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.
Sooo good! I was a little wary about all the spices, but I went for it and added them all. It made an amazing chilli “sauce.” I used T-bone steak meat and pinto beans. Served with cheese, sour cream, and Krusteaz honey corn bread. Best meal I’ve had in ages.
Great basic recipe! I doubled the batch and made a few moderations. Personally I added green peppers, red peppers, pinto beans, corn, and used light and dark kidney beans. I also used ground turkey instead of beef. It turned out amazing!
I know that’s a lot of modifications, but if we are looking at being stuck inside for a few months I wanted to make sure we had variety and vegetables. I love love love the seasoning combination, though and can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe!!
So delicious! I subbed cooked up dried Scarlet Runner beans that I grew and some frozen tomato sauce and added corn leftover from the summer harvest…I love the liberal spices (although I also reduced the cumin a titch)! So flavorful!!!
This chili great, really good flavor, I will be making it again. Next time I’ll try using sirloin or chuck roast, I plan to add 60+ minutes to the simmer to make sure the meat is tender, adding extra beef broth as needed to compensate for boil off. I’m expecting more intense flavor!
This was so good! It was also so easy to make. Came together so much faster than most chili recipes. Normally when I make chili, I follow the recipe exactly and then taste it and have to tweak the heck out of it because it falls flat. That was not the case with this recipe! The spices and flavor were perfect as written. The only thing I did differently was add a diced green bell pepper. My husband also gave it a rave review. He said “this is OUTSTANDING!!
Great base recipe. I use it all the time and sub out things depending on how I want it to taste. My best one so far is probably:
Substitute beef broth for beef bone broth (adds a deeper beef flavor)
Half a can of diced tomatoes
A can of hot Rotel
A teaspoon of cinnamon
Substitute the sugar for turbinado sugar
If you prefer even spicier I add anywhere from a half tablespoon to a full tablespoon of cayenne
Thank you for sharing this with everyone!
This is the best Chili that I have made in a long time. The flavor was great, even my picky grand son gobbled it up. I added elbow macaroni and it was sooo good. Will be making this Chili again very soon. Thanks for the recipe, it is a keeper.
This is awesome chili! I followed the instructions to the t. Thank you
Very good recipe, I sub Ground turkey and chicken bouillon, add 2 cans of tomatoes and 2-3 different beans just cause I like lots of tomatoes and beans. I also add a dash of cinnamon. This recipe is bomb!
This is the best chili recipe I’ve ever come across! We’ve had it twice in 2 weeks!
I made this and my friend who is not super fond of chili loved it. All seven of us loved it. we added a little cayenne, some Signature blend tex mex seasoning and a little bit if a home made sweet habanero hot sauce. I do not like hot spicy food but this chili was awesome
MM yes very delicious it is good but can i freeze it? And for how long?
I made this to freeze for the same reason! It can be frozen for a couple of months. I would put it into tight ziploc bags and flatten them so it doesn’t take up too much space and also you can extend it’s life in the freezer. Be safe!
I had to make this with ground pork because my grocery store had no hamburger due to the corona virus. Still tasted great! Next time I may cut back on chili powder because a little spicy.
Best chili ever!
Perhaps my palate is off, but I think I will omit the sugar next time. I only added a pinch of the cayenne pepper, but it was too spicy and too sweet for my family. That said, it is a pretty good chili recipe. All the right elements are there, I just need to alter the recipe a bit for my family.
I wanted an easy, flavorful chili. I found it!! Super simple and it was fantastic. My only complaint is I didn’t have enough leftover. I will be doubling the recipe next time.
Best chili I have ever tasted. I increased the meat a bit.
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. Very flavorful. I mixed in some elbow macaroni and cheddar cheese. Amazing!
Can you make it with something other than olive oil
Use a higher fat content meat and just drain off the fat.
I cooked my hamburger first and then drained it. I cooked my onions in what was left of the coating of hamburger grease left in pan, worked gine
So yummy! I made a few changes only because I forgot to buy several ingredients and had to substitute what I had on hand. Chicken broth instead of beef, diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies instead of plain. It came out beautifully! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Needed a nice base recipe with which to play around. Once it was simmering, I didn’t change it at all. Wonderful (and easy!).
I first made this identical to the listed ingredients in the recipe. However, I discovered halfway through the recipe that I do not like a lot of cumin. I had already added it and it had altered the taste of the chili to something I didn’t like at all. So, I ended up taking out as much liquid as possible, adding another can of tomatoes, adding the juice of a lemon wedge, and a couple pinches of nutmeg (this apparently is a very good trick for too much cumin). I still felt that the recipe was not balanced so I added another pound of hamburger and another can of beans. I let it cook and the dish’s cumin was more muted this time. I’ve used cumin in the past but in very small quantities so I had no idea that I really didn’t like this spice. But, after researching I learned it’s in a lot of dishes that I don’t like (ex. Curry). I gave it four stars because it’s probably my tastebuds that are off.
Layla, I also don’t like cumin at all! I thought I was the only one, lol. I leave it out of everything. Your fix was great idea. Stay well!!
Wow! What a wonderful chili!
My family loved it. I loved it, and saved the recipe to make it again and again.
I use crashed tomatoes with basil, the whole 24 oz.(didn’t have diced tomatoes nor tomatoes puree) and use 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar
I made it yesterday, today I gave a bowl of this chili to my friend and this was her comment ” Bad news: the chili is gone!
Good news: it was yummy!!
I was very happy of her comment, she can’t eat very spicy food, this chili is the best one ever that I have eaten.
Thanks to you and to your mom!!