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.
This recipe is so easy yet it produces the tastiest chili ever. I use the hottest chili powder i can find and no-salt tomatoes and sauce..absolutely wonderful on a cold day.thanks
Super easy. Lil salty but thats adjustable.
Excellent Chilli! I wonder if it will taste the same adding water to make more?
I’ve been searching for a great chili recipe for many years and I’ve finally found it! Thank you for a super easy and delicious recipe. I doubled it, so I was nervous about the amount of spices, but it still turned out great.
Great Basic Chili recipe! I used a mix of black beans and pinto… what i had in the pantry…came out great!
Glad i read this as i was seriously contemplating mixing in black beans
Oh my goodness!!! This is the best chili ever. My only changes were tripling it, adding no salt, and instead of sugar I used cinnamon. Thank you!!!
When you tripled the recipe, did you triple every ingredient, including the spices?
Thank you.
This is one of the best chili recipes! Very tasty and easy to make…perfect dinner for a cold, winter evening. I added a bit more sugar to sweeten it up!
This was by far the BEST chili I’ve had! My husband love it, I did use only a little cayenne pepper, and more beef! I’ll try it with a bread bowl next time!
The best chili I’ve ever made!!
Made this Chili just as written. Best Chili I have had in a very long time. My wife is not that crazy about Chili, but said that next time make it exactly like this time.
THANK YOU!!!
Ahhhhh…this is an awesome recipe. It’s the best chilli I’ve ever made.
Delicious. The hubby loved it!
This is EXCELLENT chili! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I love it!
I tried your recipe last night as it was a cold and rainy evening here in Palm Springs. It was really quite good. I did up the spicing a bit by adding more garlic powder and black pepper. I also tend to like a thicker chili, so I mixed 1 Tablespoon of flour with 2 oz. of ice cold water until smooth and then added to the pot to thicken the chili. It was perfect and paired very well with my cast iron skillet cornbread. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. It is a keeper!
Great recipe, I’ve made it three times and it never lets me down. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi I made the chili and it came out great I follow exactly how the recipe tells you except I only used one tablespoon of sugar very good love it thank you
My family loved this recipe ! Thanks for sharing
Very good and easy to make on busy week nights. I thought it was a little too salty, though. Will cut back the next time I make it.
Awesome Chili! Made it tonight and we decided to make up for a get together on Saturday night, thank you!! 🙂
I woke up to a cool, under 70° morning in Fort Myers Florida and started browning some ground beef to make this delicious chili recipe. It is perfect. I had a large can of delicious whole Italian tomatoes in a thick sauce, used fresh garlic, added a little Worcestershire sauce and then one can of black beans for extra protein and voilà! Is really a perfect recipe. For beginners and for experts.