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!
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 northern 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.
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.
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!
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!)
Amazon Affiliate links, my friends! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
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
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
Nutrition Information
Sue says
Mega chilli. Went for spicy, maybe a little too spicy for me (maybe should not have used hot chilli powder 🙂 ) so served with plenty of sour cream and yogurt. Swapped out the chorizo for wild garlic pork sausage adding in chorizo seasoning spices. Also in the UK fire roasted toms are tricky to come by so got some marinated sun dried toms and roasted them in the oven first.
Mike Hultquist says
Wonderful!! I'll take a bowl, Sue! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Julie says
amazing chili! first timer using charizo...I'm in love with it in my chili. I stayed with a medium heat level since I'm sharing with family and friends. omitted the jalepenos but subbed some green peppers. will definitely make again !
Mike H. says
Awesome. Enjoy, Julie!
Alainna Matens says
This is my new go to recipe for the perfect crowd pleasing chili! With the spices exactly as stated, two fresh jalapenos (pith and seeds removed because not everyone I was cooking for likes it hot), the added cayenne and few dashes of hot sauce (Crystal is what I had on hand), this chili was beautifully medium in heat. Those who wanted mild could tone it down with cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc. Those who want it kicked up a notch could get their fix with additional hot sauce and crushed chiles in the bowl. Do not skimp on the chili powder and cumin, and I definitely advise you try it with half chorizo, as indicated. The flavor pork sausage lends to chili, spaghetti sauce, and so on is not to be missed. It all came together so quickly and simply--and my ten year old ate three helpings! Winner, winner, chili dinner!
Mike Hultquist says
Boom!! I love this! Glad you enjoyed it, Alainna!! You are truly AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Elizabeth Lewis says
Wow! This chili is the bomb! The chorizo and beef combo take it over the top and it comes together fast. I used roasted serranos from our garden instead of jalapenos, and the heat was sublime. This is going into our regular rotation for sure.
Mike Hultquist says
Boom!! Glad to hear it, Elizabeth! I appreciate it!
Jason Renaud says
Whew man was this chili good! Perfect timing too! It’s the first night in the 30s here. I substituted ground venison from my son’s deer he got the past weekend for the ground beef. Also, used a beef chorizo instead of the normal pork chorizo. Since I was feeding kids, I used bell peppers instead of jalapeños. Still had plenty of kick! This recipe made a ton. We will have chili for the next few nights now and I know it’ll just get better as it sits and the flavors meld!
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Perfect chilly night for a good bowl of chili! Glad you enjoyed it, Jason!! Thanks so much!
Deborah R says
My mess up turned out pretty good! I had just printed both the 3 bean and Chili Colorado recipes. I made the chili sauce from Chili Colorado before I realized I was looking at the wrong recipe. So I used that chili sauce in the 3 bean chili and WOW! Was it good! Don’t have any jalapeños but I did have your jalapeño hot sauce to use. My hubby loved the smoky oaky flavor with just enough spicy from the jalapeño hot sauce! Served with some cornbread and shredded cheese.
Mike Hultquist says
Boom! There you go! Big flavors right there. Glad you liked it, Deborah!
Kelsey Nistel says
Such a hearty, yummy chili! Perfect for a cold night. I added some leftover shredded chuck roast and was thinking you could also add some frozen corn. I will definitely be making this again!
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Thanks so much, Kelsey!! I appreciate it!
Jonna O says
Yup… New favorite chili! The chorizo adds such a great hit. Perfect timing for fall/winter/football comfort food. And, super easy. Thanks, Mike!
Mike Hultquist says
Thank you, Jonna! Glad you enjoyed it!! I do love this chili. YUM.
Chantelle G. says
This was so good! My husband said it was his favorite chili! I substituted the beans for what beans I had but it was at least 3 different kinds! I also made a homemade "chorizo" seasoning because I couldnt find that sausage at my store and it still turned out great!!
Mike Hultquist says
Boom! This is great to hear, Chantelle! Nice! Very happy you both enjoyed it. I love the chorizo seasoning, too.
David Slee says
What an amazing dish this turned out to be, using chorizo gives this chilli incredible depth of flavour that you wouldn’t get from just beef. Having said that I normally mix 50/50 beef and pork mince any way but this was just superb. The three bean mix was also a nice touch as it makes the dish visually appealing and gives a nice texture change.
As usual with Mike’s dishes I had some challenges with ingredients (live in Oz) so had to fire roast fresh tomatoes and thus cook sauce a bit longer but worth the effort.
Going forward will be a hard choice between this recipe and Mike’s authentic Texas chilli.
Mike H. says
Choices-choices =) Cheers, David!
Aimee MacArthur says
I really enjoyed making this chili for the October challenge. I think it's a really great recipe that anyone, no matter their skill level could make and it will turn out great every time. I changed up a few things when I did it, just because chili is one of my favorite things to cook and I have a few "musts" when it comes to making it. I added paprika and some Mexican oregano. I also used some homemade enchilada sauce that I had in the freezer instead of using tomato paste. I also didn't have any fresh jalapenos, so I put in some of my really spicy pickled hot peppers, and they were an amazing addition. And, my one absolute must add ingredient: some masa harina. It's my secret ingredient in all of my chilis and I love the corn flavor that it adds. It also thickens it up a bit. Overall, it turned out to be one of my best chilis to date. I served it with some homemade sourdough cornbread. Yumm!!
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Aimee, and were able to customize it exactly as you wanted! Cheers!!
Stephanie Jamerson says
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Three-Bean Chili with Chorizo — Worth Braving the Storm!
This three-bean chili with chorizo was an absolute home run! The rich, hearty beans combined with the smoky, savory chorizo created the perfect bowl of comfort food. The flavors were deep, satisfying, and had just the right amount of kick.
And let me tell you, I was SO committed to this recipe that I went out into the POURING RAIN just to get chorizo because it’s my absolute favorite! 🌧️😂 If I’m willing to brave a downpour for an ingredient, you know it’s going to be good!
The chorizo really takes this chili to the next level, adding incredible flavor that makes every bite delicious. This is the kind of chili that warms you from the inside out and has you going back for another bowl.
Five stars, no question! The only thing better than a fantastic bowl of chili is knowing I risked getting drenched for my favorite ingredient—and it was 100% worth it! 🌶️🍲
Mike Hultquist says
Wow! That is fantastic, Stephanie! BOOM!! Now it's time to dry off, haha. Super happy you enjoyed it!
John Bjorge says
Three Bean Chili
Made this recipe for football gameday Sunday Oct 4th. Started everything the day before and moved it all to the fridge. That morning put it in a crockpot on low. By halftime we had also cooked up Brats, Hempler Hotdogs and Blooming Onion dip. The Chili was a great success not too hot but just the right heat level. This will be one we’ll be cooking up again.
Not too runny and just the right heat. Added cheder cheese and chopped Jalapeños to off a bowl.
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! A game day winner! Thanks, John! Love the feast.