Chili with Beans

Easy One Pot Chili with Beans is a quick and hearty dish perfect for fall and winter dinners. This is an easy recipe that is great to feed a crowd or make once and eat it two or three times. We will eat it the night I make it, freeze a couple of servings for the next week, and eat it as leftovers later in the week.

It comes together very quickly and then cooks for about 15 minutes. When I was putting this recipe together I thought about using dry beans, but to be honest, I have never used dry beans and I find that the canned beans make this recipe easy. I drain them and rinse them really good to get some of the sodium out.

I also thought about the people that would be making this (you, the readers) and I thought you would prefer an easier and faster version.

Ingredients:

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredient Notes:

Ground Beef – we use extra lean meat, 93/7. If using a fattier ground beef drain excess fat off after browning.

Bell Pepper – the best chili recipes include this.

Yellow Onion – we try to find one about the size of a softball.

Tomato Sauce – we buy one large 29 ounce can to make this recipe.

Diced Tomatoes – I like the petite diced because they are bite-sized.

Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles – we like Rotel or the store brand, whatever is available and least expensive.

Ranch Style Beans – do not drain, use the beans and the juice.

Pinto Beans – drain and then rinse.

Kidney Beans – we buy dark red kidney beans if they are available and drain and rinse them.

Chili Seasoning – it has chili powder, paprika, ground cumin, onion powder and granulated garlic, plus there is no added MSG or artificial flavors. We buy the 30% less sodium variety.

How to Make One-Pot Chili:

1. Cook the ground beef, bell pepper, and onion in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the meat is browned.
2. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, dice tomatoes with chilies, ranch beans, pinto beans, kidney beans. seasoning packet and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Top each bowl of chili with your favorite toppings.

Topping Ideas:

• Sour Cream
• Cheddar Cheese
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Mexican Cheese Blend
• Saltine Crackers
• Tortilla Chips
• A splash of hot sauce, if you like things spicy.
• Yellow Mustard – the only person I have seen do this is my brother.

To Make Frito Chili Pie:

Put corn chips in a bowl and top with chili, cheese, chopped onions, sliced jalapenos and sour cream.

Who Invented The Frito Chili Pie?

Both Texas and New Mexico claim they did. The article on the topic over at Mashed is an interesting read.

Substitutions & Additions

Instead of ground beef you could use ground chicken or ground turkey.

Swap the green bell pepper for orange, yellow, or red bell peppers to give it a bit of a different flavor.

You can use different types of beans.

Use hot instead of mild chili seasoning. Or, add a dash of cayenne pepper.

Replace the cup of water with beef broth or veggie broth.

You could also season the chili yourself, but I find the seasoning packet much easier than buying each individual spice.

Adding a jalapeno or habanero pepper would give your chili some more heat. I would not recommend this if you have low spice tolerance like me.

 

Storage, Freezing & Reheating:

Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months. Can You Freeze This? has an informative article.

We defrost our chili in the refrigerator for a few days.

Reheat thawed chili on the stove top in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat until warmed through. Or, reheat in individual portions in the microwave.

I like to serve this Chili with Corn Oat Muffins or Jalapeno Pepper Jack Corn Bread.

Some other one pot meals you might like:

Alfredo Chicken Pasta & Broccoli

Light & Creamy Potato Soup

Homemade Hamburger Helper Chili Mac

Chicken Rice Vegetable One Pan Dinner

One Pot Beefy Pasta

 

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