Ingredients
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- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2-3 teaspoons diced chipotles in adobo
- 2 (15 ounce) cans dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce) can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups V8 or tomato-based vegetable juice
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Garnish:
- Fritos or easy homemade tortilla strips
- shredded cheddar
- fresh chopped cilantro
- sliced green onion
- sour cream
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add 1 small diced onion along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes or until they’re super soft and almost starting to brown.
- Add 5 cloves minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add 1 pound ground beef and cook, crumbling with a spatula until cooked through. Use the fat from the beef to deglaze the bottom of the pan and scrape all the yummy bits off.
- Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 2-3 teaspoons chipotles in adobo, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Add two 15 ounce cans dark kidney beans, 15 ounce can light kidney beans, 4 cups V8 and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with Fritos or tortilla strips, shredded cheese, cilantro, green onion, and sour cream. Enjoy!
- If you loved this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Notes
- Don’t drain the grease. You might be tempted to try to drain some of the grease after you brown the meat but I promise it’s just going to add a ton of flavor and the chili won’t end up greasy.
- If you like a super thick chili, simmer it without a lid. This way more of the liquid will evaporate giving you a thicker texture.
- If you like chili with more liquid, add a few extra splashes of V8 and simmer with the lid on.
- As written, this chili gives you the best of both worlds. The chili is moderately thick but with enough liquid that it can reheat beautifully!
- You can add canned diced tomatoes if you want! Lots of chili recipes include diced tomatoes, but I love to make it without. Add a can if you like.
- Spice it up! Add extra chilies in adobo or cayenne pepper if you want to make this chili spicy. I usually keep it pretty mild so it’s family-friendly but you can easily turn up the heat on this classic chili recipe.
- Add ground pork. Feel free to use a mixture of ground beef and ground pork for a different flavor variation.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of chili
- Calories: 294
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 578.9 mg
- Fat: 6.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.7 g
- Fiber: 8.9 g
- Protein: 25.9 g
- Cholesterol: 45.2 mg
