This really is the world’s best chili recipe. I’ve made and refined this chili over the years until it hit that perfect balance of hearty texture and rich flavor. It comes together with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand, but the result tastes like so much more. If you’ve been searching for a no-fail chili recipe that people will ask for again and again, this is it. Thousands of readers have made this and it gets rave reviews every time.
Original post: April 2018 | Updated: May 2026
Why This Chili Recipe Works
You just found the best chili recipe. Bold claim, I know but this one delivers every single time.
This is the chili my husband and I have made and refined for years, tweaking it until it hit that perfect balance of flavor, texture and comfort.
Here is why it stands out:
- Rich and flavorful with the perfect hearty texture
- Made with simple ingredients you probably already have
- Perfect for game day, weeknights or feeding a crowd
- Always gets completely devoured no leftovers, ever
- Easy to adapt with ground turkey or even venison
It’s slightly thinner than ultra-thick chili recipes, which makes it extra flavorful and perfect for soaking up with cornbread or chips.
It is cozy, reliable and the kind of recipe people ask for after one bite. If you love cozy comfort food, you’ll also want to try my mac and cheese.
More Ground Beef Recipes You’ll Love
If this easy chili recipe hit the spot, here are a few more cozy, easy dinners made with ground beef:
- Classic Meatloaf
- Hamburger Wild Rice Casserole
- Ground Beef Casserole with Egg Noodles
- Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
Chili Ingredients
Ground beef
Use lean ground beef, or swap for ground turkey or chicken. For extra flavor, replace 1 pound with ground sausage.
Bell peppers
Any color works great.. green, red, yellow or orange.
Jalapeño peppers
Adds subtle heat without making the chili spicy. Omit along with cayenne for a mild version. This is my secret ingredient for winning chili cook-offs.
Use fresh jalapeños when possible, but canned work in a pinch.
Tomato juice
Controls the thickness. Use less for a thicker chili.
Beans
Kidney and pinto beans are classic, but any variety works or omit entirely for a no-bean version.
Spices and seasonings
Chili powder, cumin, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne create the perfect balance. Optional additions include garlic powder or paprika.
Favorite toppings
Shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, red onion or crushed chips all work beautifully.
Equipment You’ll Need
Slow cooker
Use an 8-quart or larger to accommodate this big batch.
Large sauté pan or Dutch oven
You’ll need plenty of space to cook the ingredients before transferring.
Ladle and sturdy spoon
This chili is thick and hearty, so a heavy-duty ladle and strong spoon make serving easier.
How To Make Chili
- Brown the beef
Cook ground beef in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and drain excess fat.
- Sauté the vegetables
Add olive oil to the same pan and reduce heat to medium. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened and fragrant. - Add spices
Remove pan from heat. Stir in chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne until evenly combined.
- Combine ingredients
Return beef to the pan or transfer everything to a slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients
Stir in tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans. For extra flavor, replace some tomato juice with beef broth if desired. - Simmer
On the stovetop, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. In a slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- Serve and store
Serve warm. Let leftovers cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Key Tips for the Best Chili
- Brown the meat well to build deep flavor
- Let the chili simmer longer for a richer taste
- Adjust seasoning at the end for the best balance
- Chili tastes even better the next day
Recipe Notes and Tips
Serving ideas
Serve homemade chili warm with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Other great toppings include green onions, avocado, crushed tortilla chips or jalapeños for a little kick.
Want thicker chili?
This recipe is slightly brothy. For a thicker consistency, use crushed tomatoes instead of diced and reduce the tomato juice by half.
Add a touch of sweetness
Stir in up to 1 tablespoon brown sugar to balance the flavors.
Easy variations
- Swap in black beans for a more Mexican-inspired flavor
- Add diced potatoes or carrots for a heartier chili
- Stir in tomato paste for a richer, deeper flavor
Make it spicy
Add hot sauce, red pepper flakes or extra jalapeños to increase the heat.
Storage
Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Chili FAQ
Simmer the chili uncovered longer, reduce the liquid or use crushed tomatoes instead of diced. Adding a small amount of tomato paste also helps thicken and deepen flavor.
Yes. Brown the meat using sauté mode, then add remaining ingredients and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes followed by a natural release.
Store cooled chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes. Let it cool completely, then store in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Absolutely. Simply omit the beans or replace them with extra meat or vegetables for a thicker, heartier version.
Use leftovers for chili mac, chili dogs, stuffed baked potatoes or as a topping for nachos.
What To Serve With Chili
This chili is hearty and satisfying on its own, but pairing it with the right sides takes it to the next level. Here are a few favorites to round out your meal:
- Homemade Cornbread – the perfect cozy pairing
- Dinner Rolls – great for soaking up every last bite
- Garlic Bread – buttery and delicious alongside a warm bowl
- Chopped Salad – adds a fresh, crisp contrast
More Chili Recipes You’ll Love
- White Chicken Chili
- Quick and Easy Chili
- Chili Mac (the ultimate comfort combo)
- Hot Dog Chili (perfect for game day)
- No Bean Chili (thick and hearty)
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
Best Chili Recipe (Easy, Flavorful and Hearty)
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
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.
Video
Notes
- This chili has a slightly brothy consistency. For a thicker version, use crushed tomatoes and reduce the tomato juice.
- For extra flavor, replace some of the tomato juice with beef broth.
- Adjust spice level by adding more or less jalapeño, cayenne or hot sauce.
- This chili tastes even better the next day after the flavors have developed.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Megan Porta is a comfort food recipe creator who specializes in easy family meals and Instant Pot desserts, and the founder of Pip and Ebby. She has been cooking for three decades and developing recipes for over fifteen years, helping home cooks make reliable, cozy recipes for real life.
Chile was great used 2- 5.5 cans of spicey hot V8 and 2-5.5 cans of reg.V8. It added just the right amount of zest.
Making it right now in the slow cooker! My girlfriend and I love chili, were really excited to try it out.
Hi Ashley! I hope it turns out great!!
Megan
I have made this chili exactly like recipe calls for and is the best chili I have ever made. I like my chili a little thinner so added all tomato juice that was called for. As others have commented, use less if you like a thicker chili. It is definitely worthy to enter in a chili cooking contest!
Hi Tracey! I love the thinner chili, too, and I’m so glad you loved this recipe!
Megan
A tip for crockpot users… The moisture that usually boils off during the cooking is recycled right back into the pot due to being covered. This is why a crockpot will not reduce like a open top stew pot. Crockpot users like this as they can adjust the liquid consistency to their liking first and add later as needed. Don’t take the 48oz tomato juice as written in stone.
Do you cook with the top on or off?
Hi Tiara! Keep the lid on the crockpot for this one. I hope this helps!
Megan
Do you happen to have calorie information for this recipe for entering it in myfitnesspal?
Hi Dian! I don’t, but you can probably figure it out easily by using a calorie calculator such as caloriecounter.com. I hope this helps!
Megan
Just for info, olive oil, when used on high heat for frying or sauteing becomes a carcinogen. I use coconut oil, but you could use peanut oil or any other non-GMO oil. Coconut oil is really good for you!
I didn’t really eat any chilli before. I don’t really know why, I didn’t like how my mom’s chilli looked like. And yesterday I had the feeling that I want to eat chilli. So I looked for a recipe, and I think I’ve chosen it because of the amazing pics. 🙂
I am europian (from Hungary), so I needed to use my math skills to convert everything to gramms, and finally I figured out, that I only want to make the third of your portion, and 1 oz is 30 gramm, so I will just put a 0 to every amount, and I have the mesaurements…
😀
It’s really delicious. The hungarian recipes are mostlymixed with the hungarian tastes, so I was happy to found a "basic" one. I put some corns in it, and made it with porkmeat. I was quite afraid of the too many chilli, that I will be a dragon at the end of the meal, so I put just normal hungarian paprika in it, plus one chilli pepper, and some chillipowder (no worries, it was picant enough).
I also was afraid about the too much tomatoejuice, so I added less, but as I really wanted to do it properly, and cook it for two hours (I think here the slowcooker is not so popular yet), after 80 mins it wasn’t enough liquid for me, so I added more tomatojuice and some water (finally maybe a bit even more than in the recipe). It’s awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I still have to much in the skillet, so I will invite 1 or 2 friends over 🙂
Hi Piroska! I’m so glad you took the time to do the measurement conversions and that you enjoyed it so much! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this comment!
Megan
Can I cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours instead of low for 8?
Hi Marissa! YES, for sure! It’ll be great! Hope you enjoy.
Megan
I’m not much of a chili fan, but I have all this goat meat in my freezer from a doe we had to put down last year, so I did a Google search for "best chili recipe" and found this one. It looked good and also simple so I tried it and boy was I pleased with the results! I’ve made two batches in three weeks, and guests have asked for the recipe (always a great sign!). Even I like it!
I did make a couple of changes that worked well. First off, I used about 3 lbs. of meat and only one can of diced tomatoes. I also added bacon. Goat meat is very lean, so I fried up 12 oz. of bacon until it was quite crispy. I broke it into bite-sized bits when cool and added it to the crock pot. I poured off most of the bacon grease and used a little of it to brown the goat meat. Then I poured the bacon grease back into the pan and cooked the veggies in that instead of olive oil.
This recipe is GREAT with goat and I imagine with game meat (venison, elk, antelope). Eight hours in a crock pot turns even the toughest lean meat into melt-in-your mouth goodness. You can’t beat the robust flavor that beef just doesn’t have. If there’s ever a chili cook-off in town I’ll be bringing this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Also I hope this helps the people who say this chili is to soupy, do it as the instructions say but do what I do and cook on low for about 4 hours or so it reduces the liquid down a lot but leaves all the flavor there.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve made chili and wanted to find a good recipe I could use to add my own personal tastes and flairs to, after searching around the net looking for a decent one I decided to try this one for a couple reasons
1. because of the abundance of positive comments about it
2. it had more ingredients than hamburger,tomato sauce, beans,and chili powder
I made this last week to test it out and it did not disappoint, I made the whole recipe in a big pot and was sure I made way too much, boy was I wrong, my dad and grandmother had a couple bowls for lunch as it cooked, then we had it for dinner as planned with some cornbread, between me and the 3 other people we took out almost the whole pot, with just enough for a bowl the next day with some leftover cornbread. It was really good and my couple of friends said on multiple occasions it was the best bowl of chili they ever had. I modified the recipe slightly however by frying up some thin sliced Linguicia to add a little smokiness and extra flavor and in my opinion it was just right. Very good Recipe thank you, it has officially become a staple in my home.
I’m usually the only chili eater in my house, so was hesitant to make such a large batch. I am so glad I did! I used venison – which persuaded my husband and kids to try it ? – and between the 5 of us, we ate almost 1/2 the pot. Yum! I skipped the olive oil – with that change, and using the venison, this clicked in at around 263 calories for an almost 2 cup serving. Amazing! So, so, so delicious! I’m glad I tried something new – and that there are leftovers for lunches this week.
I made this yesterday to sustain us through blizzard 2016 and it sure did the trick. We recently began eating a plant based diet and so I substituted the meat with soy crumbles and it was delicious! I reduced the amount of tomato juice because I prefer a thicker chili, but that’s just my personal preference. I also took the ribs and seeds out of the jalapeños but served the chili with a side of Sriracha so everyone could adjust the heat to their individual taste (as well as cheddar cheese and plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream). Served with a side of cornbread and homemade brownies for dessert . . . it was just the thing to keep us warm and cozy despite the mountains of snow. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Made this for the first time last month and was hesitant because I never made chilli before. Needless to say tonight on this snowy day is this sixth time I’ve made it since! This recipe is fool proof and it comes out DELICIOUS. Everytime I make it I have left overs for days.. Would last even longer if my boyfriend didn’t scarf down half the batch at once :). I used a little more chilli powder cause we like spicy foods. The chilli is the definition of comfort food. I accidentally used a little more tomato juice than the recipe called for but it still came out great. I am so happy you posted the recipe because I will use this forever!
Made his last week. It will be my go to recipe from now on. Great on day one and even better the next day. I want to make it again this week.
Hi! Just found the recipe yesterday and getting ready to make it right now! Can’t wait! I love Chili. Thank you!
Today, love this chilli!!! Didn’t add but 3 cups of tomato juice & only 1 jalapeño my hubby doesn’t like a lot of spice. New favorite chilli recipe! Thanks!
Best chili I’ve ever made! I know because my husband sent me a text, while I was out, saying "this chili is bangin!!" ? So I want to thank you for sharing your recipe! I did make a few changes as it didn’t hit the spot as I was taste-testing during the first couple of hours of slow-cooking. I did not use the jalapeño peppers because I was afraid it would be too spicy for my 3 kids. I also doubled the seasonings but left the chili powder and the cayenne pepper as directed. I used 2 tsp brown sugar in addition to the 1 tsp granulated sugar. I only used about 3/4 of the 45-ounce tomato juice which was perfect. Might I add.. I made this on Saturday, and it was pretty much gone by Sunday night! Will definitely make this again! Thank you!!
I made this chili for the first time just yesterday. The overall flavor is VERY GOOD and my husband and 3 kids seemed to like it. However, I did make some changes to suit my family’s taste buds. Here is what I did:
I omitted the following:
jalapeno peppers and used only 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (to control the heat)
can of tomato sauce
kidney beans and pinto beans
I added the following:
3 cans of Kroger brand Simple Truth Organic Tri-Blend Beans (in the juice…I did not drain & rinse the beans)
1 can of chopped chili peppers (mild)
Aside from the changes above, I followed the rest of the ingredient list. The complaint that I received is that the chili was not thick enough. It was too soupy. Agreed.
So, I will definitely make this chili again, but will decrease the liquid in some way (either by simply adding less or doubling the main ingredients, except the liquid).
Love this Chile my all time favorite