Chili con Carne

Hearty Chili con Carne combines slow-cooked melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of chuck roast with kidney beans, onions, bell pepper, and garlic into a perfectly seasoned tomato-based chili. Top bowls of this Tex-Mex dish with sour cream, minced jalapeno, cheddar cheese, and cilantro.

What is Chili Con Carne?

Chili con Carne means chili with meat. You can use chuck roast, chili grind beef, ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork, or ground chicken. I prefer the slow-cooked tender chuck roast with this recipe.

How to make Chili con Carne

Heat a little vegetable oil in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt and pepper the beef chunks. Add the beef to the pot and brown it working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. Once browned, add the onion and bell pepper, stirring and cooking until they are soft. Then reduce the heat to low and stir in the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, brown sugar, marjoram, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly.

Add the beef broth and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then cover and simmer for about an hour. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, dark red kidney beans, and light red kidney beans. Cover and simmer for about 2 more hours or until the beef is fork-tender, stirring several times. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream, minced jalapeno, and cheddar cheese.

Helpful recipe tips

• Any color bell pepper works in this recipe. I really love the green and red combination. It has the perfect flavor balance, and it is aesthetically pleasing.
• Oregano can be substituted for the marjoram. But if you have never cooked with marjoram, you should treat yourself. Marjoram is less pungent, milder, and sweeter, with a woodsy citrus aroma.
• Both dark red kidney beans and light red kidney beans work in this recipe. You can also use pinto beans and black beans.
• If you like your chili with a little spicier taste, add more cayenne pepper, minced anaheim peppers, or chopped chipotle peppers. You can find canned smoked chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Hispanic food section of most grocery stores. One chopped chipotle pepper with a little bit of the adobo sauce can take your Mexican and southwestern recipes over the top. Store the remaining chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze them for up to 3 months.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
• To freeze first cool completely. Then ladle the cooled chili into quart or gallon-sized heavy-duty freezer zipper bags. Lay the chili bags down in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets and place the sheet in the freezer.  Once fully frozen, stack the bags up on their side in the freezer to save on space.

What to garnish chili with

There are so many great options, but here are a few of my favorites:

• Chopped cilantro
• Sour cream
• Cheddar cheese
• Minced jalapeno
• Fritos
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Oyster crackers
• Pepper Jack cheese
• Bacon crumbles
• Scallions
• Tortilla Chips

Chili con Carne

Delicious Chili Con Carne with tender bites of slow-cooked chuck roast, sweet onions, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and dark red kidney beans in a well-seasoned rich broth. 

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: chili

Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Calories: 2963kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 3 lb. chuck roast trimmed and cut in bite size pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped any color
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cups low sodium beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 16-ounce can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 16-ounce can light red kidney beans drained and rinsed

Instructions

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch Oven or pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt and pepper the beef chunks. Add the beef to the pot and brown it working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. 
• Once browned, add the onion and bell pepper, stirring and cooking until they are soft.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, brown sugar, marjoram, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly. 
• Add the beef broth and bay leaves, cover, and simmer for about one hour. 
• Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, dark red kidney beans, and light red kidney beans. Cover and simmer for about 2 more hours or until the beef is fork-tender, stirring several times.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream, minced jalapeno, and cheddar cheese. 

Notes

• Any color bell pepper works in this recipe. I really love the green and red combination. It has the perfect flavor balance, and it is aesthetically pleasing.
• Oregano can be substituted for the marjoram. But if you have never cooked with marjoram, you should treat yourself. Marjoram is less pungent, milder, and sweeter, with a woodsy citrus aroma.
• Both dark red kidney beans and light red kidney beans work in this recipe. You can also use pinto beans and black beans.
• If you like your chili a little spicier, add more cayenne pepper, minced anaheim peppers, or chopped chipotle peppers. You can find canned smoked chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Latin food section of most grocery stores. One chopped chipotle pepper with a little bit of the adobo sauce can take your Mexican and southwestern recipes over the top. Store the remaining chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze them up to 3 months.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
• To freeze first, cool completely. Then ladle the cooled chili into quart or gallon-sized heavy-duty freezer zipper bags. Lay the chili bags down in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets and place the sheet in the freezer.  Once fully frozen, stack the bags up on their side in the freezer to save on space.

Nutrition

Calories: 2963kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 281g | Fat: 188g | Saturated Fat: 73g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 30g | Monounsaturated Fat: 87g | Trans Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 939mg | Sodium: 2714mg | Potassium: 7198mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 11925IU | Vitamin C: 180mg | Calcium: 403mg | Iron: 36mg

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