Ridiculously Good Chili

Say hello to my favorite homemade chili recipe. I come back to it over and over again because it’s so darn good. It’s also ready in under an hour!

We have a few chili recipes on the blog, and honestly, I love them all, but this is the chili I’ve made the most. It checks all the comfort boxes for me: tender ground beef cooked with beans in a hearty, flavorful, spiced tomato sauce. (Yes, I add beans to my chili, but of course, you can leave them out.)

More of the most loved chili recipes on the blog include this healthier turkey chili, my vegetarian chili with quinoa and sweet potato, our white chicken chili, and this authentic Texas red chili (it’s good!!). As you can see, we love chili!

Key Ingredients

• Ground Meat: We used ground beef in the photos, but this chili recipe works just as well with ground chicken, turkey, pork, goat, or lamb. Choose ground meat with 10% to 20% fat content for the best flavor and texture.
• Beans: We love this chili with beans, and like pinto or kidney beans. If you prefer it without, leave them out. Consider increasing the ground beef to 1 ½ to 2 pounds to compensate. For a beanless chili recipe, try this Texas red chili.
• Onion and Garlic: These aromatics are essential for building that classic chili flavor profile.
• Tomatoes: I’ve made this chili with pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Pureed tomatoes create the best texture and flavor. Use what you have on hand, but opt for pureed tomatoes if possible (you won’t regret it)! I usually blend a can of diced tomatoes in my food processor or blender.
• Spices: Our unique blend of chili powder, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt creates an incredibly flavorful chili.
• Masa Harina: This is my secret ingredient! Mixing a bit of masa harina with water and stirring it into the chili adds a subtle nuttiness and thickens the sauce. Diced corn tortillas work similarly, so feel free to use those instead.

How to Make the Best Homemade Chili

You’ll cook ground meat in a bit of oil until well browned so that it’s crispy and flavorful. Next, throw in chopped onions and cook until they smell sweet. When your onions are sweet and soft, it’s time for lots of minced garlic, tomato paste, and our perfect blend of spices. The tomato paste adds color and rich flavor to our chili.

Now we have our flavorful base, you are going to finish the chili with pureed tomatoes, beef broth (or chicken broth), and beans. Beans make this chili hearty, if you aren’t one for beans in your chili, feel free to leave them out.

Before serving, we add my secret ingredient: masa harina. Masa harina is what we use to make corn tortillas, and it’s what I think makes this recipe for chili so darn good. Stirring a bit of masa with water and then stirring it into our chili adds a slight nuttiness while thickening the sauce at the same time.

If you don’t have masa harina, chopped corn tortillas will do the trick. As you stir them into the chili, they will break apart and thicken just like the masa does.

What to Serve with Chili

Thanks to the beans, this classic chili is a meal on its own, but you can always add a few more things to make it extra special. I love adding shredded or crumbled cheese, chopped onion, sliced green onions, sour cream, avocado, guacamole, pickled jalapeños, cowboy candy (candied jalapeños) or pickled onions.

It’s also nice to have something on hand to dunk into chili. I especially love homemade cornbread, flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or crumbled tortilla chips (here’s how to make homemade tortilla chips).