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Home » Recipes » Chili Con Carne Recipe

Chili Con Carne Recipe

by Mike Hultquist · Dec 11, 2023 · 167 Comments

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Chili Con Carne Recipe

This rich and authentic chili con carne recipe is a spicy stew of tender beef slowly simmered in a mouth-watering chili sauce, irresistible, and easy! Make it with or without beans. You can also make it with tomatoes, if desired. It's very simple to customize to your own preferred spice level.

Chili Con Carne Recipe

The Best Chili con Carne Recipe

"Chili con Carne". Three little words that describe such a wonderful meal. It literally translates from Spanish to "Chili with Meat", and as generic as that sounds, it is filled with fantastic flavor.

Let's discuss this wonderful meal in a bowl.

What is Chili con Carne?

At its core, Chili con Carne is a spicy stew of meat with a seasoned chili sauce. The meat is usually beef, but you can also make it with pork or a combination of the two, or other meats to your preference. 

The chili sauce is made with chili powders or dried chilies that are rehydrated and cooked into a sauce, usually with onions and garlic, and seasonings like cumin and oregano.

Where is Chili con Carne From?

Chili con carne originated in the region spreading Southern Texas and Northern Mexico.

It was originally a working class dish, something easy to prepare with basic ingredients, though it has spread in popularity due to its incredible flavor. It is named by Texas as it's official state food.

Does Chili con Carne Have Tomatoes and Beans?

Tomatoes or tomato sauce are often included in chili con carne recipes, and even though "chili con carne" translates literally to "chili with meat", you CAN include beans if you'd like.

However, be prepared for "chili con carne" purists to argue that chili doesn't contain beans.

Beans or no beans, it's great either way! I'll take both!

Let's talk about how to make chili con carne, shall we?

How to Make Chili con Carne - the Recipe Method

Lightly toast the dried ancho and guajillo peppers, then soak them in hot water to soften.

Process the peppers in a blender with a bit of soaking liquid until very smooth.

Soaking dried chilies and processing the chili sauce to make Chili Con Carne

Season the beef with a bit of salt and pepper, then brown them in a pot.

Set them aside then cook down the fresh peppers, onion, and garlic, then the reserved chili sauce with your seasonings.

Browning the beef and cooking the chili sauce to make Chili Con Carne

Add the beef back to pot along with beef stock or tomato sauce, or a combination. You can also add kidney beans or other chili beans.

Simmer the chili con carne, covered, about 2 hours, or until the beef is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Chili Con Carne simmering in a pot with beans

Serve with your favorite fixings! Homemade chili is the best.

Chili Con Carne on a spoon

Recipe Tips & Notes

  • Chili peppers are KEY to the best chili con carne. I like to include a mix of fresh and dried peppers, with fresh jalapeno peppers or spicier serrano peppers, and dried ancho peppers and guajillo peppers, which together result in a wonderful flavor combination. However, you can use pure ground chili powder available from grocery stores.
  • For even more developed flavor, cool the whole pot of chili, cover it, and refrigerate it overnight to let the flavors mingle. Heat and serve it up the next day. You'll be amazed at the difference.

What is the Best Meat for Chili con Carne?

Chuck roast is ideal for making chili con carne, as it benefits from low and slow cooking, which results in tender, fall apart beef. The slow cooking process also allows your chili to develop more flavor.

Similar cuts of beef work as well, like brisket or rump roast, or cuts of pork like pork shoulder.

You can make chili con carne with more tender cuts of beef or pork, like flank steak, ribeye, or tenderloin, but you will need to cut down on your cooking time.

You can also make it with ground beef or other ground meats, which is a great time-saving solution.

Slow Cooker Chili con Carne

You can easily make chili con carne in your slow cooker, crockpot or instant pot, but you need to sear the meat first for best results.

To do so, cook down your peppers and onions and brown the seasoned meat in a pan first with oil or bacon fat, then add them to your slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.

Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours, until the meat cooks through and the flavors meld. Stir it up occasionally. Then, serve in bowls with your favorite fixings. Super easy!

Serving Chili con Carne

Serve your chili con carne with shredded cheese, crema or sour cream, diced tomatoes, crunchy tortilla chips or corn chips, and chopped tomatoes.

I usually like to keep it simple with spicy chili flakes and fresh chopped cilantro, and sometimes sliced roasted jalapenos or serrano peppers.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftover chili con carne will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a covered container. For longer keeping, seal it in containers and freeze it, where it will last for 6 months.

That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy the way I make my chili con carne. Let me know how it turns out for you. And please let me know if you include beans and/or tomatoes with yours. I'm super curious to hear your preference!

Try Some of My Other Popular Chili Recipes

  • Classic Chili
  • Chili Colorado
  • Chili Verde
  • Southwest Style Slow Cooker Chili
  • White Bean Chicken Chili
  • Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Pork Chili
  • Pork Chili with Roasted Red Hatch Chili Peppers
  • Shrimp and Red Bean Chili
  • Cincinnati Chili
  • Beef Chili
  • Texas Chili
  • Frito Pie
  • Try it with my Jalapeno Cornbread Recipe! So good!
Mike taking a spoonful of Chili Con Carne

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Chili Con Carne Recipe
Print

Chili Con Carne Recipe

This rich and authentic chili con carne recipe is a spicy stew of tender beef slowly simmered in a mouth-watering chili sauce, irresistible, and easy! Make it with or without beans.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chili, recipe, spicy
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours hours
Total Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Calories: 434kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 8
Tap or hover to scale
4.94 from 61 votes
Leave a Review

Ingredients

FOR THE CHILI SAUCE

  • 4 guajillo peppers (or use 1-1.5 tbsp ground guajillo powder or chili powder blend)
  • 4 ancho peppers (or use 1-1.5 tbsp ground ancho powder or chili powder blend)
  • Salt to taste

FOR THE CHILI

  • 3.5-4 pound chuck roast cut into ¾-1 inch cubes
  • 1-2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 jalapeno peppers chopped
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2-4 cups beef stock (or use tomato sauce or fire roasted tomatoes)
  • OPTIONAL ADDITIONS Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, chili or kidney beans, extra spicy chili powders
  • FOR SERVING Crema or sour cream, fresh chopped herbs, spicy chili flakes or chopped chiles, shredded cheese – all your favorite chili fixins. I served mine with spicy chili flakes and fresh chopped cilantro.

Instructions

  • Make your chili sauce. Remove the stems and sees from the dried guajillo and ancho peppers, then lightly toast in a dry pan about a minute or 2 per side. This will help to release the oils.
  • Soak the peppers in very hot water for 20 minutes in a heat proof bowl, or until they are nice and soft.
  • Add the softened peppers to a food processor with 1/2 cup of the soaking water (or use fresh water) and a bit of salt to taste. Process until smooth. Strain if desired. Set aside for now.
  • Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear the beef in batches to brown them, a few minutes per side. Set the beef aside onto a plate.
  • Add 1/4 cup of the beef stock to deglaze the pot, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom.
  • Add the jalapenos and onion. Cook them for 6-7 minutes to soften.
  • Add the garlic and stir. Cook another minute.
  • Pour in the reserved chili sauce and the seasonings, and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring a bit, to let the flavor develop.
  • Stir in the remaining beef broth (or tomato sauce) and reserved beef. Bring to a boil. If you’d prefer a soupier chili, add in 4 cups of beef broth. If you are using the optional additions/beans, add them in now.
  • Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
  • Serve with your favorite fixins!

Video

Notes

Serves 6-8

Nutrition Information

Calories: 434kcal   Carbohydrates: 9g   Protein: 40g   Fat: 26g   Saturated Fat: 10g   Cholesterol: 136mg   Sodium: 286mg   Potassium: 941mg   Fiber: 2g   Sugar: 4g   Vitamin A: 1865IU   Vitamin C: 7.4mg   Calcium: 68mg   Iron: 5.4mg
Chili Con Carne Recipe
Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/11/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 1/9/19.

 

Reader Interactions

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Joni says

    June 23, 2025 at 1:48 pm

    I added our leftover smoked brisket to this recipe.... added a great depth of flavor plus the brisket was super tender

    Reply
    • Mike H. says

      June 24, 2025 at 4:35 am

      Love it. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Robert Riter says

    April 13, 2025 at 1:30 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      April 13, 2025 at 1:32 pm

      Thanks, Robert!

      Reply
  3. Ian Bentley says

    February 15, 2025 at 10:08 am

    When making chilli con carne to your recipe, or near it, is it best to use sweet paprika or smoked paprika?

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      February 15, 2025 at 10:22 am

      Ian, you can use either. I prefer smoked paprika, but any paprika is great. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Tim McGowan says

    January 24, 2025 at 2:02 pm

    5 stars
    Well, Mike you've cost me money!! I saw your reel on Instagram and that photo of sumptuous beef in a wonderfully rich chilli sauce did it for me - so never underestimate the power of a good photo especially when it comes to food eh? To do your receipe justice I had to buy in the various dried chillies (since they'd never grow in my part of the Emerald Isle) so off to the Amazon corner shop I jolly well went. Got some Mexican oregano to which I've never had and creamed corn (coz I'm gonna make your corn bread at some point also.)
    I added roasted tomatoes and kidney beans which seems like a no brainer to me alongside some sweet peppers for crunch. At the time off writing this I have tasted the chilli and it's super smokey but I'm going to allow the dish to mingle and meld all night so the beef is absolutely bang on tender and wonderfully piquant delicious - who wouldn't? So now I'll spend the next 24 hours drooling over what I'm going to have with it!! Just love all your recipes, ideas and tips which are wonderfully clear and well presented. Slàinte!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      January 24, 2025 at 4:31 pm

      Haha, it will all be worth it in flavor, Tim! Glad you're liking the chili and the recipes!! Slàinte, my friend!

      Reply
  5. S says

    January 12, 2025 at 10:54 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks Mike, I've been making chilli con carne for years now and sadly, gotten very lazy with it, it became a quick sustenance meal instead of something that should be made with love and relished when eaten. I vowed that when it's made again, it will be proper! Yours, with tinned tomatoes and beans is the way to go. Always packed out when serving, rice, grated cheese, chopped white onion, coriander, avocado, green chilli, sour cream, it's a big plate and a bit magnificent, thankyou for reminding me what it should be. S & M xxx

    Reply
    • Mike H. says

      January 13, 2025 at 6:01 am

      You are very welcome, S! And thanks a lot for such a review - I appreciate it.

      Reply
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