Name: Chili Con Carne | Beef Chili
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 medium onion (diced finely); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 500 grams ground beef (less fat); a pinch of turmeric; 2 teaspoons red chilli powder; 1 teaspoon paprika powder; 1 tablespoon cumin powder; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried marjoram (or dried thyme); 1 bell pepper (red or green, diced); 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 400 grams tomatoes (chopped roughly (5 to 6)); 1 teaspoon brown sugar; 1 tablespoon white vinegar (white or red or apple cider); 1 beef stock cube (bouillon cube); 2 cups hot water (approx); 1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed (1 cup boiled rajma)); Salt and pepper to taste; full-fat labneh (or sour cream to serve)

Jump to Recipe

A bowl of chili is the classic comfort food of winter evenings or any time of the year. This chili con carne with beef is best served as is or with a dollop of labneh or sour cream.

The Internet is saturated with Chili con carne recipes, but one more wouldn't hurt, I hope. 😁. You guys have to make this! I don't know why it took me so long to try this! The aroma from a pot of Beef Chili simmering away on the stove is the warm comfort our tummy seeks on these cold winter nights.

This Chili con carne recipe can be a great family meal or served for friends for a casual dinner. What to serve it with? There are a plethora of options, but the best would be to serve it on a bowl of rice to make the perfect comforting meal. Ditch the rice and serve with a dollop of labneh or sour cream for a low-carb version, as we did.

What is Chili Con Carne?

Chili con carne, which translates to "chilli with meat", is a spicy stew made with chilli peppers, meat or poultry, tomatoes and kidney beans, seasoned with dried herbs, garlic, onions, and ground cumin. The dish is claimed to have originated in northern Mexico or southern Texas, and that dispute is still on, while the rest of the world is making it in many different ways.

After I made this, it reminded me of Bolognese sauce but with amplified flavours. Most recipes will call for a "Chili Powder" which is not the chilli powder that we Indians are familiar with. The Chili powder is a spice mix sold to make the beef chilli con carne recipe. The good news is that we can still make a pot of warm Beef Chili with the spices and dried herbs we always have in our pantry. Is it that easy? I have a funny story associated with Chili - the first time I was introduced to the dish.

funny story

While I was working as a Learning Strategist in a multinational company in Bangalore back in the 2000s, I had an American colleague in my team. One of the days, the team planned for a potluck, and I was making the list of who was bringing what...

He said, "I will bring some chilli."

"What?"

"Chilli"...

"Oh, so you will just bring chilli?"

"Yes!" (giving me the bewildered look)

"OK!" (giving him the bewildered look)

I don't know why I was not into "googling" everything as I do now. On that potluck day, there was rajma, rice, sandwiches, and pakoras, and he walked in with a small bowl, came and showed me and said: "This is chilli".

I saw the red-coloured stew with ground meat (not sure if it was beef, as it was banned in Bangalore), and I was so embarrassed and felt how stupid I was! The Chili was so delicious, even though I just had a few spoonfuls...I always remember him whenever I have anything related to beef chili. I hope he is not reading this! 😄

Recently, after I finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, I googled "Obama's favourite food" - no idea why I did that - not that I had any plans to cook a celebrity's favourite food 😆 but not a bad idea though! So apparently, the Obamas love Chili and their own recipe is already on the internet. I procured the ingredients the same day and made my first-ever beef chilli aka Chili con carne.

Chili con Carne Ingredients

Let me tell you, there is no one way to make this dish. You can play around with the spices and flavours of herbs as per your taste, but cumin and oregano are a must, along with preferred chili flavour - smoked paprika, chipotle, cayenne, etc.

You can experiment with any kind of chili flavour and meat of your choice - no one will police you! 😉 Imagine this, I made this beef chili for the first time, and we loved it so much that we wiped clean every bowl. So, I am not even waiting to make it again to share here because I want all my readers to try this stuff!

Olive oil
Produce: You will need some onions (red, brown, or white), garlic cloves, red bell pepper, and tomatoes.
Beef (ground or chunks)
Ground spices: You will need cumin powder, red chilli powder, hot or smoked paprika powder,
Dried herb: I have used dried oregano, dried marjoram and/or thyme.
Canned: Chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh) + tomato paste
Vinegar: white or red grape vinegar
Beef stock cube
Cooked beans: You may use kidney, pinto, black-eyed, or white beans.
Labneh or sour cream, to serve

Refer to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this page for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.

How to make Chili con carne?

The whole dish is made in one pot and simmered for at least 45 minutes to an hour or more, so make sure to use a thick-bottomed deep pot.

Starts with the oil, onion and garlic that are cooked until just softened. Then the ground beef is added and browned on a high flame. Once all of the meat is browned, you have to reduce the flame to low before you add the spices. This is to ensure the spices don't get burnt before they can release the flavours. Chili is a spicy dish, so don't skim on the red chili and paprika powder.

Next, add the bell peppers and roast them until softened. Now, add the tomatoes and tomato paste, sugar, and vinegar and cook until the tomatoes break down further. Make the stock using the bouillon cube and add it to the pot. You may use homemade stock of any meat or vegetable; the stock adds flavour to the chili. Don't put on the lid. Keep open and bring to a boil, and then simmer while stirring every 10 minutes until cooked through.

Adjust the seasonings and add water as required. Towards the last 10 minutes, add the drained and rinsed canned kidney beans, or if you have cooked rajma, add that. Switch off, put on the lid and let it rest for 10 minutes before you dish out.

What goes well with chili con carne?

Here are some great options to serve with beef chilli:

top with some sour cream, labneh, or Greek yoghurt
pour over a bowl of rice
top with avocado salsa
stuff in a quesadilla
layer in a cheese sandwich
serve along with mashed potatoes
top with eggs (reminds me of Kimë me Vezë - Albanian meat with eggs)
top with cheese and fries
pour over a hot dog
pour over a bowl of pasta or spaghetti
Serve with pineapple!
and more ideas here!

More beef recipes? Do check my recipe for Beef Goulash or try my Kerala Beef Fry for something closer to a home dish! 🙂

A spicy beef chili that you can eat even while on a diet by skipping the rice because there are already carbs in the added beans. Did you know that National Chili Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of February? I had made this around the same week, even without knowing it!

More Recipes using Ground Beef

Enjoyed this Recipe?

Did you know that commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways to support your favourite food bloggers? If you tried this recipe, please leave a review in the comments with your ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. Your feedback enables my small business to continue offering free, high-quality recipe content for you. It is the best way to help me thrive in an increasingly competitive AI world.