This is the world’s best chili recipe! It is a contest winner, total crowd pleaser and the best version you’ll find. 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, I know, but you will soon agree! You are about to have either a very happy tummy, a very happy family, very happy guests or all of the above.
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 love it:
- It is absolute comfort food perfection and such an amazing chili recipe.
- This Pip and Ebby chili recipe is a favorite easy recipe for many home cooks far and wide.
- This classic chili recipe is perfect for cold, snowy days, as well as for larger gatherings such as game day parties or holiday feasts.
- We’ve never thrown a single morsel of it away because it always gets gobbled down in its entirety.
- It has the most perfect consistency and the flavor is beyond explanation.
- This beef chili recipe is a GREAT quick and easy comforting soup!
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
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.
Jalapeno peppers – Although the end result is not “spicy,” omit the jalapenos and cayenne pepper to ensure a totally mild soup. You can totally cater the spice level to your liking. Personally, I consider this the secret ingredient that helps this soup win chili cook-offs.
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.
Toppings – Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cilantro, lime wedges, chopped red onion or crushed saltine crackers.
Delicious Dinners
How To Make The Best Chili on Earth
Step 1
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook 2 pounds lean ground beef over medium 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 cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
Remove the pan from the heat and add the chili seasoning ingredients to the beef mixture: 3 tablespoons chili powder, 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 to add a kick of flavor, if desired), 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 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.
Great Chili Recipes
- Recipe for white chili
- Quick easy chili recipe
- Chili mac recipe
- Hot dog chili recipe
- No bean chili recipe
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 In The Fridge
If you are wondering how long chili lasts in the fridge or if your batch is still fresh, click over for all the info!
Best Bean Substitutes
Whether you can’t eat beans or you just don’t have any on hand, learn what to substitute for beans in crockpot chili!
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.
- Make the dish heartier by adding diced potatoes or another hearty vegetable such as carrots.
- Add a few tablespoons of tomato paste for an extra robust 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.
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:
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What People Are Saying About This Recipe
“I will NEVER make another chili 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
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
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.
What would be the stovetop cooking time?
Hi Evelyn, good question. Technically as soon as the ingredients are all combined and heated through it’s ready. But chili tastes better when it’s cooked low and slow for awhile to really allow those flavors to simmer together. That’s why I think it tastes better the next day. If you have it simmer an hour or two, you should be good to go though. Enjoy!
This has been my go to Chili recipe for years ever since I found this recipe on pinterest. Just made it again tonight. FAM FAVORITE!
Thank you for sharing that – I love to hear that good food is enjoyed with your families…this is the perfect time of year to enjoy this recipe!
This has been my go-to chili recipe for the past 5 years or so and have modified variations of different ingredients (adding diced sweet potato/beef stock/tomato paste, +\- spices, adding in different cuts of meat, etc) and it always turns out amazing. Thank you!
I whole heartedly support mixing it up with ingredients, what you have on hand and what you’re craving in the moment! Thanks for making my recipe and sharing too!
Just flat out awesome
Well thank you! I appreciate you sharing your feedback!
this sounds so good I might use veggie ground round have fooled grandchildren several times lol. could you add a can.of beans with maple syrup? what size crock pot. ease reply to my email. senior not great at finding things thanks for sharing
Yes, you could definitely use a meat substitute if you prefer. I have not experimented with flavor of maple beans but I imagine it would be good. Add a little sweetness. I have a 6 qt crockpot for my recipe.
This is my go to chili recipe! I’ve been making it for some time and my family loves it. Thank you so much.
So glad it’s enjoyed – that’s how dinner should be! Thank you for sharing!
This is the recipe that my husband asked for when we decided to fix our first batch of soup for the fall! A friend made it last year and I just had to have the recipe from her. It’s a family favorite now.
That’s wonderful! Using your slow cooker for meals is great so you can focus on other things. Thanks for sharing! I’m ready to go make myself a big batch now too just thinking about it.
Hi Megan!
I absolutely love this chili recipe and have made it often. Recently I have gone low carb. How would you recommend adjusting the recipe of I made it without the beans? Would you change anything? Had anyone else tried it without the beans?
Thanks!
Great question! You can omit the beans and leave the recipe the same. Great job on getting some focus on healthy choices!
Agree with your claim for the base recipe completely! It is so versatile, tonight it’s shrimp and bacon chili, with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and roast corn.
We like thicker so the tomato sauce, can of diced tomatoes and extra chipotle’s sauce are perfect! Thank you ma’am !
That sounds amazing and I’m glad you shared that inspired version with us. I love how cooking can just start one way and easily tweak or cater to some other flavors, ingredients in a moment.
Absolutely love this recipe. Only one I use for Chili, making it tonight! I use ground Venison and only cook that first, then dump everything else in the slow cooker.
Sounds like a great way to use this recipe – I’m so glad you shared that tip with us!
You killed it, Megan! Turned out great. My wife was very skeptical when she saw me dumping in all the tomato stuff, but we loved it. It has a heartiness that I haven’t been able to achieve trying other recipes over the years. I’ve been trying to recreate a few restaurant dishes that are no longer available, this one fills one of those slots, so thank you. The only thing extra I added was 1/2 tsp of MSG, which I highly recommend experimenting with.
I’m so glad you loved it! I love that feeling when you satisfy a craving of a recipe you’ve been trying to make for yourself. Glad you shared!
This has been our go-to recipe for several years. We love that it is easy to customize and makes a TON of food…good for company or to cook once and have dinners for multiple nights! My husband and I are vegetarian so we will add in a package or two of Gardein meatless ground beef and/or add in extra beans (any variety) and we have never been disappointed in the result.
Such a great meal to have, especially in the cooler months. I’m so glad you’re enjoying it and love that you tweaked it perfectly for your home. Thanks for sharing!
This is by far the best chilli recipe I have found & I won’t be looking for another one. This is THE ONE!!😋😋😋 Thank you for sharing it!
That’s great to hear! Thank you for sharing!
Can this be cooked on high for 4 hours?
No problem!
Everyone loves this chili when I make it. If making chili this is the only recipe you need, it never needs any pimping either.
Thank you Brittany. I think its a great dish for the winter too to stay warm. Thank you for sharing!
Could this be done by stove top as well?
Oh yes, chili can be made easily on the stove, in a crockpot or in the IP – that’s why I love this recipe!
So good every time I make it! I found this recipe couple of years ago and it really is the best !
Thanks pipandebby.com !
Yay! So love that you have enjoyed it as much as my family does. Thank you for sharing!
This is our go-to recipe for chili.
I have searched hi and low for a good Chili recipe. This is by far the best my family has had!! It is out of this world!
THank you for sharing! I appreciate your comments!
I’ve been using this recipe for awhile now and I love it! I use my crockpot and only sauté the meat with garlic in a skillet and then add everything else uncooked to the crockpot and still works great! I tried using fire roasted diced tomatoes this round and I’m excited to try it! The best part of this recipe is you can switch things up a little to your preferences but the base is still the same. Sooo good!
I totally agree, each recipe can be tweaked to your preference or what you have on hand. Thank you for sharing!