Chili con Carne with Beef and Beans
Chili con carne is minced beef and kidney beans in a tomato sauce with chilli and cumin. The key is at least an hour of slow cooking — and the name means "chilli with meat" in Spanish, so the chilli is the foundation, not an addition.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 95 min
- Calories
- 420
Chili is a border dish between Mexico and Texas, and it provokes arguments: Texans insist beans are not authentic, everyone else puts them in. This version has them, because it is both the more common and the more filling — a complete meal in one pot.
Method
-
1
Brown the beef
Brown the beef in a heavy pot over high heat without stirring much until it genuinely colours. Constant stirring makes it boil rather than brown.
⏱ 10 min -
2
Soften the vegetables
Add the onion and pepper and cook for seven minutes until softened, then the garlic for one minute only.
⏱ 9 min -
3
Bloom the spices
Add the chilli powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and stir for a minute over medium heat. The cinnamon is only a pinch, but it gives an odd and distinctive depth.
⏱ 2 min -
4
Add the liquid
Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and salt, crush the tomatoes against the pan with a spoon, and bring to the boil.
⏱ 5 min -
5
Cook slowly
Lower the heat, cover partially, and cook for a full hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. That time is what gives chili its depth.
⏱ 60 min -
6
Add the beans
Add the drained beans for the last fifteen minutes only. From the start they collapse and turn the dish to porridge.
⏱ 15 min -
7
Serve
Taste and adjust the salt, and serve with sour cream, grated cheese and coriander. It is genuinely better the next day.
⏱ 4 min
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Beans in the last quarter of an hour only — from the start they disintegrate.
- The pinch of cinnamon is not a mistake: it adds a depth you cannot quite place, and it is the secret of the old recipes.
- Real browning of the beef, without over-stirring, is half the flavour.
- It is better on the second day — make it the night before if you are feeding people.
People also ask
What can replace chilli powder?
Sweet paprika with ground chilli and a little cumin. Chilli powder is a blend to begin with, not a single pepper.
Why did my beans fall apart?
They went in too early. Add them in the last fifteen minutes — they are already cooked and only need to take on flavour.
Can I make it without meat?
Yes — double the beans and add lentils or mushrooms. It makes a vegetarian chili that is very good indeed.
What is it served with?
White rice, cornbread, or tortilla chips. In America it is also spooned over baked potatoes.
Cook mode
Chili con Carne with Beef and Beans
-
1
Brown the beef
Brown the beef in a heavy pot over high heat without stirring much until it genuinely colours. Constant stirring makes it boil rather than brown.
-
2
Soften the vegetables
Add the onion and pepper and cook for seven minutes until softened, then the garlic for one minute only.
-
3
Bloom the spices
Add the chilli powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and stir for a minute over medium heat. The cinnamon is only a pinch, but it gives an odd and distinctive depth.
-
4
Add the liquid
Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and salt, crush the tomatoes against the pan with a spoon, and bring to the boil.
-
5
Cook slowly
Lower the heat, cover partially, and cook for a full hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. That time is what gives chili its depth.
-
6
Add the beans
Add the drained beans for the last fifteen minutes only. From the start they collapse and turn the dish to porridge.
-
7
Serve
Taste and adjust the salt, and serve with sour cream, grated cheese and coriander. It is genuinely better the next day.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.