One Pot Chili with Dried Beans

Chili is one of those recipes that everyone makes, but not necessarily well. Undercooked beans, thin broth, and bland flavors. This recipe dispels those pitfalls. Learn how a little technique can produce an amazing bowl of chili. This recipe is homemade down to the chicken stock used to simmer the soup in.

PIN IT

This chili recipe is warming, hearty and satisfying. It has just enough heat to feel it without being overwhelming and blowing out your palette. Feel free to customize chili the way you like it. Whether that’s spicier, bolder with beer or coffee, or mild.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Thick, meaty and flavorful. Perfect for a cold fall night.
• Freezes beautifully. Make it once and have at least three separate dinners out of it
• It uses a whole can of tomato paste so you don’t have to figure out what to do with leftovers

What You’ll Walk Away Knowing

• How to taste to balance your chili
• How to cook beans in the same pot as tomatoes

Cooking with Tasting and Intuition

I initially measure my spices so I have an idea of what’s in the chili. We’re working with unsalted stock, ground beef, and vegetables so we need to add that salt in. I like to create a balance of flavor to start then taste the chili to see what it needs. You’ll need to do the same.

The dried spices are the backbone of the broth. They add depth and umami. If the stock tastes flat, you need to add more dried spices. Cayenne and chili powder will add heat. Garlic and onion powder add savory notes. Taste, add, stir, and taste again. 

Cooking Beans with Tomatoes

I’ve read a lot about needing to cook your pinto beans separately from the chili so that the acid from the tomatoes doesn’t keep the beans from cooking. I’ve personally never had that problem. I allow the beans to cook with the stock, meat, and vegetables first, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste later. One pot meal at its finest. 

PIN IT

PIN IT

Ingredient List

Onions: Lend to the chunks and also to the savoriness of the chili. I like a lot of onions. I use white, but you can use whatever you have on hand. 

Green Bell Pepper: I use green peppers because they’re cheaper. They add the bell pepper flavor which works well with the red chili powder peppers. 

Serrano Pepper: I like to blend dried spices with fresh ingredients to develop layers of flavor. Serrano pepper adds an in your face heat. Be warned: I only ever add one. I’ve done two before and it made it a bit unbearable to eat. I’d rather have one and supplement with cayenne if it’s not quite spicy enough. 

Ground Beef: I use 72/28 ground beef. I prefer the fattier beef because I can caramelize the vegetables in the beef fat before I add the stock. After the flavors have developed, I spoon off the excess fat. Or store it in the fridge and can peel the solidified fat off afterwards. 

Roma Tomatoes: I use fresh roma tomatoes for chunks and freshness in the chili. I never peel my tomatoes. First of all, I think it’s a waste of time. But second, the skin is primarily where the lycopene is in a tomato. Lycopene is basically the tomato’s sunscreen. When we eat the skins, we get lycopene. You can peel them if you want, but in a chunky stew, what’s a few tomato skins. 

Tomato Paste: Builds the tomato background in the stock. I use the whole thing because it’s a lot of chili and I hate having random ingredients in the fridge that inevitably go bad. 

Chicken Stock: I use homemade chicken stock because I don’t make beef stock and I don’t buy store bought because it tastes like water. If you do use water, make sure to flavor it more heavily. I would also add a bay leaf to it so it develops more flavor.

Cayenne: Adds the background heat to the broth. You get a warming feeling and a spice. It blends well with the freshness of Serrano pepper as well. 

Garlic and Onion Powder: These spices add the deep background of the chili. 

PIN IT

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Measure out 4 cups of beans and put them in a bowl. Cover the beans with water and leave to absorb overnight. You can add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the beans to reduce gas later.

PIN IT

PIN IT

2. Brown the ground beef with 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 2 teaspoons chili powder. 
3. Once the meat is brown, add the onion and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally 
4. Add green bell pepper and Serrano pepper with 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons chili powder and 1 teaspoon black pepper
5. Cook for ten minutes at a rapid simmer. We want to see bubbles. 
6. Add dried beans and 4 cups of unsalted chicken stock, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons chili powder
7. Bring to a boil
8. Turn heat down, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. I set my stove to 3.
9. Check the bean texture at this point. If it’s half way soft, you can add the diced Roma tomatoes, stir in and simmer for another 30 minutes 
10. Add tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of cayenne
11. Cook for 1 hour
12. Taste for seasoning and add whatever you think the broth needs. I add 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 teaspoons garlic powder.
13. The chili is done at this point, but I like to leave it on the stove to simmer until dinner time

PIN IT

Expert Tips

The key to layering flavors is to season everything throughout the recipe. I don’t just dump all the seasonings in at the end. When everything tastes good separately, they taste even better together. 

Don’t drain the fat after cooking the ground beef. It’s good fat to season and cook the vegetables. I wait until the end to skim off any fat. Fat brings flavor and I like to keep it in as long as possible. 

What to Serve with Chili

We can’t talk about chili without talking about the toppings. I love extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and sour cream. The coolness of the sour cream against the heat of the chili is so satisfying. The green onion adds a sharpness that is mellowed with the creamy beans. 

I love chili with cornbread. You can also add fermented garlic to up the garlic flavor. Adding it at the end keeps it from cooking and preserves the microbes on the garlic.

PIN IT

Storage

This chili is a meal preppers dream. It freezes incredibly well and comes out as fresh as the day you made it. I suggest freezing it in a large portion for another dinner or in a smaller container like a Souper cube so you can use 1 cup of chili at a time, maybe as a lunch.

It lasts in the fridge for 5 days.

FAQs

Make a big pot, taste as you go, and freeze the rest for another cozy night. Your best bowl of chili starts here. Let me know if you’re beans come out tender in the comments. Subscribe to my email list if you want more recipes.

PIN IT