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.
So easy and fast. My family loves this dish. Maybe no cayenne cause this dish is spicy! Really burns the calories
Made this about 3 weeks ago and I love this recipe!!! I doubled the recipe but left out the beans bc my hubby doesn’t care for them and I added 1 can of Rotel tomatoes. I added and bloomed the spices after the onion was almost done cooking. I love to cook for others and it is really snowy and cold here (perfect chili weather). When I told hubby I was making chili he specifically asked if I was ‘making the one I made last time”. He was extremely happy!!! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
First time making chili! My hubby loves chili on hot dog buns topped with fresh jalapeño slices, it was a great turn out. Store was out of kidney beans so we used pinto instead and it came out delicious.
My family and I absolutely loved the chili. I did play around with the ingredients a little but not much and I also added a heck of alot more of the ingredients because I have a big family. This was the first time that I ever made chili and I was impressed by how good it came out. Thank you for the recipe
This continues to be my favorite chili recipe. Any time I make it and share it with friends, they want the recipe. Thank you for this amazing blog post!
Excellent recipe used Rotelle tomatoes and added chopped garlic as well as garlic powder
My family and I love this recipe I made it one day and ever since that day chili has been part of our weekly meal. So good!!
We ♥️ this recipe and the amount of spices is wonderful. We always look forward to eating it day #2 even more!
This recipe was so easy to make and it was delish!! I added tbe red chili and gave me a bang I needed. I look forward to making this again.
I made this last week. My husband and I both loved it. He said, I think this is the best chili that you have ever made. I didn’t have tomato sauce so I just added a half a can of minced tomatoes in lieu. I also added a couple of chilis in adobo sauce. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Sprinkle cheese over the top………everybody’s happy!
PS I cooked it in Instant Pot. I leave the tomatoes on the top of the chili until it’s done cooking.. then I stir them in so that they don’t set off the burn warning.
Not really that much of a spice guy, so we substitute the cayenne for 1 teaspoon of chili flakes. Tastes good either way.
I just made this chilli and loved it. I did omit the sugar and only one half tsp. of cumin. It was so delicious 😋 Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! I added a pinch of smoked paprika & used tomato powder instead of paste. Added fresh parsley at the end.
While it was simmering I whipped up some simple cornbread.
Love your recipe & will make it again <3 thank you so much for sharing!!
We made this the other night minus the cumin as we found we didn’t have any.. It was a hit!! Great flavor!! We’ll definitely be making it again 😉
I used this simply good chili recipe as the base for a few improvosations. I added Nibblets Corn, Bush’s Fiesta Black Beans and double the ground beef. Yum!
Absolutely Delicious! I slow cooked mine in a crock all day, I added red and green diced bell peppers, 1 tbsp of onion powder, used 2 different kinds of beans..northern white and small red, I also used 3 lrg fresh diced tomatoes. After making this I figured out where I went wrong making chili in the past, I never added cumin but most of all ..I didn’t use this recipe!!!! Thank you!
So good! I will reduce the sugar by half next time though.
Definitely the best chili recipe I have made. I will use this recipe from now on! Finally, a great recipe!!!
Very good old-fashioned chili recipe.
Excellent recipe. I had to make a few changes based on what I had in the cupboard…I used small cubes of beef and brown instead of white sugar. And I puréed my pinto beans because I like the creaminess it adds to chili. Fantastic! I found the spices combo to be perfect.