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    Home » Main » World’s Best Chili Recipe

    World’s Best Chili Recipe

    Published: Feb 27, 2023 by Megan Porta · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    This is the world’s best chili recipe! It is a contest winner, total crowd pleaser and the best chili recipe on the internet. It is packed with flavor, texture and color. Make it for your next gathering, large or small, and you will get rave reviews. Add jalapenos for extra spice or go mild!

    Ladle full of chili recipe hovering over full slow cooker.

    Original post: April 2018 | Updated: February 2023

    Why This Recipe Works

    You have just found the world’s best chili recipe ever. That is a massive claim, but you will soon agree! You are about to have either a very happy tummy, a very happy family or very happy guests.

    My husband and I have been making this delicious soup for years. Together we have tweaked it many, many times. Here are a few of the reasons we deem this to be the perfect meal:

    • It is absolute comfort food perfection and such an amazing chili recipe that the whole family will love.
    • It’s versatile! My famous Pip and Ebby chili recipe is a favorite easy recipe for game days, lazy weekends and weeknight meals.
    • This classic chili recipe is perfect for those cozy cold weather snowy days and for larger gatherings like game day parties or holiday feasts.
    • We’ve never thrown a single morsel of it away because this award winning chili recipe (Seriously! It wins every contest I enter!) always gets gobbled down in its entirety.
    • It has the most perfect consistency and there is such a depth of flavor.
    • This beef chili recipe is a GREAT quick and easy comforting soup, but can easily be transformed into a leaner turkey chili (or even venison!).

    If you absolutely cannot find a chunk of time to make this delicious dish, consider trying my Easy 5-ingredient chili for a much-condensed version. Enjoy!

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    Ground Beef Dinner Ideas

    If you have extra ground beef on your hands, browse through this comprehensive roundup of delicious ground beef recipes!

    Chili Ingredients and Equipment

    Collage of chili ingredients.

    Ingredients

    Ground beef – To keep this chili on the leaner side, use ground turkey, ground chicken or lean ground beef. To add a delicious flavor, replace 1 pound of ground beef with 1 pound of ground sausage.

    Bell peppers – Any color of bell pepper tastes delicious. Green, yellow, red or orange!

    Jalapeno peppers – Although the end result is not “spicy,” omit the jalapenos and cayenne pepper to ensure a totally mild soup. You can cater the spice level to your liking. Personally, I consider this the secret ingredient the thing that helps this soup win chili cook-offs.

    Use fresh jalapeños when you can! In a pinch, canned jalapeno peppers will suffice.

    Tomato juice – For a thicker chili, use half the amount of tomato juice in the recipe.

    Beans – While red kidney beans and pinto beans are super tasty inside, feel free to swap out any variety of beans. Or you can omit the beans altogether! Use this no bean chili as your guide.

    Spices and seasonings – Chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper are the perfect combination of spices!

    In small amounts, you may add garlic powder or regular paprika to the recipe.

    Favorite toppings – Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, chopped red onion, crushed corn chips or crushed saltine crackers.

    Equipment

    Slow cooker – This makes a very large batch, so you’ll want to use an 8-quart crockpot or larger.

    Extra large saute pan – I adore my 7-quart saute pan! There are a lot of ingredients to cook before adding them to the slow cooker and you won’t want anything to spill over.

    Dutch oven – An alternative to using a large saute pan is to use a 7-quart Dutch oven.

    Chili bowls – If you serve hearty soups often, it’s worth it to invest in a set of chili bowls! These have handles so you can avoid burning your fingers.

    Ladle – I love a heavy-duty, extra large ladle for thicker soups like this one.

    Wooden spoon – This is a dense mixture to stir, so a good wooden spoon will be helpful and save your hands from cramping up.

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    How To Make The Best Chili on Earth

    Step 1

    In a large saute pan or Dutch oven, cook 2 pounds lean ground beef over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain the excess fat from the skillet, but do not clean it out.

    pan of cooked ground beef

    Step 2

    Add the olive oil to the skillet and reduce heat to medium.

    Add the chopped onions, green bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and sauté veggies over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes total time).

    Chili ingredients in pan ready to be cooked.

    Remove the pan from the heat and add the chili seasoning ingredients to the beef mixture: 3 tablespoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.

    Spices on top of peppers and onions in skillet.

    Step 3

    If you are cooking it on the stove top, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If you’re using a slow cooker, add the meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker.

    Add the tomato juice (replace a portion of the juice with 2-3 cups beef broth or beef stock to add a kick of flavor, if desired), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or crock pot, depending on which you are using.

    Chili ingredients in a crockpot ready to be cooked.

    On the stove top, bring to a boil, dial the heat back to medium-low and let chili cook for 2 hours (stir occasionally). In the slow cooker, cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours.

    Enjoy immediately! Allow leftovers to cool, then store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

    Recipe Notes

    • Serve warm with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream! Other great topping options include sliced green onions, avocados, crushed tortilla chips or minced jalapenos (give your meal a nice kick!).
    • This is more of a soupy homemade chili recipe, so in order to thicken, replace the diced tomatoes with crushed tomatoes and reduce the amount of tomato juice by half.
    • Add up to 1 tablespoon brown sugar for an added touch of sweetness.
    • For a more Mexican flair, replace some or all of the beans with black beans.
    • Turn this into an extra hearty chili by adding diced potatoes or another hearty vegetable such as carrots.
    • Add a few tablespoons of tomato paste for an extra rich flavor.
    • Store leftovers that have been cooled to room temperature in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in heavy duty freezer bags in the freezer for up to 6 months.
    • Turn this into a spicy chili by adding hot sauce, red pepper flakes or extra jalapenos. A little bit goes a long way with any of these ingredients.

    Best Chili Recipes

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    • Chili mac recipe
    • Hot dog chili recipe
    • No bean recipe for chili

    What To Serve With Chili

    Homemade cornbread is a great option to serve alongside this bowl of comfort. Dinner rolls, chopped salad and garlic bread taste delicious, too!

    Chili Dinner Ideas

    Chili dinners are the best in those cold winter months! If you are looking to round out your meal, peruse this roundup for ideas about what to serve as appetizers for chili dinner.

    Looking down into a full and hearty bowl of chili topped with jalapeno slices and sour cream.

    How To Thicken Chili

    If you make a delicious batch and find that it is not thick enough for your liking, we have some simple methods that will fix it! Read on for tips about how to thicken chili.

    How Long Does Chili Last

    If you are wondering how long chili lasts in the fridge or if your batch is still fresh, click over for all the info!

    Leftover chili freezes very well! Place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months for best results.

    Substitute for Beans in Chili

    Whether you can’t eat beans or you just don’t have any on hand, learn what to substitute for beans in crockpot chili!

    How To Make Chili In An Instant Pot

    This comforting meal turns out like absolute perfection when made in an Instant Pot. Head over to my posted Instant Pot chili to get the full instructions!

    What To Do With Chili Leftovers

    If you have leftovers (and it’s very possible that you will because this makes a really big batch of chili), please check out these delicious recipes to help use them up:

    • Baked stuffed sweet potatoes
    • Best ever chili dogs
    • Chili mac and cheese
    • Chili-topped baked potatoes

    Mac and Cheese Recipes for Thanksgiving – 13 Delicious Ideas!

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    What People Are Saying About This Recipe

    “I will NEVER make another chilli recipe in my life again!! This is so good! I absolutely hate cooking and all the prep so the first time I made this I told myself I would never again do it. It was so good that it was worth the chopping up of a few veggies and measuring of a bunch of spices. I make it at least 2-3 times every fall/winter now!“ ~ASHLEY

    “This IS THE BEST Chili! This recipe has been on rotation in my home for awhile now. Everyone raves about how it IS the BEST chili they be ever had! Thank you for sharing this with us! “ ~SARA

    World’s Best Chili Recipe

    This is the best chili recipe on the internet! A contest winner, crowd pleaser and the best chili you’ll find, it will get rave reviews!
    5 from 195 votes
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 8 hours hours
    Total Time: 8 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 391kcal
    Author: Megan Porta

    Equipment

    • Slow Cooker
    • Ladle
    • Extra Large Saute Pan
    • Dutch Oven
    • Chili Bowls
    • Wooden Spoon

    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs ground beef
    • 4 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 yellow onion chopped
    • 1 green bell pepper chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic minced
    • 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley finely chopped
    • 2 jalapeño peppers finely chopped (optional)
    • 3 tbsp chili powder
    • 2 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp pepper
    • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 46 oz tomato juice
    • 28 oz diced tomatoes
    • 15 oz tomato sauce
    • 16 oz kidney beans drained and rinsed
    • 16 oz pinto beans drained and rinsed
    • Shredded cheese and sour cream for topping
    Text Ingredients

    Instructions

    • In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
    • Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
    • If cooking on the stove top, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using.
    • On the stove top, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours (stir occasionally). In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.

    Notes

    • Serve warm with cheese and sour cream! Other great topping options include sliced green onions or minced jalapenos (give your meal a nice kick!).
    • For a thicker chili, replace the diced tomatoes with crushed tomatoes and reduce the amount of tomato juice by half.
    • To keep this chili on the leaner side, use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef.
    • To add a delicious flavor to the recipe, replace 1 pound of ground beef with 1 pound of ground sausage.
    • For a different flavor, replace some or all of the beans with black beans.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cup | Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 1108mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1504IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 6mg
    Did you make this recipe?If you loved this recipe, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Saundra

      April 24, 2025 at 5:49 pm

      5 stars
      My family loves this chili recipe! I appreciate the suggested variations in the Notes. Here’s another delicious option—substitute Bloody Mary mix for the tomato juice.

      Reply
      • Megan Porta

        May 02, 2025 at 1:06 pm

        Thanks, Saundra! That’s an interesting twist. Thanks for sharing it!

        Reply
    2. Krystle

      March 19, 2025 at 3:09 pm

      Such a yummy recipe! I was wondering how I could change it up to use dried pinto beans? thanks!

      Reply
      • Megan Porta

        March 24, 2025 at 7:21 pm

        Hey Krystle – you could definitely use dried pinto beans! I would recommend soaking the beans first and maybe even, if you have time, cooking them first before adding them to the chili.

        Reply
    3. Jim Scanlan

      February 16, 2025 at 7:46 am

      Hello, I’m going to be using your recipe for some awesome chili. One question though, just how hot is it….on a scale of 1 to 5..ty

      Reply
      • Megan Porta

        February 20, 2025 at 5:03 pm

        Hi Jim – this is a hard question to answer because everyone’s spice meter is different. If someone is sensitive to spice, omit the jalapeños. At that point it’s a 1. With the peppers, maybe a 2.5?

        Reply
    4. Ashley Colvin

      January 24, 2025 at 11:39 am

      5 stars
      I have been making this recipe for years now and it never misses! So yummy!!

      Reply
      • Megan Porta

        January 24, 2025 at 12:28 pm

        Thanks for sharing, Ashley!

        Reply
    5. Robin

      December 24, 2024 at 8:30 pm

      5 stars
      This is my go to chili recipe! Sooo good.

      Reply
      • Megan Porta

        December 30, 2024 at 12:58 pm

        Love to hear this Robin!

        Reply
    6. m

      December 17, 2024 at 6:24 pm

      my first and best tasting chili ever! Definitely better than those in cans.

      Reply
    7. Amy

      November 27, 2024 at 5:40 pm

      5 stars
      Best chili ever!

      Reply
    8. Mizraggy

      November 16, 2024 at 1:43 am

      5 stars
      Been yrs since I made a pot of chili. Found this one and want to say thanks to the author. Simple, easy to follow, delicious.
      Few tweaks for pot size, protein I had on hand (80/chuck, chorizo, mild Italian sausage), spice heat level… served w/skillet cornbread. Yum!!
      This is the one!!

      Reply
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    5 from 195 votes (112 ratings without comment)

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