Our Favorite Homemade Chili (So Easy!)

Say hello to our favorite classic chili recipe with ground beef and beans cooked in an intensely flavorful, spiced sauce. With our easy recipe, you can make a pot of delicious chili in about one hour! Jump to the Easy Homemade Chili Recipe

It’s hard to believe that you can make chili so flavorful with just a little prep time and simple ingredients, but trust me, you can! With our perfect blend of spices, you can make some of the best homemade chili we’ve ever had. For something a little different, try our white bean chicken chili!

How to Make the Best Classic Chili

Making chili at home is simple. To give you a better idea, here are the basic steps. The full recipe is below.

Step 1, Cook ground meat in some oil until well browned — ground beef is a classic choice. Browning the meat until it’s almost crispy brown on the outside adds lots of flavor to the chili. Don’t skip this step.

Step 2, Throw in chopped onions, and then cook them until they are soft.

Step 3, Stir in lots of minced garlic, tomato paste, and spices. The tomato paste is a game-changer for chili. It adds a richness to the sauce that a can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes doesn’t achieve.

Step 4, Finish with some pureed tomatoes (I talk about these below) and stock. Of course, you can use any stock/broth, but I typically have vegetable stock in my kitchen and have found it excellent when making chili.

Step 5, Simmer the chili partially covered with a lid for about 15 minutes. Finally, stir in canned or cooked beans as well as a bit of masa mixed with water. The masa paste adds a slight corn flavor to the chili, which is delicious. It also thickens the sauce a little, which we love.

What Ingredients Are Needed to Make Chili

The full recipe with all the ingredients you will need to make our chili recipe is below, but let me answer a few frequently asked questions about them.

What spices are in chili? Talk to any chili connoisseur, and they probably have a secret blend of spices they add to their chili. We do too, but the good news is that it’s not a secret! Here are the spices we add:

• Blended chili powder — Spice jars sold in stores labeled “chili powder” combine a few spices to make the blend. You can also use our homemade chili powder blend.
• Pure ancho chili powder — We buy McCormick’s ancho chili powder. Ancho chili powder is mild, fruity, and sweet. It’s completely different than the plain chili powder blend I just mentioned. We use it a lot in our recipes and highly recommend picking up a jar. You can also make your own by toasting and then blending dried ancho chilies.
• Ground cumin
• Dried oregano
• Cayenne or Chipotle powder — I love chipotle powder, but be careful. It’s hot! Treat it like cayenne pepper and add it slowly.
• Salt — We are generous when seasoning chili. Between the ground meat, tomatoes, and beans, you will need quite a bit of salt to make the flavor pop. We provide a guide in the recipe, but season to taste.

Why do you add pureed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce?

We’ve made this recipe with pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes and find the pureed tomatoes make the best chili. Use what you have, but if you have the option to use pureed tomatoes, do it. You won’t regret it. Since I rarely (if ever) have seen smaller 15-ounce cans of pureed tomatoes, I blend a can of diced tomatoes in my food processor or blender.

Is the masa required to make chili?

We love the gentle corn flavor that masa provides the chili, but if you don’t have any at home, you can leave it out or swap the tablespoon of masa for one or two small corn tortillas.

Tear the tortillas into small pieces and stir them into the chili. After a minute or so, the tortillas will disintegrate into the chili. If you have never bought masa before, take a look at our recipe for homemade corn tortillas. We talk all about it there.

Do I have to use ground beef to make chili?

No, not at all! We took photos of beef chili, but this recipe works just as well with other ground meat. Chicken, turkey, pork, goat, and lamb are all fine. I prefer using ground meat with some fat, so when using leaner meats (like chicken or turkey), look for 10% to 20% fat. Chicken or turkey breast will work, but it will be dry.

If you were hoping to make a meatless chili, take a look at our black bean and quinoa chili or substitute the ground meat with a ground plant-based option.

Do I have to add the beans?

We love this chili with beans, but if you prefer your chili without beans, leave them out. You might want to increase the amount of ground meat a bit, though. I’d use 1 ½ to 2 pounds instead of the amount that’s called for in our recipe below. For a chili made without beans, try this red beef chili.

What to Serve with Chili

Thanks to the beans, this chili is a meal on its own, but you can always add a few more things to make it extra special.

As for topping the chili, try shredded or crumbled cheese, chopped onion, sour cream, avocado, guacamole, pickled jalapeños, or pickled onions.

For sides that work well with chili, try:

• Homemade cornbread
• Tortillas (see our homemade flour tortillas or corn tortillas)
• Tortilla chips (here’s how to make tortilla chips yourself)

Make Ahead and Storing Tips

Chili is perfect for making in advance. Store the chili in airtight containers and then refrigerate for up to 4 days in the refrigerator and for up to 6 months in the freezer.

More Chili Recipes

• Try our Texas-inspired red chili made with cubes of beef and blended chili dried chili peppers.
• I love this Vegetarian Chili made with black beans, sweet potato, and quinoa.
• You can use ground turkey in this recipe, but we also have this Irresistible Turkey Chili recipe.
• Here’s another meatless chili! Try our Utterly Delicious Chipotle Bean Chili.