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Home » Recipes » Three Bean Chili Recipe

Three Bean Chili Recipe

by Mike Hultquist · Jun 7, 2024 · 15 Comments

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Three Bean Chili Recipe

This 3 bean chili is easy to make and huge on flavor with ground beef and spicy chorizo simmered with fire roasted tomatoes, spices, and lots of beans!

Mike serving a ladle full of Three Bean Chili from the pot

Three Bean Chili Recipe

Who's ready for a delicious bowl of 3 Bean Chili? I am! This is a soul warming bowl of comfort right here, my friends, and I think you're going to love it.

My easy three bean chili is loaded with layers of flavor. We start with a base of onions, jalapeno peppers, and garlic, then lots of aromatic spices.

We're using two types of ground meats here - ground beef and spicy Mexican chorizo - then simmering the whole pot in beef stock and fire roasted tomatoes for an experience you absolutely crave.

And don't forget the beans! It isn't a three bean chili without 3 types of beans! If you love beans in your chili, this is the dish for you.

Let's talk about how to make three bean chili, shall we?

Three Bean Chili Ingredients

The full ingredients list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  • Oil. For cooking
  • Fresh Vegetables. Onion, jalapeno, garlic. Use bell peppers for milder.
  • Meats. Ground beef, Mexican chorizo.
  • Spices. Chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.
  • Tomato Paste.
  • Fire Roasted Tomatoes.
  • Beef Broth. You can use vegetable broth or chicken broth.
  • Beans. I'm using red kidney beans, black beans, and white beans (Great norther beans). Pinto beans are a great option.
  • Hot Sauce.
  • Toppings. Choose your favorites!

How to Make Three Bean Chili - the Recipe Method

Cook the onion, peppers, and garlic in a large pot or Dutch oven until softened, then add the ground beef and chorizo.

3 types of beans in a bowl to make 3 bean chili, and browning meat and veggies in a pot

Cook the meats down until mostly cooked through, then stir in the seasonings and tomato paste.

Cook for a minute or 2 to let the spices bloom, then stir in the beef broth, tomatoes, and three cans of beans, and hot sauce to taste.

Browned meat with spices in a pot, then tomatoes added with beef broth, ready to simmer the 3 bean chili

Simmer the pot of chili, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors mingle and develop, stirring occasionally. You can simmer longer if you’d like, up to 60 minutes.

Boom! Done! Your 3 bean chili is ready to serve. Add all your favorite toppings. I like a bit of shredded cheese, crema or sour cream, spicy chili flakes, jalapeno slices, and fresh cilantro.

But use your favorites! Great options are tortilla chips or fritos for crunch, extra hot sauce, shredded cheese, you name it!

A bowl of Three Bean Chili with lots of toppings

Recipe Tips & Notes

  • Slow Cooker Version. To make this recipe in a slow cooker or crock pot, cook down the onion, peppers, garlic, and ground meats per the recipe, then add them to your slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours, then serve.

Storage & Leftovers

Leftover chili will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. It's usually better the next day. Heat it up on the stove top to enjoy again.

You can also freeze it for 2-3 months. Chili is great for freezing.

Heat Factor

Medium. You'll get some good spicy heat with this dish from the combination of chili powder, jalapeno peppers, Mexican chorizo, and hot sauce.

You can dial back the heat with a milder chili powder, and by using green bell peppers instead of jalapenos. You can also look for a milder chorizo brand, and skip the hot sauce.

To heat things up, use serrano peppers or hotter chilies, and your favorite ghost pepper hot sauce. Yes!

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my meaty 3 bean chili recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!

Cookbook Recommendation

If you enjoy spicy cooking, I hope you'll check out my cookbook! 75 easy recipes with big, bold flavor.

  • The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook, by Mike Hultquist (affiliate link, my friends!)
The Spicy Food Lovers' Cookbook - Fiery, No-Fuss Meals, by Michael Hultquist

Amazon Affiliate links, my friends! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

  • Chili Colorado
  • Chili con Carne
  • White Bean Chicken Chili
  • Texas Chili
  • Chili Verde
  • Classic Chili
  • Short Rib and Chorizo Chili
  • Vegan Chili
  • See all of my Chili Recipes
A bowl of Three Bean Chili

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.

Three Bean Chili Recipe
Print

Three Bean Chili Recipe

This 3 bean chili is easy to make and huge on flavor with ground beef and spicy chorizo simmered with fire roasted tomatoes, spices, and lots of beans!
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beans, black beans, chili, chorizo
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Calories: 460kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 8 bowls
Tap or hover to scale
4.75 from 4 votes
Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2-3 jalapeno peppers diced (use bell pepper for milder heat)
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound Mexican chorizo
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, for extra spicy
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 2 15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 15 ounce can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 ounce can black beans
  • 1 15 ounce can white beans use great northern beans or cannellini beans
  • hot sauce to taste
  • Toppings. Choose your favorites!

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large pot to medium heat.
  • Add the onion and peppers and cook 2-3 minutes to soften.
  • Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the ground beef and chorizo and break apart with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in the chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste, and tomato paste. Cook 1-2 minutes to let the spices bloom.
  • Stir in the beef broth, tomatoes, and three cans of beans, and hot sauce to taste.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors mingle and develop. You can simmer longer if you’d like, up to 60 minutes.
  • Serve with your favorite chili toppings, like shredded cheddar cheese, spicy chili flakes, sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped cilantro or parsley, fritos or tortilla chips, or others.

Notes

Nutritional information estimated without garnish/toppings.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 460kcal   Carbohydrates: 38g   Protein: 34g   Fat: 19g   Saturated Fat: 7g   Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g   Monounsaturated Fat: 3g   Trans Fat: 0.2g   Cholesterol: 71mg   Sodium: 747mg   Potassium: 955mg   Fiber: 12g   Sugar: 4g   Vitamin A: 1548IU   Vitamin C: 10mg   Calcium: 130mg   Iron: 8mg
Three Bean Chili 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.

Reader Interactions

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Jane Gibbs says

    November 10, 2024 at 9:04 pm

    I plan to make chili tomorrow. Even have chorizo, used your recipe, it’s great. So excited to find your recipes, even bought your cookbook tonight.
    Thanks again.

    Reply
    • Mike H. says

      November 11, 2024 at 5:55 am

      Happy to hear it, Jane. Let me know how it goes please!

      Reply
  2. David says

    November 04, 2024 at 7:23 am

    4 stars
    This was a relatively quick chili recipe and very good. I made it last evening for dinner and it was easy, I mostly just opened a lot of cans and just a little veg chopping. It was delicious and had some nice heat. The chorizo really adds a lot of flavor. It’s hard to restrain myself from tweaking most recipes this certainly didn’t need it, but I did add a teaspoon of smoked paprika and about 10 roasted red hatch chilies just because I had them on hand and wanted to use them up. Very good, will certainly make it again. ️

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      November 04, 2024 at 8:19 am

      Glad you enjoyed it, David.

      Reply
  3. Paul says

    June 07, 2024 at 5:30 pm

    Hello Mike and Patty,
    I hope you’re both well and having a good Summer.
    This recipe sounds gorgeous but I’ve never been able to buy canned fire roasted tomatoes here in the uk. Would fresh tomatoes roasted Mexican style in a dry pan achieve a similar result?
    Paul 🙂

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      June 08, 2024 at 6:30 am

      Paul, any canned or fresh diced tomatoes will work for this recipe. Fresh tomatoes can vary in moisture content, so you MIGHT need to add a touch more liquid. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Paul W. Anderson says

    June 07, 2024 at 1:12 pm

    5 stars
    Mike, how do you feel about using Pinto Beans vs White Beans. My Chipotle order isn’t the same without Pinto Beans!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      June 07, 2024 at 1:20 pm

      Pintos are GREAT, Paul. This will work with any combination of beans often used for chili. Enjoy!!

      Reply
  5. Ramya says

    June 07, 2024 at 10:07 am

    Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use tofu / tempeh and vegetable broth i never had three bean chili before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work

    Reply
  6. Sean E. says

    June 07, 2024 at 9:06 am

    5 stars
    Looks very similar to a chili recipe I use, but more delicious! Question though - do you drain the ground beef/chorizo grease, or are you using lower fat ratio (90/10 or some such), or just leave it?
    Also, I've found that leaving the garlic, and the jalapenos, until the last 15 minutes or so of cooking, avoids losing a lot of that flavor via the cooking process - or do you not have that problem (my recipe doesn't add beef broth, just uses diced tomatoes/tomato sauce)?

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      June 07, 2024 at 10:35 am

      Sean, you can drain the fat if you see too much in the pan. I don't like it too greasy/oily, though you'll get a bit of that from the chorizo as well. I use 80/20 beef. I do not have any flavor loss issue, but it's easy to adjust to your preference, really. Thanks!!

      Reply
  7. Jackie Smalley says

    June 07, 2024 at 6:26 am

    5 stars
    Oh, forgot to mention, love that ladle with the bend in it as a lip-rest. Need one of those!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      June 07, 2024 at 7:35 am

      Yes, work great! Thanks!!

      Reply
  8. Jackie Smalley says

    June 07, 2024 at 6:22 am

    Mike, I made an almost identical recipe this past month, beans, chorizo and all - dee-lish! I also mixed a slurry of sour cream, Frank's Red Hot sauce, lots of cilantro (grow tons of the stuff in my pots) and some pickled jalapeno to dollop on top. The only regret...not making a double batch to freeze!

    Reply
    • Mike Hultquist says

      June 07, 2024 at 7:34 am

      Yes! I love it, Jackie!

      Reply

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