Chili and this bean soup are comparable. One of Tulsa Public Schools’ most well-liked dishes. For those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, it was a beloved pleasure. A true comfort dish that sticks to your ribs. It must be served with cinnamon rolls, per tradition. My grandmother, who worked as a nutritionist and cook for more than 40 years, gave it to me.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 3 quarts |
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups dried pinto beans
- 3 quarts water
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 ⅔ cups tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
Instructions
- Place the beans and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, and cook until the beans are almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
- While the beans are cooking, crumble the ground beef into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender and meat is browned. Drain off excess grease, and stir in the tomato puree, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and bread crumbs. Stir into the pot with the beans, adding more water if needed to achieve your desired thickness. Taste and adjust seasonings if you like before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 253 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 35 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 1117 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 6 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Hi love to cook! I started at John Ross Elementary in1963 and your grandmother’s Brown Bean Chowder was my favorite. And Oh The Cinnamon Rolls! My recipe is a little different. I’ve had it 40 years and it is just what I remember from school. You soak a pound of pinto beans overnight with a tsp. of baking soda. rinse. Cook with 3 Tbsp. of bacon fat. Simmer tender and add 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook 1 lb. beef and large chopped onion, drain, add to beans. Blend a 20 oz. can of tomatoes, 1/2 cup catsup and 1 package of chili seasoning, add to beans and simmer 45 minutes.
You are the real MVP!.. ..im 32 and one of the best parts about school was this chilli and the big cinnamon roll I been wanting this chili I been dying for. This chilli since school
I found this recipe when I was looking for something to make with beans and ground beef. I thought this dish was really good. The only adjustments I made were when I cooked the beans I added some bayleaf and I doubled the chili powder. I didn’t add the breadcrumbs as it was nice and thick already. I really enjoyed it and will use it as my go to chili like dish.
Dish had way too much salt, not enough true chilli flavor, and tasted like something was missing. However, tasted better with buttered rolls.
I have been looking for this recipe for many years. I was also one of those kids that grew up enjoying this along with the cinnamon rolls. Went to Robertson Elementary everyone I went to school with still talks about the bean chowder and how good it was! Thanks so much for posting it!!!
Tasted great, but I would NOT recommend putting in the bread crumbs at all.
This was good and easy, if not particularly complex (as you’d expect for a school cafeteria dish, I guess!). It was mild enough that my three-year-old ate some voluntarily. I used 99% lean turkey, whole wheat bread crumbs and cooked for 20 mins or so after mixing it all together to blend the flavors a bit.
This was cheap and fairly easy. I thought it was a decent base recipes, but it needed some spice. The whole thing took a long time from start to finish. I was left thinking that the flavor wasn’t that good. Something to do with the beans.
Thanks for posting! My grandmother used to make this. She got the recipe from the Tulsa World when her son (my uncle) was in school. He used to love TPS bean chowder so when they posted the recipe in the paper, she jumped on it. Of course she had to reduce the quantities by a lot since it was the actual school recipe. So glad to have found it agian.
This was good. My family ate it and it was easy to make.
I like this recipe, but I altered a few things. I did not use bread crumbs, and instead of tomatoe perre I used V8 juice. I also add two cups of watter after the beans were tender an d 1 cup of white rice. It didn’t come out soupy or chowdery, it was more like a thick chili. It was amazing and my husband is begging for more.
Good and easy to make.
This recipe is fantastic! I’m not from Tulsa so I’d never had it before, but even my picky non-bean-eating teenager gobbled it up. My only suggestion is to add a little hot sauce to the bowl when serving. This is going into the rotation folder. Thanks!
reduced salt by 1 tsp and added 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce. It really brought out the flavors. Also used 4 slices of bread to make fresh breadcrumbs instead of dried.
Great basic meal. I did add some cumin and oregano, and left out some of the chili powder for the kids. My husband said it reminded him of a Dominican Repulican beans dish that is served with rice and chicken (instead of ground beef)
This McKinley Elementary grad thanks you. I have been trying for years to recreate this recipe. Also, don’t forget you must crush saltine crackers into your bowl to get the full effect!
Only complaint and it is probably my own fault is that this was a smidge too salty. However I used canned beans so next time I will go with the dired pinto beans and hopefully this will resolve the salt issue. This was still really good.
Delicious!
This is a good base and full of possibilities. I cooked the beans slightly longer than suggested. I decided that the amount of bread crumbs would make it too thick. I cut it down to 3/4 cup and it was still too much so I added more water. I didn’t have plain bread crumbs but I had Garlic and Herb bread crumbs. After it was done I tasted it and thought it needed more seasoning, so I added some cumin, more chili powder, some oregano, some Cayenne pepper, 1 bay leaf and some chopped fresh cilantro. It was a lot better that way but it borders on almost too much salt (which I hadn’t changed) I’m sending some to my 81 year old mother-in-law. She loves beans in any way, shape or form. 🙂
Very tasty recipe. I used cans of Ranch Style Beans. So easy and a great winter supper that whole family loved.
it wasn’t awful, but lackluster. i have 3 servings in the freezer, but i wouldn’t make it again… next time i’ll try it with the cinnamon rolls!