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.
Follow me for more great recipes
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
Follow Me
I originally shared this recipe August 2019. Updated October 2021, September 2023 and September 2025.
This post contains affiliate links.
Brand new to the website. This tasted just like my moms chili but was a few different ingredients. One thing I like to do with this chili when you have it in your own bowl is a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice and a few sprits of reds hot sauce.
One criticism I have for this as well as the site as a whole is it would be nice if the recipes had a serving size, not just calories per whatever serving the dish may be.
The serving size is at the top of the recipe and I’m pretty sure that the nutritional info is for 1 serving…….hope that helps
Tried this last night. Turned out amazing!!! Family asked me to make again. My slight changes: I used tomato sauce instead of juice for a thicker consistency. I used half the called-for ketchup. Didn’t want the ketchup sugars to overpower like I have done in past. And a couple more shakes of chili powder and cayenne pepper. Marvelous. I served each bowl with a large pinch of shredded cheese and 10 corn chips (Fritos) for presentation and crunch. Thanks for the recipe. Finally! A chili we like!
So good! I added 2 Serrano peppers without seeds or spines, half a green bell pepper and half a large red bell pepper. Amazing!
I made this chili today in my slow cooker, and it came out tasting great, though not too thick. I made an adjustment using only two pounds of ground beef; no pork at all. Perhaps it would have been thicker if I had replaced the pork with a third pound of beef! At any rate, my family loved it. I will make it again.
This chili is not what I’m used to. It is a little like fancy baked beans with the Ketchup and brown sugar. I really enjoy this website and have made some wonderful things, but I will be going back to my usual recipe.
I tried it in the crockpot; went by the recipe but it needed up very soupy. I ended up having to add some tomato paste to thicken. Afterwards it was really good. Not sure if I did something wrong or what. Perhaps I should’ve drained the beans.
Love this recipe, my go to chili recipe. It goes in the crock-pot on high for a few hours and it’s great. Tastes even better the following day.
I expected a recipe that uses dried beans, not canned beans. Since we are cooking from scratch, I am looking for a chili recipe that is totally from scratch.
My thoughts, too. You can substitute about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans for each can called for.
Easy and very tasty
If you don’t simmer for at least an hour the taste of the red wine vinegar will be too strong. Added more spices and simmered for 2.5 hours – delicious!