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
- Cook the ground beef, bell pepper, and onion in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the meat is browned.
- 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.
- 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
Homemade Hamburger Helper Chili Mac
Chicken Rice Vegetable One Pan Dinner
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Easy One Pot Chili with Beans
Ingredients
- 2 lb lean ground beef (I use 93/7)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 can tomato sauce, 29 ounces
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, 10 ounces
- 1 can ranch style beans, 15 ounces
- 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained, 15.5 ounces
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained, 15.5 ounces
- 1 packet McCormick mild chili seasoning (or your favorite)
- 1 cup water
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Instructions
- Cook the ground beef, bell pepper, and onion in a dutch oven over medium-high until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes.
- 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 heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Hi, I will like to substitute the ranch style beans and pinto beans. How much dried kidney beans will I need?
One can of beans has about 1.5 cups, so the entire recipe has about 4.5 cups. Because dried beans expand while cooking you would need about 1.5 cups of kidney beans in total to yield about 4.5 cups when cooked. It would be best to soak and cook the beans separately before adding them to the chili. I hope this helps and let me know how it turns out!
I surely will I like making food from scratch
If I use 1.5 cups of pinto beans that’s 1 cup and a half cup right
Cooking this recipe now! Can’t wait!
That’s awesome, we hope you like it as much as we do!
Oh snap! It must be fall because it’s getting chili in here! Who doesn’t like a tasty, meat & bean chili? Sounds super good!
Right?! Thanks
Looks yummy.
Thanks!
Good morning, I have two more questions can I substitute the tomato sauce for chili starter? If I can what ounce jar will I need of the chili starter? And my last question can I substitute the chili seasoning packet for homemade chili powder
I use a 29 oz can of tomato sauce so if there is a starter around that size. This recipe is forgiving and you can always add more liquid if you need to. Some options would be water, more tomato sauce or even beef broth. Absolutely you can use homemade chili powder, I would add a bit of other spices like garlic and onion powder, cumin, paprika and even a little oregano.
How much of each spice will I need to use?
You could use the amounts below, and adjust to taste if you like one more than the other, or don’t want too much heat.
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika (regular, smoked, or sweet)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional for heat)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt (optional and to taste)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Looks awesome.
I am going to try your recipe tonight. But i am going to use dear meat instead of ground beef. I think it will go great with your recipe. Thank you so much for the tip.
That sounds great, there are a few of deer hunters in the family, so I might have to hit them up for some meat! Let me know how it turns out.
i love chilli and i love beans, sounds very very delicious
Thanks for stopping by!