This easy Homemade Chili recipe is a WINNER, packed with hearty ground beef, sausage, beans, and a blend of bold spices, simmered to rich perfection. It's made in one pot or a slow cooker and freezes well, too.
My classic Chili recipe is ready for your chili cook-off!
My classic Chili recipe is ready for your chili cook-off!Every year I have at least one reader who writes in that this chili recipe won an award at a chili cook-off! It's the BEST, and my go-to when I need something hearty, comforting, and easy to whip up. It's endlessly adaptable, too — sometimes I’ll toss in extra veggies or a strip of crispy bacon for added flavor, and it's just as delicious made vegetarian with extra beans. Whether we’re piling it onto cornbread waffles, chili dogs, french fries, drizzling it over nachos, or ladling it up with a side of cornbread, it’s a meal that always brings people together.
How to make our award-winning Chili Recipe:
Cook Meat and Combine: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and lightly caramelized. Add the ground beef and sausage, breaking it apart with a meat chopper as it cooks, and continue until browned. Drain grease, then stir in the vinegar and cook for 1 minute to deglaze the pan.
Simmer and Serve: Add the diced tomatoes, tomato juice, ketchup, beans, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. If you need it thicker, sprinkle a big spoonful of cornmeal over the top and stir it in. Use a ladle to serve warm with sour cream, shredded cheese, and your favorite sides like cornbread, potato skins, biscuits, or a green salad.
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Recipe
Easy Homemade Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion , diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes , petite, undrained
- 4 cups tomato juice*
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 15 ounce cans pinto beans , undrained
- 1 16 ounce can kidney beans , undrained
- 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicier)
- cornmeal to thicken, if desired
- shredded cheddar cheese , optional
- sour cream , optional
Instructions
- Saute onion: Add the olive oil to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 large onion
- Brown meat: Add ground beef and sausage to the pot and cook, breaking apart into small pieces with a meat chopper or wooden spoon until browned. Remove the grease.2 pounds lean ground beef, 1 pound ground pork sausage
- Add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato juice, ketchup, beans, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and cayenne.¼ cup red wine vinegar, 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, 4 cups tomato juice*, 1 cup ketchup, 2 15 ounce cans pinto beans, 1 16 ounce can kidney beans, 3 Tablespoons chili powder, ¾ teaspoon garlic salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoons ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- Simmer: Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, then reduce the heat and simmer over medium-low heat for at least one hour, or up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened. The more it simmers, the thicker and more flavorful it will be! (and if you'd like it even thicker, stir in a sprinkle of cornmeal).cornmeal
- Serve: Ladle chili into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese.shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe August 2019. Updated October 2021, September 2023 and September 2025.
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YAAASSSSS!!!! This is my first time leaving a review on a recipe before. I was nervous because the reviews weren’t *insanely* high, and that’s what I try to go for when I’m cooking a huge meal for my little family since we’ll have l its of leftovers.
Anyway– this was DELICIOUS. I appreciate the notes about adding more spices here and there, depending on flavor. I used spicy chili beans instead of plain, and I also heaped the cayenne pepper. I added more black pepper than it called for as well, and oh-my-gosh it was so yummy! The perfect amount of heat without it being *spicy*.
Oh! I also had a small handful of baby carrots that needed to be eaten, so I cut those up and threw them in there too. 😂 My husband is super picky, and he loved it. (I didn’t tell him there were carrots in there…) The chili was also a hit with the two teenagers, though my 4 year old protested the whole time.
Anyway– thanks for the recipe!
Made it yesterday and it turned out good
Honestly, I’m from Texas and this doesn’t taste anything like chili to me. It tastes more like meat soaked in barbecue sauce. It’s far too sweet and it’s just not what I think chili should taste like.
My family has been following the weekly meal plans up to this point happily. This was the first major disappointment for us. Most of us couldn’t eat the chili resulting from the recipe as written. Way too sweet and soupy for our taste. You’re better off using the recipe as a suggestion and making the chili you already know you like. This was a major bust. Really sad after weeks of successes.
We ended up having to throw out all of it and cook a different dinner since no one would eat it. Money wasted. Time wasted. Faith lost.
Hi There just wanted to say nothing ever is always 100%! If you have been having weeks of success with only one plan that didn’t work, I’d say it’s still a win!! In know how hard it can be to find good meal plans as a busy parent, you can always leave one out or exchange it for a easy family favorite. Best wishes to you and your family.
I’ve made this recipe many many times and it’s our favourite! At the moment I’m pregnant and have gestational diabetes. I see the recipe says there are 52g of carbohydrates, is that in the entire dish? Or for a serving? I’m only allowed a max of 30g or carbs at dinner so I’m just wondering how much I should serve myself to keep my numbers down! Thanks for a great recipe
I should add that this time I didn’t add the ketchup at all, nor any of the brown sugar. But usually we make it identical to your recipe and it’s perfect!
This is by far the best chili recipe in have ever made. I was a little nervous about the ketchup and brown sugar, but the chili did not taste too sweet. No changes needed to the recipe – it is perfect as is!
I have always loved chili but the rest of my family does not. I made this one night and everyone was obsessed with it. Now I am begged to make chili all the time. I do have a question. Are the nutrition facts for 1 serving or the whole thing?
I made this chili this past weekend. It was the first time I ever made chili. I tweaked it a little and adjusted some of the spices to suit my husband’s tastebuds. He said it was the best chili he ever ate and he’s eaten a lot of chili throughout his 53 years. I guess I finally have a signature dish, haha. Tonight, I plan on making macaroni and cheese with a good portion of the chili mixed in. I also plan on making the chili again next weekend since we’re supposed to have a polar vortex. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I hate to leave a bad review but this taste like sloppy joe mix. I tried adding more spices, coco powder, baking soda to mellow out the tomato taste and nothing. I made this for my husband to take to work for the up coming week since he works out of town but sadly this can not go with him because it’s that bad. I don’t mind it as a frito pie with lots of onions, cheese and Fritos but him not so much. If you do not like sloppy joe flavor DO NOT add 1cup of ketchup, a complete fail.
I used deer meat in mine and added some red pepper flakes and bread crumbs to thicken. It was amazing !!! All these years I thought I didn’t like chili, turns out I do. Thank you so much for the recipe my husband was impressed!!