Nothing beats the cozy comfort of a hearty bowl of chili with beans and ground beef on a cold day. This classic recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients like onions, carrots, celery, and a mix of canned beans, all simmered in a spicy tomato base. It’s the perfect dish for family dinners, game days, or casual get-togethers. Serve it with a simple side like cornbread, biscuits, or sourdough bread, and you have a crowd-pleaser!
I recently asked my Facebook community what their favorite meal was on chilly days. The most common answer was chili! It’s one of ours, too.
When I went through my recipe file to choose a chili recipe to share, I landed on one a friend gave me. She was once the cook at the year-round camp and conference center where we lived and worked for 24 years. This was the chili she called her “tried and true” recipe. It was a favorite of hundreds and hundreds of campers, and she said the bonus was that the leftovers taste just as good as, or even better than, the day you make it!
Why You’ll Love This Classic Chili Recipe
It uses simple ingredients! There’s nothing wild or crazy in this chili. Everything on the ingredient list is easy to find at your local grocery store, and you might even have most of it in your pantry already!
It’s easy to customize for your taste and heat level. The beauty of this classic is that it’s easy to adjust to your preferences. If you don’t like the beans I chose, pick your favorite kind. Taste as you go. Add less spice for a milder chili, or more if you want it spicier.
It’s warm, cozy comfort food! This warm, spicy recipe is perfect for the chilly days of fall and winter. Having a pot of chili simmering in the kitchen makes the whole house feel cozy.
It makes a big batch! This recipe makes a generous amount, so there’s plenty for leftovers. And if there are only 2 of you at home (like us empty nesters!), it freezes beautifully. I love to freeze it ahead, thaw it in the fridge overnight, and pop it in the slow cooker the next morning to simmer on low all day. It’s a wonderful make-ahead meal.
Ingredients Needed for This Chili with Ground Beef & Beans
(A printable recipe card with exact measurements is included at the bottom of this post for your convenience.)
Ground beef: I prefer lean or extra-lean ground beef. If you’d rather use ground chicken, that works too.
Fresh vegetables: Onions, celery, carrots, and red pepper are diced to add wonderful, healthy flavor to this chili. It’s a great way to use up vegetables you may have forgotten about in the produce drawer!
Fresh garlic adds extra layers of flavor.
Chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce bring the spicy heat to this recipe.
A little ketchup adds a touch of sweetness that also brings out the other flavors. It’s my husband’s “secret ingredient” for chili, and our kids love it!
Canned diced tomatoes, red kidney beans, black beans, brown beans, and canned mushrooms are added to the browned ground beef and vegetables and simmered until the flavors come together into a warm, comforting chili!
Step-by-Step Instructions for Classic Chili
- Dice all the vegetables into pieces roughly the same size (about a quarter inch). In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, brown the hamburger until it’s no longer pink. While it cooks, salt and pepper it to taste and break it up with the back of a spatula into small pieces. Once it’s cooked through, drain off the grease. Add the onions, celery, carrots, pepper, fresh garlic, and all the powdered spices. Sauté until the onions are almost translucent and the vegetables start to soften. Salt and pepper again.
- Add the diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney and black beans, and the brown beans (undrained), along with the drained canned mushrooms. Stir all the canned ingredients into the browned beef and vegetables. Stir in the hot sauce and ketchup. **Note: If you don’t like really spicy food, you may want to skip the hot sauce. Taste the chili throughout the cooking process and adjust the spices to suit your preferences.
- Bring the chili to a boil, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Then cover the pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can blend together.
How to Serve Classic Chili as a Chili Bar
Chili is a wonderful choice for a “chili bar,” with a variety of toppings and sides so everyone can pick what they like. Here are some options for sides and toppings to set out alongside a big pot of classic chili:
- Grated cheese: cheddar, Monterey Jack, or havarti are all delicious on chili
- Sour cream
- Corn chips, tortilla chips, or Fritos
- Crackers
- Cornbread, sourdough bread, buns, or baking powder biscuits with butter and honey.
- Sliced avocados
- Fresh tomatoes
- Jalapeño peppers
- Oven-baked rice
Other Chili Recipes
- White chicken chili
- Turkey pumpkin chili
- Buffalo chicken chili in the style of Rachael Ray.
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Classic Chili Recipe with Ground Beef & Beans
Nothing beats the cozy comfort of a hearty bowl of chili with beans and ground beef on a cold day. This classic recipe uses simple, wholesome ingredients like onions, carrots, celery, and a mix of canned beans, all simmered in a spicy tomato base. It’s the perfect dish for family dinners, game days, or casual get-togethers. Serve it with a simple side like cornbread, biscuits, or sourdough bread, and you have a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
Method
- Dice all the vegetables into pieces roughly the same size (about a quarter inch). In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, brown the hamburger until it’s no longer pink. While it cooks, salt and pepper it to taste and break it up with the back of a spatula into small pieces. Once it’s cooked through, drain off the grease. Add the onions, celery, carrots, pepper, fresh garlic, and all the powdered spices. Sauté until the onions are almost translucent and the vegetables start to soften. Salt and pepper again.
- Add the diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed kidney and black beans, and the brown beans (undrained), along with the drained canned mushrooms. Stir all the canned ingredients into the browned beef and vegetables. Stir in the hot sauce and ketchup. **Note: If you don’t like really spicy food, you may want to skip the hot sauce. Taste the chili throughout the cooking process and adjust the spices to suit your preferences.
- Bring the chili to a boil, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Then cover the pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can blend together.
