The Best Chili Recipe
Calling this the Best Chili Recipe ever is a big claim, but I stand by it—and the fact that it’s an award-winning chili recipe backs me up! This sweet and spicy chili is cooked in a crock pot to let all the flavors develop, and a secret ingredient makes it fan-freaking-tastic.
This sweet and spicy chili recipe is our absolute favorite, and it has been on repeat in our home for decades now. While we do love Creamy White Chicken Chili and Turkey Chili, THIS is the recipe we always go back to. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy and absolutely packed with ground beef! (No beans? No beans. Although you can add them if you’d like. They’re just not my thing.)
This recipe is an adaptation of one my husband gave me, he received it from a co-worker, who got it from his wife’s brother? Who got it from his cousin’s, grandmother’s, sister’s farmer? Something like that. It’s a Texas Chili which means it’s a No Bean Chili with beef, peppers and tomato sauce.
So I don’t really know where this classic chili recipe originally came from but once I got my hands on it, I tweaked it to make it my own. It’s super simple to throw together in a large pot and it cooks all day, so you can get it started in the morning and have a hearty dinner waiting for you in the evening or to feed friends on game day.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef – I use 80/20 ground beef for the best flavor. You can substitute with lean ground beef or ground turkey.
- Bell Peppers – Red and Green bell peppers are a great balance of flavors but you can use whatever color bell peppers you have on hand.
- Onion – A sweet onion variety like Vidalia adds a subtle sweet flavor with a peppery bite.
- Garlic – Minced garlic cloves are a no-brainer. We use 5 but you can measure this ingredient with your heart.
- Jalapeños– If you want a mild chili, be sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeños. For a spicy chili, leave the seeds and membranes while chopping the jalapeno.
- Spices – I use a blend of chili powder, cumin, ground cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper to create a homemade chili seasoning. You can substitute with your favorite chili seasoning
- Tomatoes – While a traditional Texas chili uses beef broth for the base, I love to add tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes for a rich tomato flavor.
- Sweet Peppers – The secret to this sweet chili is jarred sweet peppers and the juice. We also add a but of brown sugar for richness.
For a full recipe list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to Make the Best Chili Recipe Ever
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to win first place in the chili cook-offs! You can make this CrockPot Chili or cook the whole thing in a dutch oven on the stove top.
- Brown the ground meat. Heat a dutch oven or skillet over medium heat and add the beef. Cook it until it’s no longer pink and transfer it to the slow cooker.
- Sauté the vegetables. In 2 tablespoons of the fat or olive oil, cook the onions until softened, then add the peppers and cook until those soften, followed by the garlic and jalapeño. Once fragrant, transfer to the slow cooker.
- Finish assembling. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Cook. Turn the slow cooker on to high and cook for 3 to 4 hours, or low for 5 to 6 hours.
We love this programmable slow cooker with auto warm setting by CrockPot! It’s a great way to make dinners easy and keep them warm until you’re ready to eat. We pull this one out at least once a week and the price can’t be beat!
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Tips for Making the Best Chili
This chili recipe is simple, but these tips will help make sure it turns out perfect.
- Browning the beef—optional, but is it really? If you’re in a rush, you can absolutely just break up the raw ground beef and add it to the slow cooker with the other ingredients. Buuuut it’s not quite the same. By browning your ground beef first, you’re developing a layer of flavor that makes this chili amazing.
- Cook the veggies too. The above is also true of the vegetables. You can put raw onions and peppers into your slow cooker, but if you’ve done it before, you probably know how they turn out—they never quite soften. If this doesn’t bother you, go for it. To me, that texture is distracting, so I really like softening them first.
- Adjust the heat as needed. This chili recipe is super spicy so you can tame the heat a bit by using just 1 tablespoon cayenne and 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper; you can also adjust the heat by removing the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño (less heat) or leaving them both in (more heat). We love our chili spicy and the sweetness of the sugar does take it down a notch.
- Make the most of your leftovers. This chili can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
How to Store Leftovers
Transfer any leftover chili to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
This chili freezes beautifully. Transfer to any freezer safe container or freezer-safe bags and freeze for up to 3 months. I, personally, like to make a double batch to freeze for easy weeknight dinners.
Favorite Toppings for Chili
Here are a few of our favorite chili toppers for this recipe:
- Crushed Fritos, corn chips or Tortilla Chips
- Sour Cream or Greek yogurt
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Slices or pickled jalapeños
- Oyster crackers
- Shredded cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese
- Pickled radishes
- Green onion or chopped onions
- Pickled okra
- Black olives
- Avocado
- Cilantro
The Best Foods to Serve With Chili
These recipes are excellent served alongside chili, or use this chili to give them an upgrade!
- Nachos
- Hot dogs
- Buttermilk cornbread
- Bread bowls
- Homemade Cornbread
- Loaded Tater tots
- Crispy baked sweet potato fries
More Chili Recipes
- Chili Mac
- Instant Pot Chili
- The Best Hot Dog Chili
- Easy Chili Cheese Dip
- White Chicken Chili
- Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
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Get the Recipe: The Best Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef, I used 80-20
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large jalapeno peppers, minced (remove the seeds and veins for less heat…leave them for more heat)
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 3 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper, Or more if you like a lot of heat!
- 2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
- 6 ounce jar of chopped sweet peppers and juice
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 28 ounce can tomato sauce
- 28 ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
- slow cooker crock pot
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef until no longer pink and transfer to the slow cooker using a slotted spoon. Drain off all but two tablespoons of fat and add the onions to the pan.
- Cook the onions over med-high heat until they begin to soften. Add the peppers to the onions and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and jalapeno peppers, cooking for one minute longer. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, sweet peppers and juice to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the brown sugar, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes stirring thoroughly to be sure all the ingredients are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings, we love greek yogurt, sour cream, shredded cheddar, green onions, and pickled jalapenos…just to name a few.
Video
73 Comments on “The Best Chili Recipe”
Is the “6oz” jar of sweet peppers a typo? I could only find a 16oz jar… epp! o.O
No, you can just eyeball if with a larger jar.
Add me to the list of readers that won a chili cook-off with this recipe! The sweet heat is just so good!
Yay! Congratulations!
That’s exactly what I did. I thought it turned out great! It was hot , but not too hot.
So glad you liked it!
Love this flavor and consistency
Thank you!
The serving size is 1 gram? This seems very small? I am counting calories and am confused on the serving size being a gram.
That’s definitely incorrect. Serving size is 1 cup.
Best chili recipe I have ever tried. I do not like ground beef in my chili so I made it vegetarian style. It is absolutely delicious
Love that you made it vegetarian! Ill be trying that myself.
No beans? Boy, that sure takes all the fun out of chili. I’ll be making this for Super Bowl Sunday. I’ll cut the cayenne and spices and taste as I go.
I’m not a fan of beans. LOL!
Has anyone converted this for a pressure cooker? I really want this tonight but don’t have time to pull it together before work in the slow cooker.
Thanks in advance.
I haven’t done it yet BUT I’ll get right on that asap! Hopefully within the next week or two. Maybe another reader has done it already, though.
Another work related win for the cook off XD though i added more of the ceyanne and another hot pepper n i also used the sweet cherry peppers with the seeds removed. It turned out amazing n i also like tomatoes so i took baby romas n cut them in to quarters n left 4 whole ones to soak up the flavor…though i guess i should add that i uses light kidney beans as well. All in all i loved it, so did everyone else.
congratulations! That’s so exciting! And I love all your additions to the recipe to make it your own.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it 4 years in a row for the chili cook of at my work and have won all 4 years! Everyone loves this!
Oh my gosh! Congratulations!!!! That’s so great to hear!
Hello! I’m making this for my work chili cook off this week and I’m excited to see it had already won for others! I am a vegetarian and want to sub the beef for morning star veggie crumbles. Do you think that would work?
Oh my gosh! YES! I actually made it with soy crumbles before and it was sooo good. Good luck! I hope you win!!
This is the best chili recipe that I’ve made. I did cut the spice a little; I did about 2/3 of the spice you used. Thanks for this! I cannot wait for lunch leftovers tomorrow.
This is even better the next day! I like to top a baked potato with leftovers. So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this and I had cut the spice but is still too spicy how do I curb the spice . it is already made and will be eating it next day.
Hi! So, this Chili IS VERY spicy as written BUT since already made it there are a few things you can do to tame the spice. Just be sure to taste it while adding the ingredients to be sure you don’t end up with overly tart or sweet flavors. Acid and sweeteners are a great way to tone done spice so add a bit of lime juice (or lemon) to your chili. Sometimes I add it anyway for a pop of freshness and fresh lime works best. Also, add a bit more brown sugar to your chili but start with a tablespoon and taste it before adding more. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
I made this chili for my works chili cook off and it won! Great recipe, thank you!
Oh yay! You’re the third reader that won their chili cookoff with the recipe!!
I tried this recipe and was a bit concerned on the spices using Tablespoons. Well when all done I see the recipe should probably have read teaspoons as it was WAY TO SPICY!
My breath was taken away for a good 10 minutes. I will try adding salsa and more sauce to double and maybe tame this down a little.
I’m sorry you found the recipe too spice. It definitely is on the spicier side (as referenced in the name of the chili….Spicy Chili) so it’s been a trend for readers to pull back a bit on the spice level.