# 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.

**Mexican Cuisine · 95 min · 6 servings · 420 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients


### The meat
- 700 — Minced beef

### The vegetables
- 2 — Onion, chopped
- 1 — Bell pepper, chopped
- 4 — Garlic, crushed

### The spices
- 2 — Chilli powder (or paprika with chilli)
- 1 — Cumin
- 1 — Oregano
- 0.5 — Cinnamon
- 2 — Salt

### The liquid
- 800 — Tinned peeled tomatoes
- 2 — Tomato purée
- 1.5 — Stock or water

### The beans
- 2 — Red kidney beans, drained

### To serve
- - — Soured cream, cheese and coriander

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/mexican-cuisine/chili-con-carne
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-29