One of my all-time favorite foods is chili, which always has a lot of flavor and involves some experimentation. There will always be some compromise, but this is my tried-and-true recipe with the (essential) list of components. On a chilly evening, serve in a bowl or occasionally, spread over white or brown rice. Always liberally sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips, Cheddar cheese, and possibly a dollop of sour cream before eating.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 6 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 6 hrs 25 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans
- 2 (15 ounce) cans ranch-style beans
- 2 (15 ounce) cans white kidney beans (cannellini)
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
- 1 (7.75 ounce) can Mexican-style hot tomato sauce (such as El Pato®)
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ cup red wine (Optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir beef, onion, and garlic in the hot oil until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes; drain and discard grease. Season beef mixture with salt and pepper.
- Mix ground beef mixture, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinto beans, ranch-style beans, white kidney beans, tomato sauce, Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, Mexican-style hot tomato sauce, green bell pepper, celery, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, cumin, parsley, basil, and brown sugar together in a slow cooker.
- Cook on High for 4 hours; stir in red wine and continue cooking for 2 more hours. (Cook on Low for 8 hours.)
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 492 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 53 g |
| Cholesterol | 55 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 14 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 1125 mg |
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I may have halved the recipe added more bell pepper no celery used northern beans not drained instead of ranch-style beans and didn’t add the red wine. But I Gotta tell you THAT IS THE BEST CHILLI I EVER HAD thank you
I am considered the baker of the house, well because my wife does not bake. Anyhow, I decided to make this chili. My wife is skeptical most times when I am in the kitchen. Anyhow, I chose this recipe and nothing but compliments from her. Enough that she will not make her chili anymore. This recipe is easy, and being that your using a slow cooker, there is no rush. Take your time. Enjoy your day and come home to ever blissful tasting chili.
Because I can eat very hot spicy foods, I made some adjustments. I used very little hot stuff. Removed hot spicy sauce and hot red peppers. I added Golden Raisins, Baby Corn, Tomato Paste, and Roa’s Marinara, beef broth and sliced mushrooms. The tiny house smells so good.
I thought is was delicious.
My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. I had to make a few modifications due to my family not eating beef. I substituted ground chicken and chicken broth in place of the beef and beef broth. I did not have Mexican style tomato sauce on hand so I used a can of spicy V8 juice. It was delicious as we love a meaty/beany chili. I can’t wait to try it with beef when my girls and I have our next get together. Thank you!!!
Made small amount reduce ingredients and creative seasons I didn’t have as Mexican style tomatoes and tomato sauce.Other than those adjustments it was great,will make it again:-)
Great chili recipe. Made it for game day this past weekend and got great compliments. I couldn’t find the Mexican style stewed tomatoes or the Mexican style hot tomato sauce so I used a fifteen oz and seven and half oz can of regular tomato sauce and put in about a tablespoon of Cholula hot sauce and I used one can of regular stewed tomatoes and a small can of Ro-Tel original diced tomatoes and green chile ‘s. It turned out GREAT and I will be making it again. I don’t like super spicy chili and this recipe was perfect. Just enough heat for you to know it’s chili but not overpowering. Perfecto.
I received this recipe from a co worker after she won the chili cook off. I didn’t have the ranch style beans, but it still came out very good! My son is a picky eater and he loved to dip his tortilla chips into it. I would say that this was still a 10 out of 10 recipe. However my co-worker somehow made it a 15 out of 10! Lol.
Great chili! The recipe made plenty for five people plus leftovers. it’s a very thick chili which we all loved. the only complaint I heard was it wasn’t spicy. nothing some cayan couldn’t fix at the time. might add some jalapenos the next time to make it hotter.
It turned out really good but made wayyy too much food for just me and my husband!
Loved it!!
SUPER easy to make, only thing I changed was adding diced bacon. Red wine I used was Cupcake Red Velvet. Delicious!!!
I made this chili for a large party and received MANY complements. It is thick and meaty with a complex home-made flavor. If you are looking for an excellent chili to impress your guests, this recipe is for you. I could not find “ranch beans” or the hot tomato sauce. As a result I used 3 cans of kidney beans and 3 cans of great northern beans. In place of the hot sauce I used diced canned tomatoes. I did not add the wine. I really liked the addition of the canned tomatoes since the recipe is a little light on tomato taste.
Great recipe! So far this is my favorite slow cooker chili.
We made this chili for the Superbowl last year, and my husband has raved about it being the best chili he’s ever had. It’s got a great, complex flavor (I never would’ve thought about using the Mexican-style sauce or beans or vinegar!), and it filled our crock pot. We made it exactly as the recipe says and had great results. Will definitely be keeping this one as a new family favorite.
This was the best chili I have ever had
Very good
Tasted great! My family loved it. The only thing I changed was that I didn’t have any worcestershire sauce so I substituted A-1 sauce and came out fine.
Ultimate Slow Cooked Chili Haiku: “Halved the recipe, but still way too many beans. Good, not ‘ultimate.'” The ingredient list is unneccesarily long, but I was faithful to it, only not using the optional red wine, and sauteeing the bell pepper w/ the onion, beef and garlic in step 1. It just seemed like so many of those ingredients either competed w/ the others, or were just straight drowned out by the others. Definitely not saying it wasn’t a good chili, just not mind-blowing. Glad that it called for Ranch-style beans though; we love those!
I think this a great recipe, especially to feed a crowd.
Made this recipe exactly as written, including adding 1/2 cup red wine for the final 2 hours of cooking. Flavor was perfect, not too spicy nor too mild. I will make this again and recommend it just as written.