Savory Ground Beef Chili Recipe

This easy ground beef chili recipe is a one-pot family favorite you can make any night of the week! A hearty, delicious chili with lean ground beef, beans, spices, rich tomato flavor, and bell pepper topped with your favorites---cheese, sour cream, green onion, or any others. Bonus! It's healthy, packed full of protein, lean meat, and veggies--let's make it!

You'll Love This Recipe For Ground Beef Chili!

Classic Beef Chili. A classic chili recipe has tomato base, onion, bell pepper, garlic, a variety of beans, and meat. In this recipe, we use lean ground beef to reduce fats and keep the protein high!

Versatile! Chili is so versatile and can be enjoyed on its own, over noodles, served over a hot dog, or even make chili cheese french fries! Add other ingredients that you would like such as bacon, and veggies-replace lean ground beef with more beans or exchange with pulled pork or brisket!

Healthy. This recipe is loaded with healthy lean proteins, and low-fat, complex carbohydrates and can be made vegan by omitting ground beef and adding extra beans! Ground turkey may be used if you are avoiding red meat.

Beef and Bean Chili Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make lean ground beef chili:

• Lean Ground Beef: use any variety of beef that you prefer. Lean ground beef is usually a 90/10 blend or higher. Substitute with a different meat if you would like to as well!
• Olive Oil: you can substitute with your preferred cooking oil such as avocado oil, canola, or vegetable.
• Onion: white, yellow, or sweet onion can be used in this recipe.
• Green Bell Pepper: green bell pepper tends to be less sweet and more savory so I prefer to use them in chili. You can substitute it with yellow, red, or orange if you would like to.
• Minced Garlic: mince your garlic cloves or use store-bought pre-minced garlic to save time.
• Canned Crushed or Diced Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: the fire-roasted tomatoes add another depth of flavor to this recipe and can be found near the other diced tomatoes at your local grocery store.
• Canned Tomato Sauce:
• Canned Red Kidney Beans: dark red or regular red kidney beans can be used, choose your preference if you have one.
• Canned Black Beans or Pinto Beans: either bean variety can be used in this recipe. I like to use black beans to add another color to the chili and I have also added both varieties and taste amazing!
• Canned Beef Broth: you can use low sodium or regular depending on your needs. You can substitute this liquid amount with beer, or water if you want.
• Chili Powder: the classic seasoning in a ground beef chili recipe is chili powder. This can add heat to your chili so if you have a low tolerance be light-handed adding this and add more later if desired. Like it spicy? Try using ancho chili powder instead as it is just dried poblano peppers and is spicier than regular chili powder.
• Ground Cumin: another spice that is found in chili, this spice is commonly found in taco seasoning for its earthy, savory flavor--it pairs so well in chili.
• Smoked Paprika: a light smoky flavor and color is added to your chili with this spice. It also rounds out the flavor profile and compliments all the flavors.
• Dried Oregano: adds a bit more aromatic to your chili for a complimenting blend.
• Bay Leaves: add these in whole into your chili. Remember to remove them before serving as these add flavor but are unpleasant to actually eat.
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper: add as little or as much as you would like to add heat to your chili. I recommend starting with a quarter teaspoon and then adding more to taste.
• Lime: fresh lime juice adds a brightness and tang that's perfect in chili!
• Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onion, avocado slices etc.

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Variations and Substitutions

• Make it vegan: omit the ground beef and beef broth and substitute with additional beans and use water or a vegan beer in place of the broth.
• Meat variation: Use 1 pound of sliced smoked sausage, 1 pound of pork sausage, or 1 pound of pulled pork or brisket in place of your lean ground beef to level up your classic chili. Use ground turkey in place of ground beef to reduce fat.
• Slow cooker version: Brown the ground beef in a separate skillet, drain the fat, and add to the crockpot along with all the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
• Add diced bacon to your chili to add extra flavor and smoke.
• Adjust any spice or herb to taste--chili is super customizable!
• Swap out any bean variety for the ones that you like better. Some of my favorites are butter beans, great northern beans, chili-spiced kidney beans (don't drain this liquid), or any others.
• Add other vegetables such as drained corn, diced zucchini, and other varieties of bell peppers like red bell pepper, orange, yellow, or even diced carrot.
• Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to your chili to help thicken if it is too liquid or loose.
• Add a tablespoon of brown sugar at a time if your chili is a little spicy for you. Sugar counteracts spice so this will help balance the flavors.

How To Make Ground Beef Chili

How To Serve Beef and Beans Chili

Serve your chili in a bowl while it is fresh and hot! Please feel free to adjust any seasoning to your taste preference.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onion, and avocado slices. My whole family loved choosing their own toppings!

Pair with a slice of cornbread, crusty bread, crushed tortilla strips, or french-fried onions!

Use cottage cheese in place of sour cream to add a creamy texture and and extra protein and calcium.

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