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.
Really simple, quick to prepare recipe. I topped it with shredded cheese and served with rice. Maybe next time I’ll add in a can of corn to change! Thank you for this easy recipe, it was a delight.
A quick and delicious chili with just the right amount of zip with the cayenne added.
This is now my favorite chili recipe!! I will be making this for company!!
I used ground chorizo instead of beef, and added one chopped hatch green chili pepper. Yummy!
Waaaay too spicy. I can handle spicy food but the two and a half table spoons push it beyond what I’d consider pleasant.
Made this today it was amazing! I didn’t have tomato paste but it didn’t need it. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!
Just made it tonight, I didn’t put in all the chilli powder, but I will add more in next time. But it was way too sweet! Even my youngest who like sweet stuff said it was too sweet. chilli should not be sweet! so next time, more chilli, no sugar, but I might add a square of dark chocolate. The rest of the spice mix was perfect and the smell right and the consistency great. Just no sugar!
Also, you might want to add the beans very late in the cooking time, not at the beginning, they will open up and get mushy if added to early.
I will keep this recipe for chilli, but with alterations.
Very good….I always top my chili with some shredded cheddar cheese which made this recipe even yummier.
My whole family loved it, but we had to make a major change: My husband is allergic to meat(thanks to a tick), so we used 1 lb ground chicken. We put it over elbow macaroni. It was delicious! I have leftovers, and going to put some sour cream and cheese on it, for lunch!
So delicious that I made a second batch shortly after my family finished the first batch.
This is taco filling, not chili.
I made chili for the first time and used this recipe. Delighted with the result. Easy and quick. The only wrinkle I made was to add some stout with the beef broth
Thanks for the great and easy recipe. I used only 1 tbsp of Cumin, and was fine.
I followed the recipe, except for substituting black beans for the kidney beans (only because I didn’t have any). Super easy, but delicious! Will definitely cook again.
great with some cayenne.
Outstanding chili for what I like! And in accord with my personal culinary style: simple peasant fare… I was a chili judge, and this beats all the ones I have had to taste!
I made it with 32 oz bottle/can of tomato juice (I prefer Campbell’s) rather than with the tomato paste, beef broth and tomato sauce. But then, I’ve always used tomato juice as the base in my chili (out of curiosity, I may try it with the beef broth, etc. one of these times). I simmer for nearly 2 hours so that the liquid cooks down and thickens up (also, I don’t drain the beans, but add less salt). Love this recipe, as did my husband.
Many recipes, including this one, dont tell you to add the spices along with the onions and oil in the beginning. This is such an important step- cooking your spices in the oil allows them to open up and develop a richer flavor. Also the tomatoes should be added soon after and allowed to cook for some time without all the extra liquid- it helps take away from the metallic flavor they acquire from being canned. This recipe seems solid besides those missing tips.
My husband and I did not care for this recipe. The cumin was very overpowering. Normally, I’m a fan of cumin but 2 tablespoons was a lot for this amount of soup.
I tried this chili recipe today, all I can say is YUMMY! It was so delicious. My family really enjoyed it. I bookmarked this recipe to use it in the future!
Very good recipe, but it does not need the sugar suggested. I’d go one quarter the amount in this recipe unless you want a decidedly sweet chili.
Agreed!
SO glad I make a habit of skimming the comment section of a recipe before trying it for the first time because your advice is super useful – we wouldn’t have wanted our chili particularly sweet but since I haven’t made chili from scratch before, I wouldn’t have known any better. So thank you very much for the heads-up – just thought you’d like to know your comment saved someone a little heartache haha.