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!
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!
Helping you remove stress from your holiday menu planning!
Check out my FAVORITE easy, tried-and-true holiday recipes here on the blog in one handy gallery.
Say goodbye to endless internet browsing and hello to easy, delicious recipes!
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
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.
Best Dinner Recipes of All Time
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.
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).
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.
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.
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
- Recipe for white chili
- Quick easy chili recipe
- 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.
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:
Mac and Cheese Recipes for Thanksgiving – 13 Delicious Ideas!
Mac and cheese is a Thanksgiving staple! Read on for some scrumptious mac and cheese recipes for Thanksgiving that you can make this year! You’ll find a ton of options to choose from in this roundup.
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
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.
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.
Bethany
This recipe is perfect! It made the best chili ever, my family enjoyed it. I will make again. Thanks!
Megan Porta
That’s great to hear! We love it too. Thank you for letting me know!
Marissa
My absolute favorite! Instead of meat I use vegan crumble and it is a favorite in my house, when I have company I have them eat a bowl and grab seconds before I tell them it’s vegan. They are very surprised haha . Grateful for this receipe so thank you!?
Megan Porta
I’m grateful for you! So glad you like it. Great idea on the crumble!
Colette
This has been our go to chili recipe now for over 2 years! My daughter actually made it for our country fair & received a Blue Ribbon. We love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Megan Porta
That’s exciting! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy it!
Jordge
I must say this is one of the better pots of chili that I have cooked it was faat and delicious I didn’t have the jalapenos so i used 2 table spoons of the minced jalapenos in the jar and made it just that better it wasn’t to spicy and also not to mild I’m not a fan of spicy foods but this chili was awsome to my whole family
Megan Porta
Yay! Glad to hear it! Enjoy the leftovers! I always strive to start with a good base meal and add flavor but not too much heat for most of the readers prefer it mild. Then those that love spice (like me!) can add and enjoy. There are a few recipes that are meant to be spicy and I share that up front. Thanks!
Monica
the kidney & pinto beans says to drain and rinse. Are these canned beans your using or beans in a bag?
Megan Porta
I’m using canned beans for this recipe. You could prepare beans in a bag if you are prepared to get them ready ahead of time. I’m not always that prepared and organized!
Liz
Hi! I made this over the weekend and it was delicious! I know the recipe serves 12, what would you say a serving size would be?
Megan Porta
I guess that could be a cup or two soup ladles would be about a serving.
Lynn
Hi, I would love to try this recipe it looks amazing! I would only need to make it for around 6 people though.. would I just cut the serving size of the ingredients in half?
Megan Porta
Hi Lynn,
That’s a great question! This recipe is really easy to downsize, so yes, you could just halve it.
Amber
This sounds amazing! Does anyone know what the nutritional value is?
Megan Porta
Hi Amber,
I don’t have nutritional value on my site but there are a lot of good websites that you can use to input your exact ingredients from the recipe. I’ve listed one below that you could use!
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Amy
Do you suggest using a seasoning packet if you don’t have all the seasonings on hand?
Megan Porta
That will work too! I don’t buy seasoning packets because I keep all the spices on hand that are in one. 🙂
Torrey
I am making this tonight for dinner but would like to make it ahead of time so the flavors have time to blend. Can I keep this on low heat for the day and then heat back up when ready to serve?
Megan Porta
Most definitely! Chili is always great the next couple of days.
Emma
I am trying this recipe out for dinner tonight but realized I don’t have enough time…can I put the crock pot on high for a few hours and switch to low? I only have about 5 hrs to cook in the crock pot…
Megan Porta
Hi Emma,
Everything’s cooked so you are just letting all the flavors stew together and get really delicious while letting the meal thicken up. You can certainly set it on high and it’ll still turn out great. Good question!
Gregory
I found this recipe the night before the Chili cookoff at church. A few friends told me I should enter it to represent our bible study group. I searched hundreds of recipes and this one just seemed like it stood out. Nothing to crazy but everything I liked. I am the cook of the house but in no way a great one but I can follow a recipe. I did exactly what was printed and I ended up winning my first ever cooking competition. I am asked all the time now to cook Chili for events at the church and family events. This stuff is awesome. I can’t recall one person sayin anything negative since I started cooking this recipe. I tell people I told you it is The Best Chili on Earth. Thanks for sharing. I signed up for your news letter and look forward to trying more new recipes from y’all.
Megan Porta
What a fun story! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad that you won the contest and found a keeper of a recipe. It is my goal to keep providing you with awesome meal recipes! Make sure to check out the Pip and Ebby cooking app so you have the recipes available in a wonderful format and can email yourself the shopping list!
Danielle
Making this chili for the second time tonight- it is by far the best chili recipe I’ve come across yet. This isn’t just the best I’ve ever made- it’s the best I’ve ever tasted! It was a huge hit with everyone who’s tried it. We exclude the jalapeños as my wife doesn’t love spice, but I think they would be a great addition. Great recipe and thank you for sharing!
Megan Porta
You are so welcome. Thanks for coming by to share!!
natalie
i absolutely LOVE this chili!!! I have been talking about making this for weeks and colder weather has finally arrived so it’s simmering as we speak! entering it in a chili contest tomorrow, wish me luck!!
Megan Porta
Ooh exciting! How’d the contest turn out? Chili can be made so many ways. I’m glad you love this one!
Jessi
Found this recipe a couple years ago and RAVED about it to every human I know. Went to make it a few days ago to find I forgot to pin it! I spent two hours digging through Pinterest for this beauty, and it was WORTH IT.
Megan Porta
I’m so glad you found it! Don’t forget to download the Pip and Ebby app – we’d love for you to try out a few more recipes! (it’s free!)
Susan
Love this recipe! So yummy! Any idea on the calorie intake on a bowl of it minus additions?
Megan Porta
Hi Susan, Good question! I don’t post nutritional information because everyone uses such different ingredients. However, you can grab this information pretty easily and I’ve posted one of many options below you can go to for that help.
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Anna
Hi! Has anyone tried making this in the Instant Pot? If so do u know the cooking time/pressure temp? Can’t wait to try it this weekend!!
Megan Porta
Hi, I haven’t used the Instant Pot for this recipe. But I did bring it back out to start using again – so thank you, I’ll add this idea to the list!
Barbara
I love this! I make it vegan with veggie crumbles instead of the meat!
Megan Porta
Sounds like a perfect tweak for you – thanks for sharing!
Katie
I love, love, loveeeee this recipe! I’ve made it a handful of times now over the years. I love switching it up between beef and turkey.
Megan Porta
That’s a good tip – you can always switch up the meat and it’s still a fabulous recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Savannah O'Neal
Randomly found this recipe on Pinterest and have been making it for a year now ? its my go-to. Love love love!
Megan Porta
That made my day! Thank you for letting me know – I hope you enjoy more of Pip and Ebby!