Beef and Three Bean Chili Recipe

I admit that I’m not much of a football fan, but all this talk about the Superbowl has been making me crave chili! Since I almost always have ingredients on hand to throw together a quick pot of chili beans, it was very easy to satisfy my craving last night.

Although I prefer to to use as many fresh ingredients in my cooking as possible, I always have a variety of canned beans and canned tomatoes on hand. Pair those two ingredients with some ground beef (or just skip the meat altogether), chopped fresh veggies, and some good quality chili powder and you’ve got an easy, healthy, hearty and inexpensive meal that just about everyone loves!

For this batch of chili I used kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans because I think it’s fun to mix things up a bit. But you can really use any kind of beans you like or whatever you find knocking around your own pantry.

You can think of this chili recipe as a guideline and then put your own twist on it.  You can use more meat, less meat, no meat or you can swap the beef for some ground turkey!  If you want to leave the meat out, why not add an extra can of beans?  You could also add more onions and pepper and maybe even throw in some chopped carrots for some more color.  It’s entirely up to you!

So since this batch of chili will be finished before Superbowl Sunday, it looks like I’ll have to come up with some other things to make for game day.  I don’t even know who’s playing, but I always use the Superbowl as an excuse to make (and eat) lots of unhealthy snack food!  What are the rest of you planning on making?

Beef and Three Bean Chili

2  tablespoons olive oil
one large yellow onion, chopped
one green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
two cloves of garlic, minced
one large jalapeno, minced (seeds and all)
one pound of ground beef (I used 85% lean)
3 tablespoons chili powder*
2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder**
2 teaspoons cumin
1 cup of your favorite beer (I used a pale ale)
one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes***
one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes****
one can of water (just fill an empty tomato can with water)
one small can of tomato paste
one can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
one can of black beans, drained and rinsed
one can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups of frozen corn (optional)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion and pepper in olive oil until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for another minute, then add ground beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, just until meat is no longer pink. Drain the fat from the pan then return to heat.

2. Add the two chili powders and cumin, and cook the spices and the meat together, stirring, for half a minute or so. Add the beer, stir, and allow to cook while you open all the cans and drain and rinse the beans.  Add all the tomatoes, one can of water (just fill an empty tomato can with water), tomato paste, and beans; stir well.  Bring mixture up to a slow boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer, partially covered, for about an hour.

3. As the chili simmers, stir it occasionally, and taste to see if you need/want more chili powder or cumin (don’t add salt until it’s done cooking).  Once chili has reached the thickness you like, stir in the frozen corn and cook for a few more minutes, then add salt to taste.  Eat immediately or wait for it to cool then refrigerate overnight.  The chili tastes even better the next day!  It can also be frozen.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Notes: *Feel free to use more or less chili powder depending on your preference. I probably used more than 3 T, but some people prefer a lot less! **optional, or can substitute one tablespoon chopped chipotle chile in adobo. ***they don’t have to be fire-roasted, that’s just what I had on hand. ****You could substitute one large (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes for the two smaller cans of diced/crushed tomatoes.  This chili did not seem spicy to me at all, but if you are making it for kids (or really wimpy adults), you can make these changes: remove all the seeds from the jalapeno before chopping (or leave it out altogether), leave out the chipotle chili powder, reduce regular chili powder to 2 tablespoons.

Around the Web:

• Chipotle Chili from Cooking with Amy
• Butternut Chili from Karina’s Kitchen
• Black Bean and Beef Chili from Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Black Bean and Quinoa Chili from Closet Cooking
• Chili con Carne from Simply Recipes

Related Recipes:

• Veggie Chili Beans and Rice
• Black Bean Dip with Whole Wheat Pita Chips
• Semi-Homemade Refried Beans