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.
am making this now.i added green pepper, more onions, fresh garlic with the powder, more cumin, lots of chili powder, celery. actually I just needed a base recipe & went from there, tasting and so far, pretty good. it may take a bit longer to make, but I’m ok with that.
Exceptionally good. Honestly I held out in tomato paste and added ketchup. Made it extremely good.
it was so good. i tweaked the recipe slightly; didn’t use any sugar, used no salt added tomato paste and sauce, did 2 tablespoons of garlic powder instead of 1, used a whole 15oz can of beef broth instead of cup akd a half, and i added large elbow macaroni noodles. best chili i ever had. next time i plan to add Worcestershire sauce
I just made this and had to have done something wrong. The flavor is good, but my mouth is absolutely on fire. I didn’t add any cayenne and ended up adding an extra can of tomatoes, a can of V8 juice, extra tomato paste and some sugar (I didn’t add any initially) to try to soak up some of the heat, but it did nothing. Should it be 2 tsp of cumin rather than 2 tablespoons?
The heat probably came from the chili powder you used. Many chili powders have a mixture of ingredients and/or they use hotter chilis. I use Gebhardt’s chili powder which has no heat at all and contains nothing but powdered chili because I have family members who cannot tolerate any heat at all. That way I can separate portions for those who can’t tolerate heat and then add cayenne pepper for the rest of us. Look for Gebhardt’s chili in the spice section. I think you’ll be very happy with the taste. I won’t use anything else but that product when a recipe calls for chili powder.
Great chilli and quick to make. Served over rice and it was delicious .
Although the recipe is great, the time to prepare the recipe is not accurate. If you add up the cooking times listed in the instructions, just the actual cook time is 39 minutes. Then you need time to chop the onion and measure/add the other 13 ingredients. And you must let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. The total time is OVER 1 HOUR.
I have been making chili forever, and I thought this was a great basic recipe. Did not add the sugar, and I personally thought it was a bit salty, so I used water instead of beef broth (and only 1 cup as I don’t like my chili too soupy.) Added a chopped green pepper and doubled the beans. Delicious!
Thanks Amanda!
It’s salty, that’s why you add the sugar 😉
Finally!! A flavorful chili that is quick, easy, and delicious, and that doesn’t skimp on the seasonings!
I was short on time and the kids were coming to dinner, requesting chili. Anyone who knows me knows that chili, to me, is a sort of art form. No two batches of my chili are ever the same. I load it with whatever veggies I have on hand and have experimented with coffee, pumpkin, beer, honey, and a myriad of other flavorful things over the years.
But I didn’t have time, or the ingredients, for all that fancy stuff today, this impromptu staycation at a rental house in the Blue Ridge Mountains. So I googled “easy chili” and this was the first one to come up. Didn’t have any sugar and figured it would be okay without, and then, like a beacon in the night, I spied the jar of honey I’d brought to make my grandtwins the grilled peanut butter/marshmellow/honey/banana sandwiches they love.
Holy cow…I had this chili simmering within 15 minutes and it. Is. So. Good. I’m not even hungry, and I can’t stop sampling spoonfuls of it.
Thanks for this amazing recipe that taught me I don’t need a whole weekend to agonize over perfecting my chili…it can now be a weeknight staple.
My tweaks: added fresh garlic and a green pepper to the oil and onion.
Added a can of corn in with the beans and rinsed them all together.
Spices: as written, but went generous on the amounts (heaping chili powder, cumin was almost empty and had just a little over 2 T, so it all went in, hefty amount of cayenne, and powdered garlic in addition to the fresh.)
Didn’t have tomato sauce, so used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes AND the beef broth.
This made my chili the perfect consistency for us, given that I added a whole green pepper and can of corn. We like it somewhere between soupy and so thick it seems no liquids were used in the making of this chili. Lol. We like to sop up the stewy juices with honey cornbread for max yum.
Reading through the previous reviews, and reviews of other recipes in general, it never ceases to amaze me how some people just absolutely lack any sort of creativity in the kitchen. Lol. “It was too thick,” or “it was too soupy… ” so, did you like the taste otherwise? If you’re cooking it and it seems too thick, add more liquid! More beef broth, or crushed tomatoes, or even water! If it’s too soupy for you, thicken it up with a little extra tomato paste or some pumpkin or even more meat, beans, or veggies. Too sweet? Don’t add the sugar! You don’t eat meat? Use veggie crumbles or just add more veggies and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth! It’s not rocket science, folks!!!
Anyway, thanks for the great quick and easy recipe…I see a lot more spontaneous chili nights in our future!
Thx for the awesome feedback! Adore your energy! Shine on…
I would love to see the recipe of those grilled pb, honey, marshmallow, banana sandwiches!
They sound absolutely incredible!
My husband and I are foodies all the way. We’ve tried several chili recipes, and so far—this is the winner!!! 🙌 Its also the least involved as far as prep time etc., and the ingredients list isn’t huge. Furthermore, it’s awesome that you can used so much canned stuff (generally stuff we have in hand) to make something so yummy! I’m excited that fall is nearly upon us again so I can start making this chili again for this year! We made it several times last year. 👌
Thanks Holly Black. What are the odds 🤣
Very good, quick to make too. I changed a few things. I cut out the sugar. (Hate sweet tomato sauces) cut down the cumin to 1 Tbs, cut the salt to 1/2 Tsp and used Swanson’s 50% beef broth, used Hunts diced fire roasted tomatoes, also I added one stalk of celery diced and 1/2 of a green pepper diced and sautéed along with the onion. Served with Fritos of course. . Will make again and again.
So you really didnt use their recipue at all then. You just made your own.
You’ve changed the entire recipe?? Just write your pun and put it on your page. When you change 8-10 things in a recipe it’s not that recipe anymore, what a joke. I get so sick of seeing people saying “I changed a couple of things” and write their own recipe.
It officially changed from chili when you added celery. It’s not that I don’t like celery, okay yes it is.
Yes! This is delicious!
You can’t go wrong in with this recipe, it’s the best homemade chili ever, I know this because my husband is a picky eater and he can’t get enough of it. So, thank you wholesome dish!
I made this Chili today using Ground Chuck and Chicken Broth. It was delicious! And fast! My husband said the best he’d ever eaten and I agree!!
This is so good!!! Makes me think of my mom’s chili
A little too much broth and sugar. Not enough chili powder. Kind of tasted like Tomato soup with beans and beef. I gave four stars because its an easy recipe and I easily adjusted to suit my tastes. Anyone can adjust to their liking.
Well done.
This recipe is fantastic! I make it all the time. I love the added bit of sweetness that the sugar gives.
I use lean ground turkey instead of beef to cut down on some calories, I don’t think it takes away from the flavor, I don’t sub the beef broth though, I did once and I believe it affected the flavor.
Just made this today and so glad I doubled it. It is deeeeelicious. Perfectly seasoned. I used Morningstar Grillers “beef” crumbles instead of meat and it is still 5 star. Will be my go to chili recipe from now on.
I absolutely love this chili. I just now have to figure out whether or not this is a chili that can be canned. I believe if I process it for an hour and 15 minutes in my pressure cooker that it should be okay. What are your thoughts on that?
Absolutely the best chili that I have ever eaten. And I have eaten a lot of Chili so far in my 81 years on this planet. Calling the recipe “The Best Classic Chili Recipe” is not an exaggeration, it is a fact. A perfect blend of ingredients and spices. I find that adding such a small amount of the Cayenne pepper does not overwhelm you with too much heat, so I would say definitely add the Cayenne. Had it for dinner last night and I am looking forward to having it for my lunch. A big YUM for me. Only problem that I have is you don’t have enough stars for rating it.
Made this tonight. It’s a bit sweet and you definitely want to add another can of beans! The spice blend is good tho.
Wow, This was actually REALLY GOOD! Sometimes I’ll swap out the chili powder for curry powder and it’s always a hit no matter which way!
Can I substitute the beef broth for vegetable broth or what do you recommend?
THE best chilli recipe ever!! I add whole canned mushrooms and that fancy canned corn with all the colours. Poit is you can add anything to this base and it will be mar!
Amazing easy to make and tastes sooooo yummy