Bacon, fire-roasted tomatoes, and spicy smoked paprika give this easy-to-make chili recipe a deep, complex flavor. While it's great right after you make it, it's even better the next day. Serve with warm cornbread for a complete meal.
This has become my go-to chili. Follow the recipe to the letter and it will be delicious. But if you need/want modifications, I sometimes add an extra can of black beans if I feel like a "beany" chili, or I have made it with ground turkey and omitted the bacon for my red-meatless MIL.
I adjusted the recipe for the 1# of ground beef I had in the freezer. Even so, I found the mix could withstand another can of beans! Added a can of black beans. My other favorite chili recipe is All American Chili (Cooking Light) with red wine but it's not as speedy as this one.
I've cooked from this recipe about 10 times now, and I have found that having a mix of 4 ounces of regular ketchup and 4 ounces of tomato sauce instead of 8 ounces of tomato sauce makes it a little bit sweeter, and really tasty. There is a certain grease factor, I think, brought on by the bacon and beer, and the ketchup also helps to mellow that out. Give it a try!
oh, and I leave out the cayenne too because my young children don't like the heat.
Made this twice now and modified it a bit the second time and so much more for the better!
Added a tbsp of chipotle hot sauce, substituted pinto beans with black beans, added 1 1/2 cups of corn, and a whole can of lager instead of 1/2 cup. Also added 1/2 tsp salt. Make sure you don't over cook the bacon, some extra bacon fat really made this just so great.
I have gotten excellent reviews from people in our church chilli cook off. This is my new go-to chilli recipe.
I made this almost to the letter of the recipe the first time- I doubled the bacon (Applewood-smoked) and garlic. Everyone scraped their bowl! 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and no one whined about the heat so that's where I keep it, even though I like a bit more. Sierra Nevada beer. I've made it another dozen times and had fun playing around with the recipe and ingredients a bit, but the way it's listed here is fantastic.
Yep. Every time I make this chilli, it feels like scoring the winning td. Lager beer is the best, and instead of cayenne pepper I use powdered chipotles. And try it with smoked salt! Holy Cow!
Great taste but I only added half of the spices and then took a taste. Good thing or I would have had to throw the whole pot out since we are not hot spicy people. Will save the rest for the next batch as it was great.
The BEST chili I've ever made! I followed the recipe word for word and it came out GREAT! I'm not exactly a wiz in the kitchen and I had no issues with the recipe and feel like I could make this for guests! My family loved it and it's even better the next day! I used Sierra Nevada for the beer.
I have tried many chili recipes and this one is one of the easiest and the taste is simply superb. I added 14 oz tomato sauce instead of 7 oz and cooked longer than the direction indicated. The chili was good the first day but by the second day it was sublime.
Excellent recipe! Used kidney beans which turned out really nice. I also tried to make homemade fire roasted tomatoes in the oven since I couldn't get hold of canned ones - brings out a lot of flavour however takes quite a bit of time! Definitely give this recipe a try.
I was missing a key ingredient so, to be fair, it probably is a solid recipe. I tried to fake it but it didn't pan out ~~~ no pun intended :) I liked the smoky flavor and bacon is always a nice touch but the cayenne pepper didn't work for us. Overall, I will most likely go back to my standard recipe.
Has anyone tried adding a little cocoa or baking chocolate to this???????
I made this chili for the first time last week. I have to say this was the BEST chili I have ever had. I can't wait to make it again. My family loved it too! SO GOOD!
Everyone loved this chili! I used ground turkey and four pieces of regular bacon. I used only 1 tablespoon of chili powder and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. My boyfriend said that it was full of flavor, not heat, and only warmed his throat by the time he finished the bowl. It was delicious!
Awesome chili! This was pretty thick, so I added 1 cup of water to thin it a bit. Next time, I'll do the same or use broth. I may up the spices too for some more heat. Topped it with sour cream and cheddar - delicious!
Great Idea! Bacon Chili! I had limited ingredients in my house so I didn't use the ground beef but doubled the bacon. No onion so double the garlic. Best Chili I ever made. Bacon from here on out. Might use a brown or red ale next time.
Used turkey bacon and ground turkey but still EXCELLENT! Delish!!
This is a great recipe. I have made it so many times, I could probably do it with my eyes shut by now. The one consistent change I make is to use ground turkey instead of beef. I also often make a double batch and freeze without the beans. It freezes so well. When I re-heat I add the beans at that time.
This chili is so freaking good. I've been making it since Sunset published the recipe and have made a few mods to it (mostly to lighten it up). I use 4 slices of turkey bacon in place of the regular stuff, and only 1lb of the leanest ground beef I can find. I them add one can of black beans to make up for it (my husband didn't even notice the changes I made) . I also double the spices & garlic (we like it hot in our house) and add some Chipotle Tabasco sauce as well. Seriously, this chili is amazing!
this chilli was very, very good. I added diced tomatoes instead of crushed and I omitted the beer and added beef broth, but it still turned out really good! I served it with spicey cornbread and my boyfriend really liked it.
