Chili without Beans is full of beef, peppers, tomatoes, and spices—it's so flavorful and just right for game day or a chilly night at home!
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Servings: 8servings
Calories: 403kcal
Author: Lucy Brewer
Ingredients
2.5-3poundsmixture of ground sausage, ground chuck, ground round
1large white onion, finely chopped
1green pepper, finely chopped
1jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1Anaheim or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped (Anaheim is mild, serrano is hot)
1-2canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
5clovesgarlic, finely chopped
1 28-ozcan crushed tomatoes
1 15-ozcan diced tomatoes, undrained
1bottle dark beer
½cupwater
4tablespoonschili powder
2tablespoonscumin
1teaspoonancho chili powder
2teaspoonssalt or salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Instructions
Brown meat in large Dutch oven. Remove to strainer (strain over a bowl, not in the sink).
Add olive oil or vegetable oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add onions, peppers and garlic and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft and just starting to brown a little. Add meat back into pot.
Add tomatoes, beer, water, and seasonings. Depending on how spicy you like chili, you might want to start with half the seasonings listed and then taste later to see if you want to add more. If it looks a little dry (higher proportion of meat and peppers) then you might want to add another half bottle of beer.
Bring chili to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.
Cook for at least an hour or two, stirring frequently. Taste halfway through because you might need to add more seasonings.
Serve with grated cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream or other toppings.
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Chili Recipe with No Beans:
You can easily double or triple the recipe for a large crowd.
Use an enameled Dutch oven or large stainless steel stockpot with heavy bottom.
Any combination of chile peppers works, depending on how hot you want the chili. I typically use a jalapeño, maybe an Anaheim or serrano, and a chipotle—or maybe 2 jalapenos and one chipotle or whatever I have on hand. Jalapenos and serranos are hotter, so be careful of those.
For seasoning, I use several tablespoons of chili powder, cumin, ancho chili powder, and a little crushed red pepper and cayenne. This is a taste-as-you-go recipe! Don't be shy with seasonings but be sure you taste after it's had a while to cook before you start adding more.
Toppings: Top your no bean chili with grated cheese, sour cream, some chopped green onions, or whatever you like.
Serving: Around here we just have cornbread, but you could have a side dish of vegetables or maybe even a salad.
Slow Cooker: After browning the meat and vegetable, combine those with the other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Make Ahead: This chili recipe with no beans gets better with age so you can make it several days in advance if you need to. The chili needs to simmer for at least an hour or two and you can leave it on the stove on low for quite a while, which makes this the perfect party dish.
Freezer: I use these restaurant-style containers to freeze soups and chilis. They're the perfect size and they're cheap so if you want to give your chili to a friend you don't have to worry about losing your expensive storage containers.
You can also freeze the no bean chili in gallon-sized freezer bags. Allow the chili to cool completely and then fill the bags with chili and then lay the bags flat on a large cookie sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, you can store the bags flat or upright.