Rich and hearty homemade Beef Chili Recipe loaded with vegetables and beans is comfort food at its greatest! This (under 30-minute) chili recipe is going to become your go-to recipe for cooler weather.
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Beef Chili Recipe
Ground meat and beans are the basis for a classic chili recipe. You can elevate the flavors of a traditional chili by adding vegetables so for this beef chili recipe, we added carrots and green peppers.
Make this your own by adding other diced vegetables you have on hand. These can include celery, mushrooms, zucchini or red peppers and can be added with the carrots and peppers.
How to Make the Best Beef Chili?
- Brown ground meat, add diced onion and cook until onion is softened.
- Add carrots, green pepper and garlic. Cook until veggies are tender.
- Add diced tomatoes (with juice), broth, beans and ingredients for chili seasoning. Stir well. Simmer 15 min until vegetables and beans are tender.
- Turn off the heat and allow the chili to rest 5 minutes before serving.
TIP: If you don’t like chunky diced tomatoes, then finely cube or puree them before adding to the chili.
Can Beef Chili be Frozen?
Yes, chili may be frozen. Cool chili completely and store in an air-tight container up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat to enjoy!
Since reheated chili tastes just as good as fresh, Chili may also be refrigerated and enjoyed for several days.
Chili Toppings:
This chili is a mild chili with the indicated seasonings, if you want a spicier chili, add more chili powder to taste. 🙂
Serve the beef chili with your favorite toppings of sour cream, cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips, fresh cilantro or green onion.
Be adventurous and serve the hearty chili over a halved and pitted avocado or baked potato! So good and original.
More Cozy Cold Weather Recipes to Try:
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili Recipe – a crowd-pleasing chili
- Potato Chicken Soup Recipe – so comforting
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili – super fast and easy
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup – comfort in a bowl
Beef Chili Recipe

Ingredients
Beef Chili Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely cubed
- 1 large carrot, cubed
- ½ medium green bell pepper, cubed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 15.5 oz can kidney beans, , drained and rinsed
- 3 cups beef broth
Chili Seasonings:
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- 2 ½ tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Brown beef in a Dutch oven over med-high heat, breaking up the meat while stirring.
- Add onion and cook until tender.
- Add diced carrot, bell pepper and minced garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring as needed. Drain excess fat.
- Pour in diced tomatoes with juice, add beans, broth and seasonings. Stir well to combine.
- Turn heat down to a gentle boil and allow chili to cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally (longer if meat and vegetables aren’t desired tenderness).
- Taste chili and additional seasonings if needed. Turn off heat and allow chili to rest 5 minutes.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Curling up with a bowl of hot chili in the winter is a real treat. What is YOUR favorite cold-weather comfort food?
I discovered Natasha from her Mongolian Beef recipe and I’m obsessed with her recipes now! Love everything you’re amazing
Aw, thank you, Olivia! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
I am making this recipe for approximately 100 homeless individuals. Will serve with rice. I am thinking I will have to make 10-12 batches. What are your thoughts. My family’s fav chili! Thanks Natasha.
Hi Marion. It’s a wonderful choice. You can increase the serving size in the recipe card and it will convert the ingredient list for you. I haven’t made this myself in such a large batch, but seems like many of my readers have used this chili to serve larger crowds.
Marion,
May your days be filled with blessings! So precious of you to make this for the homeless. God bless you! 🙏🏻❤️
Brought this to two separate D&D games and, suffice to say, this makes me look good.
That’s wonderful, Joshua!
Make this every Halloween, or whenever we crave chilli!! Totally family favourite!! Thank you for being you!!
I’m so glad you love the recipe, Laurie!
Really liked this recipe, only thing I didn’t have were carrots but it turned out great. Wife isn’t a big chili fan however she went back for more. I used Maxine chili powder and Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes. I did add cayenne pepper to my serving for a little kick. Recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
That’s great to hear! Thanks a lot for sharing, we’re happy that you enjoyed our Beef Chili Recipe a lot!
Made this for the first time tonight for dinner. It was delicious! I added some Tomatoe Sauce for color. Will definitely be making it again!
That’s a great one and we’re so glad that you enjoyed our recipe!
I love this recipe! My youngest child loves chili and she says that this is the best one she’s tasted so far!
Thank you so much!
I cook every Friday night for my Volunteer Firehouse here in North East Pennsylvania. Every single recipe I have used from your website is a winner. This Chili recipe was no different. Thank you so much from me and my crew. Natasha’s Kitchen is always my “go to” anytime I cook for the crew. Thank you so much!
You’re so welcome and that is nice of you. I hope you and your everyone else will love all the recipes that you will try!
I’m using dried kidney beans I’ve soak overnight so I hunk I’ll need a long cook time correct ?
Hi Tara! That is correct. This recipe is written for canned beans that are already cooked.
Yummy recipe! I added a square of unsweetened chocolate and 1 tsp sugar for more of a molé style chili. The chocolate acts as a thickener, so I also added a bit of beef broth.
Thank you for sharing, Heather!
We had a bit of a cold spell and I tried this chilly recipe, never having made homemade chili before. I was so easy to make and really tasty. I’m going to double the recipe next time so I have enough leftovers to freeze.
Sounds great! I’m happy to know that you enjoyed making this recipe, Monica. Thanks for the review!
This was so easy and so yummy. At first I thought it would be too much meat compared to the veggies & beans, but it was perfect.
I’m so glad that you love the result!
Just finished making this recipe and is delicious , will ge my go to chili recipe , thank you !
I’m so glad you loved it, Naomi! Thank you for the feedback.
Thank you for an another delicious recipe Natasha!! I added some frozen fire grilled corn, red bell pepper instead of green, celery and dried oregano. So good!
Sounds amazing! Thank you for the review, Irene!
I have always added ‘Birdseye Super Sweet Corn’ to my Chili!
After all, corn is a South west thing, right? Red and Green Sweet Bell Pepper and finely grated carrots! More Nutrition and flavor! also, (Lea and
Perrins) Worchestershire Sauce. (the only brand I will use because it is the best)
Hi Natasha. I made this chili today and it was really good. I added a bit more chili powder and cumin to give it more flavor and did not put carrots in it. It was really easy to make and it will now be my go to recipe! Thank you.
Hi Cynthia! That’s wonderful, I’m glad you loved it. Thank you for the feedback.
Made this exactly as written and it came out beautifully! Flavors were absolutely delicious and just right. I honestly was surprised at how flavorful it was with these simple ingredients. My husband couldn’t get enough and the kids liked it, too! This recipe is definitely one to hold onto and one we’ll be adding into our dinner rotation. Thank you!
Hi Brie! I’m glad you loved the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing that with us.
Hi Natasha
Love all your recipes and can’t wait for a cookbook to come out on all your recipes. Do you have a recipe for Instant Pot on your chili bean recipe? Thanks Janet
Hi Janet! So glad you love my recipes. Thank you. I have an instant pot version of my white chicken chili.
I made this and was blown away how good it was. Used black beans instead and it was delicious. I love your recipes!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing.
First time making chilli, it was soooo good. Family loved it
That’s great, Miri!
This chilli is great! It is hearty and meaty and satisfying. We like to add a can of chick peas to our chilli because their texture is a bit different from kidney beans. A party for your taste buds for sure!
What a great idea, Sharon! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Just made this recipe today with 2 changes. I used half ground beef and half mild sweet sausage. Instead of carrots I added a bag of frozen corn. Just sampled it with cheddar on top. Delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Sounds delicious, Mary. Thank you for sharing.