Ready for my homemade chili beans recipe? You better be, because it’s the best in the USA, hands down. While the name is all about the beans, there’s meat in here too, plus a secret ingredient that is gonna make this your favorite one to cook up in your kitchen for game day or any day!
Best Chili Beans Recipe
Believe it or not, the best chili beans recipe just has red kidney beans, meat, and some aromatics. And it’s a simple and tasty way to make chili that kills it for any occasion whether it’s dinner or a fiesta.
Easy Chili Beans Recipe
If you have 20 minutes, you’ve got time to make this easy chili beans recipe. You’re just prepping and browning, then tossing it into your slow cooker for the rest of the cook time.
Homemade Chili Beans Ingredients
- Ground beef – Grab the lean kind.
- Yellow onion – You will dice this up.
- Jalapeno – Take out the seeds and finely dice it. You can leave the seeds if you’d like this to be spicy.
- Tomatoes – You’ll need the canned sauce, paste, and diced tomatoes with juice for that chili color and texture.
- Beef broth – Makes your chili beans base have the right consistency.
- Beer – A cup of light beer is my signature move in this chili beans recipe.
- Brown sugar – This brings a little sweetness into the mix.
- Red kidney beans – To go along with the meat.
- Chili Beans seasonings – You’ll need chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
How do you Make Chili Beans from Scratch?
Making chili with beans is fairly easy. Start by cooking your beef for about 4 minutes on medium high heat on the stovetop. Then add your onion in and cook about 4 more minutes. Pour this all into the slow cooker, along with all the rest of the ingredients. Stir it to combine, then cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. That’s it!
Expert Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Chili Beans Every Time
- Brown your beef first. Your chili beans will be bland if you don’t get that beef browned in a skillet before putting it in the slow cooker.
- Make it spicy. If you like spicy, I’m not stopping you! Keep the seeds from the jalapenos in if you want it hot.
- Don’t skip the beer. It adds flavor and texture. Plus, it goes great with chili beans too. If you’re gluten-free, add gluten-free beer to get the flavors without the gluten.
How to Cook Chili Beans?
Chili beans start off with browning the beef and onions on the stovetop. Then everything goes into the slow cooker for a hands-free meal.
What kind of beans are best for chili?
Red kidney beans are one of the most commonly used beans for chili, making them the best choice. They complement the color of the dish and have a great texture and flavor.
What is the secret to making good chili beans?
In this recipe, it’s the use of beer. The malty flavors go great with the rest of the ingredients and give it a distinctively delicious taste.
How do you thicken chili beans?
This recipe for chili beans should be plenty thick, but if you want it thicker, you can always add a little cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the consistency is as thick as you want it.
How do you make chili beans taste better?
If you want good chili beans, follow this recipe. Using chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar, and light beer is an excellent combination that delivers flavorful results in this dish.
What do you put on chili beans?
You’ll love this chili beans recipe as-is though it can only get better with some shredded cheddar, sour cream, and chopped red onions. Also, hot sauce. Hot sauce is amazing!
What goes well with Chili Beans?
You can serve rice, noodles, baked potatoes, barbecued meats, and all the barbecue sides like potato salad and coleslaw with chili beans.
How to store Chili Beans?
After it cools down, you can store your chili beans in airtight containers. These will then need to be put in the fridge.
How long does Chili Beans last in the refrigerator?
This combination of ingredients will last for about 3 days in your fridge. If you have a ton of it, I recommend putting some in the fridge to enjoy for a couple days and the rest in the freezer.
Can you freeze Chili Beans?
Yeah! Do it! Put your chili beans in the freezer properly and you’ll have access to them in a fresh and flavorful way for up to 3 months.
How to reheat Chili Beans?
All you need to do is warm this on your stovetop and you’ll have that chili beans original flavor ready to go.
Watch How To Make Chili Beans (Video)
Chuck's Chili Beans Recipe (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- 1 jalapeno (seeded and finely diced)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 16 oz can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 cup light beer
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- On the stove top, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook beef for about 4 minutes while stirring with a spatula.
- Next, add the onion to the skillet and continue cooking until tender for about 4 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker.
- Next, add all remaining ingredients into the slow cooker including beans, all tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. Stir to thoroughly combine and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
- Serve with your preference of toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped red onions, hot sauce.
