Lamb with chocolate in chili? Oh, of course! My son Bryan came up with this fantastic chili recipe. Because it is so lean, we utilize lamb from Iceland. Lamb must be lean.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pound lean ground lamb
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 3 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 4 cups red beans, with liquid
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook onions and ground lamb in olive oil over medium heat.
- When onions are soft and meat browned, season with red pepper flakes, basil, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, chili powder, dried oregano, cocoa powder, sugar, and bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and beans. Increase heat to bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 366 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 51 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1052 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have made this several times and loved it. I was at the store today and picked up what I need to make it again.
Delicious! I liked it better than beef chili. I did take the advice of other reviewers and added 2T tomato paste plus 1/2 can water and only 1 can of red kidney beans (this was plenty). The rest was the same. I served it over white rice and added some cheese on top. Delicious!
Loved loved loved it!!! For taste and ease of prep! Only change I made was using two cans of white beans instead of red as that’s what I had on hand. My son had seconds and that’s always a two thumbs up!! Will become a “keeper” for sure in my family!
Excellent! The spice mixture is perfect! Instead of ground, I made this with 1 lb. frozen raw lamb left over from trimming up my huge Easter leg of lamb. Partially defrosted and then diced and sautéed with the onions. Used two cans of kidney beans, drained, and added one small can of beef broth to replace the bean liquid. Finished with chopped parsley, cilantro and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and served over white rice. Delicious!
So easy and sooo good! I had leftover black beans, cut the meat and bean quantities in half but kept everything else the same and it totally worked… would definitely make it again!
Used double ingredients, 1 can kidney 1 can black bean, also cut half a green pepper from garden , I’m a nurse whose working tommorow otherwise I would have eaten another bowl, this is a fine recipe I excited to give it to friends and family
I’m nit a big chili fan but I love mole. I had ground lamb so thought I’d try this. It produced a very deep dark rich-tasting chili that was terrific….but not to everyone’s taste. I didn’t give it lots of stars because it caused wicked heartburn.
We have our own lamb, and this has quickly become a favorite recipe. I doubled the cumin, cocoa and cinnamon. It’s quite spicy – which is good! I did temper the heat by adding honey. Like others, I recommend rinsing the beans. I added a can of water to make up for the lost liquid.
Delicious! I’m recently on a low sodium diet, and learning to make food that doesn’t taste bland without a ton of salt has been challenging. With some homemade salt free chili powder and no salt added tomatoes and beans, this made a very flavorful and healthy dinner! Estimating ~ 300 mg per serving, and that’s including 2 oz of Swiss cheese and a generous dollop of sour cream to top. Yummiest thing we’ve made yet! Definitely a keeper. The lamb is a very tasty change from my standard beef, and the notes of chocolate and cinnamon go VERY well with the chili spiciness. Add “easy to prepare” and it’s a 5 star winner!
We felt like using a combination of beans, so used black and white. Appetizingly pretty with all the color! Smells yummy as it bubbles.
I made this recipe exactly as directed. The flavor was great and my whole family loved it. I think it would be great served over a baked sweet potato. YUM
I doubled the meat and I must say THE BEST CHILI I HAVE EVER MADE. This recipe is absolutely perfect. So delicious.
This was good! I drained the beans because it helps to prevent gas! I made the chili as directed except I used black beans. I think kidney beans would have given it more of that chili flavor that I love! I also added a can of corn. needs a little tomato juice. I only used half the chili powder but ended up adding the rest! As I usually do, I served the red pepper flakes on the side so everyone can add them according to their liking. I will make this again.
So good!!! I double the amount of beans
I just made this for dinner tonight. (1-26-16) The spice amounts were perfect and we really enjoyed it. Some things i did differently are draining the beans; i like a less ‘soupy’ chili. I also added another can of beans because it was still more soupy than ‘thick’ I also added a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top. It was a huge hit even with my picky teenager!
I made and took this to our tailgating and it was a huge hit! I was expecting left overs but there wasn’t even enough for those who showed up late. I’m already figuring out when J can make it again. Most delicious!
I loved it! I used black and white beans instead of kidney. Great flavor!
I have to admit, this is pretty tasty. I seasoned it per the recipe, but I had to stray a bit to use what I had on hand. I used 1 can of pinto beans. I’m only making this for 2, and that had the right ratio of beans/meat for my taste. Also, maybe it cut down on the liquid which made it pretty thick the way I like it. I also used 1 can of mild rotel because it’s what I had. I’m surprised I liked it given the ingredients. Good recipe! We’ll see how my husband likes it when he gets home. He’s a chef. I think he will approve.
Not sure that the teaspoon of cocoa is even detectable, so I’d just call it “lamb chili.” Anyhow, made it per the recipe except only half the chili powder because I ran out. Guests said it was the best chili ever. Just spicy enough to be interesting but not punishing or sweat-inducing. I served it with wheat berries (boiled, like rice), which gave something to chew and allowed the flavor to linger longer in the mouth.
Won me second place in the chili competition! You have to have an adventurous palette, but it’s really different, lean and delicious.
This is a keeper! The only changes I made were to use 1 can red kidney beans, and one can of garbanzo beans (because that’s what I had), and used only 3 TBSP chili powder. So easy, so good! After I stirred in the tomatoes & beans & brought to a boil, I transferred it to a slow-cooker for 5 hours. I was going to garnish with crumbled feta, but we were so excited to eat it that I forgot all about the feta! Just the right amount of spice & flavor medley.