This beef chili combines ground beef, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, pinto beans, and kidney beans in a perfectly seasoned broth, with a little kick from chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.
You are going to love this quick and easy chili. Customize it with cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, or whatever suits your taste.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.
- Ground beef: Use ground beef with a bit of fat. Fat is what gives the beef flavor.
- Bell pepper: I like using a green bell pepper for the flavor dimension, but you can use any colored bell pepper.
- Marjoram: You can substitute dried oregano, but I like the milder, sweeter flavor of marjoram.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes: You can substitute any canned diced tomatoes.
- Rotel tomatoes: Rotel now has fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles. If you can not find them, use regular, mild, or hot Rotel tomatoes with green chiles if you like things a little spicier.
- Beans: You can use kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans.
- Chipotle peppers: Chipotle peppers are aged, dried, and smoked jalapeno peppers. You can find them canned with adobo sauce in the Hispanic food section of your local grocery store. Adobo sauce is a spicy, slightly sweet, tangy, rich sauce made with ground ancho and guajillo chiles.
How To Make Beef Chili
This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Brown the ground beef in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- About halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook until the ground beef browns and the onion and bell pepper are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, dried marjoram, and smoked paprika. Cook for a minute, while stirring.
- Stir in the brown sugar, beef broth, tomato paste, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce.
- Simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes.
Preparation Tips
- Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. This chili is moderately spicy. If you want it milder, reduce or eliminate the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. If you like it spicier, add more chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.
- If you want more vegetables, add sweet potato, celery, carrots, zucchini, or butternut squash.
- If the chilli becomes too thick, add a bit more beef broth. Add about ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- I simmer this chili for about 45 minutes. You can simmer it longer, but the bell pepper and tomatoes will break down.
Serving Suggestions for Beef Chili
Classic Beef Chili Recipe
This beef chili combines ground beef, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, pinto and kidney beans in a perfectly seasoned broth with a little kick from chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 343kcal
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2-3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (16-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1-2 chopped chipotle peppers (optional but recommended)
- 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce (optional but recommended)
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- About halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook until the ground beef browns and the onion and bell pepper are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, dried marjoram, and smoked paprika. Cook for 1 minute, while stirring.
- Stir in the brown sugar, beef broth, tomato paste, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, pinto beans, red kidney beans, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce.
- Simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- If chili ground beef is available, use it. It is a coarser ground beef.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power or on the stovetop over low heat.
- Freeze chili for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 848mg | Potassium: 698mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1168IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 4mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Mention @smalltownwomanfoodnut or tag #smalltownwomanfoodnut!
Amy
I’ve tried a lot of chili recipes, but this one really nailed the spice-to-meat ratio. It has such a deep, rich flavor without being overwhelmingly spicy. I let mine simmer for an extra 20 minutes to let the flavors meld, and it was even better the next day for lunch!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Amy! I am so happy that you enjoyed it.
Melanie E
This would be ideal to make today with it being cold and wet outside. What a tasty, flavourful and interesting dish. I love that it is healthy too, packed with lots of vitamins and minerals.
MayPal
I want to do this for sure. I want to learn how to make chili dishes. I love chili with beans, beans and beans but I don’t know how to make one!
Surprised that there is adobo sauce in the ingredient; and that they’re being sold in cans! And in the hispanic section haha! I guess it’s the closest category Filipino flavors can go into considering that we were colonized for over 300 years. 🙂 I wonder which version of Adobo was used, there are hundreds of versions of that dish in our country alone, very much like our dialect, hahaha!
Catalina
I made this for dinner and it was thick and full of flavor. Really comforting and filling!
Ben
This is some great chili. I made it last night, and it came together in a snap.
Tammy
What a delicious winter meal for the family. I made some biscuits while this simmered away, and it was a perfect dinner. Great recipe!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Tammy! So glad that you enjoyed it!
Ben
This is some good chili. I added some diced jalapenos because I like to sweat when I eat chili. LOL. Tasty!
Beth Pierce
That’s an interesting desire.
Terri
I LOVE it! I love a nice kick of heat in my chili, so I appreciate the flavor and spice in it.
Kristin
I really love this chili. It’s so hearty and bold, and it came together really easily.
Cara
Loved all the classic chili flavors and the adobo wasn’t too spicy!