Recipe video above. Everybody's favourite Chili, nice and saucy! Made with a from-scratch Chili Powder rather than a store bought mix - it's so much more reliable and you just need pantry staples. Don't skip the beef bouillon cubes (stock cube) - it adds so much more flavour into the sauce than using just salt, or even liquid beef stock.Make a quick midweek version though when you've got the time, it's well worth slow cooking. See notes for Serving and Topping options!
Recipe by Nagi | RecipeTin Eats on August 31, 2018
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT30M
Total time: PT40M
Rating
4.9 stars (334 reviews)
Keywords
Chili, Chilli Con Carne
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves (, minced)
1 onion (, diced (brown, white, yellow))
1 red capsicum ((bell pepper), diced)
1 lb / 500g beef mince / ground beef
3 tbsp tomato paste
800g / 28 oz can crushed tomato
14 oz / 420g can red kidney beans (, drained (or other beans))
Sour cream, yoghurt, grated cheese, coriander./cilantro ((Note 6 for more))
Categories
Dinner
Cuisine
Tex-Mex
Steps
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute, then add capsicum and cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
Turn heat up to high and add beef. Cook, breaking it up as you go, until mostly browned.
Add Chili Spice Mix. Cook until beef is browned all over. (This step helps release extra flavour from the spices)
Add remaining ingredients, with 1/2 cup of water for Quick Cook or 1 1/2 cups for Slow Cook. Bring to simmer, then adjust heat per step below:
Quick Cook - 20 to 40 minutes, uncovered, on medium low heat so it's bubbling gently; OR
Slow Cook - 1.5 hours to 2 hours, covered, on low heat so it's bubbling very gently. (Note 3 Slow Cooker)
Adjust salt to taste just before serving.
Serve over rice, or ladle into bowls and serve with corn chips or warm tortillas on the side with Toppings of choice (Note 6). See Note 7 for more serving options. My usual: Either over rice or with corn chips, always with sour cream, cheese and coriander.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 280 g
Calories: 367 kcal
Carbohydrates: 30.5 g
Protein: 39.6 g
Fat: 10.1 g
Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
Cholesterol: 90 mg
Sodium: 443 mg
Sugar: 7.2 g
Reviews
Debra C Farrell on 2026-07-27 (5 stars): I have made hundreds of Chilli recipes and have to say with a slight tweak this was delicious! I used 1/2 the amount of tomatoes and added 1 tsp cocoa powder. It was perfect!
Brittany on 2026-06-17 (5 stars): I make a big double batch of this every week, it’s a STAPLE in our house. Also it really does freeze so well, you literally cannot tell the difference after it’s been frozen. Favourite recipe for meal prepping
Claire on 2026-05-23 (5 stars): Beautiful Chilli Con Carne recipe Nagi! I hadn't made this dish for years as my husband hates beans in anything. Was hanging out for it myself though and thought "bugger him" I'm cooking this. We like spicy so I added a couple of home grown Jalepeno chilli's as well as the two teaspoons of cayenne. Served with home made guacamole, sour cream & grated tasty cheese. My bean hating husband loved it. Fabulous recipe, thank you as always for never failing to impress 😍🥰😘
Linda from Perth on 2026-05-05 (3 stars): Way too hot! I’m thinking that you should only add one teaspoon of the combined spice mix..certainly not all of it! I added one teaspoon of cayenne and the chili was way too hot..and I love spicy food.
Judith Connor on 2026-04-30 (5 stars): So good! I served this with cornbread and to say it was a hit is an understatement. We all ate too much! Next time I will make a huge vat and freeze it for future meals.
Jen Pierce on 2026-04-27 (5 stars): This is sooooo good, I batch cook this every few months and make five family meals - one for today and four for the freezer. I also make a vegan version for my eldest son (tinned green lentils and meat-free beef oxo) and freeze in individual portions. One clean up, one cook and there’s always a (very) decent dinner available even when I’m working late. I do the same with the bolognese recipe. Nagi, your recipes are foolproof, failsafe and flipping delicious.
erin on 2026-04-19 (5 stars): yum
Liv Nixon on 2026-04-18 (5 stars): This is such a good chili dish, plenty of delicious sauce. I made a double batch, had it with rice day one and with corn chips day 2.. I think the flavours were even better day 2, so will be doing that again!
Gillian on 2026-04-16 (5 stars): Absolutely beautiful!
I do like my Chilli quite spicy so added chillies and hot sauce.
Amazing 😋
Alice Miller on 2026-04-15 (5 stars): I lived in Texas for ten years and learned from my neighbors not to add beans. Texans take great pride in their chili prowess. I happen to adore beans but my husband is diabetic, so I divided the recipe between beans and no beans. Excellent! Never thought of adding a green pepper but it adds another layer of interest. I had a half a poblano pepper left over from tacos (not spicy) and chopped that up too. Very, very good.
Jo on 2026-04-12 (5 stars): Who cares, it’s delicious! Go rant elsewhere.
Dave Watson on 2026-04-07 (5 stars): Second time doing this recipe for me. This time I forgot to buy the crushed tomatoes, and so I used what I had in the pantry, which was a 700ml bottle of Mutti basil infused Passatta. Wow! It took the flavour to the next level, and being Passatta without the tomato seeds, this version didn't have any hint of bitterness. Sensational recipe, thank you Nagi.
Jen Duke on 2026-03-23 (5 stars): Love this recipe! My husband is allergic to tomato seeds so no tinned tomatos in my pantry. I use 700g bottle of passata and 1/2 cup water with slow cook method. The end product is thick, rich and delicious! Plenty of leftovers snd freezes perfectly!
Julie on 2026-03-22 (5 stars): So easy to make not too much prep and lasts for a few meals (2 of .us). For our final meal we had a bit left so put in a pizza base added olives and cheese. Fussy husband thought it was divine LOL.
