. My husband had to have two sample custard cups full just to “make sure” it was to his liking. The recipe exceeded my expectation. I added one finely diced stalk of celery 3 minutes in to softening the onion and a tiny piece of dark chocolate with the liquid containing ingredients to mellow the flavors. Next time I will have homemade cornbread to eat with the chili.
Great except I would just take the amount of salt down. I also drained the beef and used only half of the liquid in the diced tomatoes, but I don’t like my chili as soupy. Thank you for sharing!!
I just made this chili and it was probably one of the best chili’s I’ve made! I added chopped bell pepper, zucchini, 1 can of corn, several cloves of minced garlic, and 1 chopped Serrano pepper (cuz i love spicy chili). I also subbed ground turkey for the beef, and topped with plain Greek yogurt and sliced avocado! 10/10 would recommend 🙂
Made this tonight!!! IT’S A WINNER!!! SO TASTY. We like spicy, added a jalapeno and Serrano (seeds out) but other than that didn’t sway from this amazing recipe, oops I lied, lol, We aren’t kidney bean fans. Used Pinto, black and garbanzo. THANKS FOR SHARING!!! HUGE HIT!