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This easy chili recipe is thick, hearty, and made with ground beef, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, and homemade chili seasoning. Ready in 35 minutes with a slow cooker option.
This easy chili recipe is thick, hearty, and packed with ground beef, beans, tomatoes, and a bold blend of chili spices. It comes together on the stovetop in about 35 minutes, making it a practical dinner for busy weeknights. There’s also a slow cooker option for days when you want to get dinner started early.
What makes this chili work is the simple seasoning blend and the balance of flavors. Chili powder and cumin bring warmth, green chiles add flavor without making the chili too spicy, and a little brown sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes. The result is a rich, savory chili that’s delicious on its own or piled high with cheese, sour cream, and your favorite toppings.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Chili
- Ready in about 35 minutes. Brown the beef, add the remaining ingredients, and let everything simmer together.
- Thick and hearty. Ground beef, kidney beans, black beans, and tomato sauce make this a filling one-pot dinner.
- A simple homemade seasoning blend. Chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper give the chili its familiar, savory flavor.
- Easy to adjust. Keep it mild for the whole family or add cayenne, jalapeño, or hot sauce for more heat.
- Stovetop or slow cooker. Choose the cooking method that fits your day.
- Great for leftovers. Make a batch for dinner, then enjoy the extra chili for lunch or freeze it for another night.
Ingredients You’ll NEed
- Ground beef: I like 80/20 ground beef for its flavor. Brown the beef before adding the other ingredients, then drain excess grease if needed.
- Onion and garlic: These build the savory base. Cook the onion with the beef until softened, then add the garlic near the end so it doesn’t burn.
- Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes: Tomato sauce creates the thick base, while diced tomatoes add texture.
- Diced green chiles: These bring extra flavor without adding much heat. They’re a simple way to give the chili more depth.
- Kidney beans and black beans: Using two kinds of beans adds texture and makes the chili hearty enough for dinner. Drain and rinse them before adding.
- Chili powder and cumin: These are the main spices that give the chili its classic flavor. Use a chili powder you enjoy, and adjust the amount to suit your taste.
- Garlic powder, salt, and black pepper: These round out the seasoning and bring the flavors together.
- Brown sugar: Just a little helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes. It shouldn’t make the chili taste sweet.
How to Make Easy Chili on the Stovetop
- Cook the beef: regardless if you are making this recipe in a slow cooker or on the stovetop the beef needs to be cooked first. Break the meat up and cook until browned and no longer pink. Cook the onion with the meat until it’s softened.
- Combine the additional ingredients. Add the seasonings to the meat and allow to cook to bloom the flavors, then either add the meat to the slow cooker, or using the same pot add in the beans, green chiles, tomato sauce and brown sugar.
- Simmer, let the chili come to a low simmer, then cover and cook for another 10 minutes. OR cook on low in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours.
Slow Cooker Instructions
The slow cooker is a convenient option when you want dinner waiting for you at the end of the day.
- Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet until the beef is cooked through and the onion is softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Drain excess grease and transfer the beef mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 4–6 hours.
Browning the beef first gives you a flavorful base and helps avoid excess grease in the finished chili.
What to Serve With Chili
A bowl of chili is a meal on its own, but a few toppings and sides make it even better.
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Sliced green onions
- Diced onion
- Jalapeños
- Cornbread
- Crackers or corn chips
- Baked potatoes
For a Tex-Mex-inspired dinner, serve it with cheesy jalapeño cornbread or spoon it over Fritos for an easy Frito pie.
How to Adjust the Spice Level
This recipe is mild enough to serve to a range of tastes, and it’s easy to adjust at the table.
For a milder chili, use a mild chili powder and leave out additional hot peppers.
For more heat, add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a diced jalapeño sautéed with the onion, or your favorite hot sauce.
If you’re cooking for a family with different spice preferences, keep the main pot mild and let everyone add heat to their own bowl.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
- Make ahead: Chili is a great recipe to prepare ahead of time. Refrigerate it once cooled, then reheat gently on the stovetop when you’re ready to serve.
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Let the chili cool, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags. Freeze for 2–3 months for best quality.
- Reheat: Thaw frozen chili in the refrigerator overnight. Warm it in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of water or broth if it has thickened too much.
More Chili Recipes to Try
If chili is on the menu, here are a few other House of Yumm recipes to try:
- Award-Winning Turkey Chili: A hearty version made with lean ground turkey, beans, and a flavorful spice blend.
- Ground Beef Chili Without Beans: A quick, Texas-style ground beef chili without beans.
- Authentic Texas Chili: A traditional bowl of red made with chunks of beef and dried chile peppers.
- Weeknight Chuck Roast Chili: A slow cooker chili featuring tender chunks of beef.
Easy Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomato
- 1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Toppings
- sour cream
- cheese shredded
- green onion
Instructions
Slow Cooker Directions:
- Cook Beef: Add the ground beef and onion to a medium size skillet. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and the beef is completely cooked. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Drain: Remove from heat, drain grease, and add meat mixture to the crockpot.
- Slow Cook: Add in all the other ingredients, stir to combine. Cook over low heat for 4-6 hours.
Stovetop Directions:
- Cook Beef: Add the ground beef and onion to a large pot or dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and the beef is completely cooked. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Drain any grease and return to heat.
- Season: Add the seasonings: chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Stir to coat the meat and cook about one minute.
- Simmer: Add all other ingredients to the pot, stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Ground Beef: 80/20 is a good choice flavor-wise. Drain any excess grease after cooking the meat. You can always substitute for ground turkey or chicken if desired.
- Light Brown Sugar: this helps cut through the acidity with the tomatoes and gives a balanced flavor. You could substitute with honey, or leave out if a no sugar meal is needed.
- Beans: use beans that have no salt added, this allows you to control the salt. If you have regular canned beans you will need to taste the chili before adding salt to ensure that it’s not over salted. Avoid cans that are labeled Chili beans since these are beans that come with added flavoring in a chili sauce.
- Storage: store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a saucepan or in the microwave.
- Freezing: allow to cool to room temperature and then store in freezer safe containers or bags. This can be stored in the freezer for 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a pot over medium until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published February 16, 2018. Updated September 3, 2021 with new images and information. Updated October 1, 2026.
Photography done by the talented @KJandCompany.co
My husband has trouble with chili hurting his stomach. Want to try this recipe. What spices are best to reduce acidity? Does adding ketchup help?
Hi Debbie! Ugh..heartburn is the worst! I would have this when I was pregnant and don’t wish it on anyone. I know tomato is a big factor, and since this chili does have tomato sauce and diced tomato in it, it might not be a good idea. I would suggest trying a white chili, like this one: https://houseofyumm.com/white-chicken-chili/ . You can cut back on the jalapeño if needed.
Making this today for the second time since it was such a hit the first time around! My husband and I agree that this is our favorite chili recipe of the several I’ve attempted. Thank you for sharing it! It’s now my go-to. I didn’t have a can of green chilies last time or this time, so once again subbing a can of Rotel and I know it will turn out fine. Doing the crock pot method, I love coming back to the kitchen at the end of the day and having dinner ready! I’ll either whip up a batch of cheddar scones or jiffy cornbread muffins to go with.
Didn’t have 2 tbs chillie powder used 1.5 and 1.4 tsp of chipotle chillie little spicey but definately needed the TBS of chillie powder.
I would suggest also adding 15 oz of tomatoe juice as well. Gets a little thick otherwise, but rest of recipe is a homerun.
My first time ever making chili I use this recipe, and now it’s the only one I hear this! Absolutely delicious and so fast. I now I always make sure to keep the ingredients in the house so I can make it on a whim. Making it right now actually!
Can I use ground turkey instead of beef?
Absolutely! I do this often 🙂
I just made this and I must say it’s the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth . really spicy . wast of money and time .
Wow Alan, that’s quite the statement. The absolute worst thing you’ve ever put in your mouth?! As for this being really spicy, there really isn’t any heat to this, so I’m wondering if maybe you misread the ingredients? If it’s the chili powder that you find spicy, then you can cut it back.
This recipe was amazing, maybe Alan did what. I did and added two envelopes of store bought. Chili spices, definitely made it spicy., but that’s the way I like my chili.
Made this today and it turned out great!
I’ve been making scratch chili for years, but don’t usually measure anything. That requires a lot of tasting and adding a little more of this or that. I thought I’d try this recipe because if it’s simplicity.
I can say for sure that if you make it exactly as written, Serene’s chili is better than yours. In the video, I saw her secret weapon and it’s Gebhardt chili powder. That stuff is head and shoulders better than any available outside of Texas. It’s available online still, but I quit doing that a few years ago.
I made a few changes to compensate for my personal taste.
I doubled cumin and added 1/4t paprika & cayenne. Used white sugar, but also added 1T ketchup to cut acidity.
Thanks for posting the recipe Serene!
Loved it! I used 1 lb ground turkey and 1 pound ground beef and doubled all the other ingredients. Served it over Mac with cheese and onions! Perfect flavor!
Family loved it, simple and tasty.