This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Learn how to make real Texas Chili! Hearty and warm bowls of Chili con Carne loaded with spices and made with chunks of beef! This chili recipe will warm you from your fingers to your toes!
It’s chili season!
And Texans love their chili!
Today, I’m bringing you a Texas Chili recipe that’s loaded with all the seasonings, onion, fresh garlic, and jalapeños pepper. Texas-style chili has the most amazing deep and rich flavor. A bowl of this stuff will keep you warm on the chilliest nights. And seeing as how I’ve lived in Texas for most of my life, I like to think that I’m a bit of a Texas chili authority!
Chili con carne just happens to be perfect for football season. Toss it together on Sunday morning. By the afternoon, you’ve got a slow-simmered Texas Chili that’s just waiting to be topped with all your faves and served straight from a large Dutch oven.
Chili is nothing new around here. I’ve shared an instant pot version, a pumpkin chili, one that comes with a cornbread crust, a chili dip, and a vegetarian butternut squash chili. This goes without saying, but clearly, comfort food is my spirit animal.
Most of the recipes I’ve shared in the past start with ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Today’s Texas chili, or chili con carne as it’s called down here, is made with chunks of beef.
I made this for my office chili cookoff and it WON! Thank you for a great recipe. One of the things that a lot of people like about was the tender chunks of meat instead of ground meat.
Does Texas Chili have beans?
If you ask a Texan, they’ll tell you it’s a hard NO. But as someone who can’t get on board with a 99% meat-based chili, I add a can of beans.
Now before I start getting hate mail, please note, you don’t have to do this. I’m just letting you know it’s an option.
Making the chili paste starter
Texas-style chili is thickened in two ways: cornmeal or pieces of corn tortilla. Cornmeal is also called masa harina; it’s just milled a little differently. To make the chili paste starter, we’ll mix all the dry ingredients in the recipe, like cornmeal, chipotle chili powder, ground cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and a few others mixed with a bit of water to form a thick paste. Some people add cinnamon, cocoa powder and a few other ingredients to make this. The paste is where all the Texas chili flavor comes from.
Choosing beef for your chili con carne recipe
Texas chili is all about that meat. You want to use something that’s well-marbled and can withstand a longer cooking time. Chuck roast or meat are both good options.
If you decide to use a beef chuck roast, just be sure to trim as much of the fat as you can. You don’t need that. But know that stew beef can also work here. Just be sure to take your time in selecting the package.
You want the beef chunks to be 1–1½ inch cubes so that all the meat cooks up evenly.
Making Texas Chili
- Sear the meat. Once the paste is ready, I like to take a couple of minutes to sear off the meat in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. The brown bits that are left behind in the pot are because of a Maillard reaction that occurs when you sear the meat. That’s free flavor that only costs about 5 minutes of your time.
- Proceed as usual! Remove the meat, cook the onions, green bell peppers, and scrape down the pot to get all those brown-bit flavors. Then come the garlic; right after that, we’ll add our cooking liquids.
- The liquid part is something to play with! Most Texas chili recipes call for a bottle of beer, beef stock, and some form of tomato. I use all beef broth, a bit of water, and tomato sauce. Diced tomatoes aren’t something you commonly find in Texas chili. You want to use passata or low or no sodium tomato sauce. I’ve even used brewed coffee in my chili recipe after I read about it somewhere. It had the most amazingly smoky, rich flavor.
- Let chili con carne simmer. Let this hang out and simmer on low heat. Give it a stir every half hour or so. Keep an eye on the cooking liquid as well. If you prefer a thicker chili, just let it simmer for a bit uncovered at the end so that some of that liquid evaporates.
Why you’ll love this chili con carne recipe
The tender chunks of beef just melt in your mouth. It’s the perfect recipe to slow cook on a Sunday and enjoy through out the week. The leftovers taste even better as they sit in the fridge or you can tuck half away in the freezer for later.
To serve, I like:
- Fritos: sturdier than tortilla chips so they hold up much better with the chili, plus Frito pies – enough said.
- Dollop of Sour Cream
- Chopped sweet onions
- Cheddar Cheese
- Cilantro
- But you could totally make some Hatch Chili Cornbread too!
Enjoy guys! This one’s a home run or err… I mean a touchdown for us!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Taco Chili
- Skillet Chili with Jalapeño Cornbread
- Chipotle Butternut Squash Chili
- Hatch Chile Cornbread
- Instant Pot Mexican Chili with Black Beans
Rancher’s Texas Chili Recipe (Chili con Carne)
Equipment
Ingredients
Chili Paste Starter:
- 3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- 3 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
Texas Chili:
- 3 ½ -4 pounds stew meat or chuck roast cut into 1 – 1¼ inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 poblano peppers diced (or bell peppers)
- 1-5 jalapeños minced
- 8-12 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 cups beef broth*
- 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 (14 ounce) pinto beans rinsed and drained (BUT OPTIONAL!)
Instructions
- PASTE: Combine the ingredients for the paste in a small bowl and slowly stir in 1/2 cup of hot water. Mix and set this aside for now.
- SEAR THE MEAT: Season the meat with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a large chili pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot and add a few pieces of meat at a time. Sear the meat on all sides, about 2-3 minutes and remove it to a plate. Repeat the process until all the meat is seared. You may need a little more oil than what's listed just depends on how well marbled the meat is.
- CHILI: If you need it, add another drizzle of oil to the pan along with the chopped onions and the poblanos. Use a wooden spoon to help scrape any brown bits left behind by the meat and cook for 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic and jalapeños and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the prepared chili paste to the pot and stir it in so that it coats everything nicely. Allow the paste to cook for 1 minute before adding the brown sugar, Worcestershire, beef broth, tomato sauce, 1 cup water and ½ teaspoon salt. Use the wooden spoon to scrape the bottom so that none of the chili paste is sticking.
- COOK: Add the seared meat and allow the chili to come to a boil before lowering the heat to low and allowing it to cook for 2 ½ – 3 ½ hours. Set aside 1 cup of water and add in a ¼ cup every time you stir the chili if it's thickened. Stir the chili every 30-45 minutes to make sure it's not sticking. You may not need all of the water if you're going bean-free, with beans you generally need a little more. I like to add the beans around the 2-hour mark so that they have a chance to cook for at least half an hour before serving. Serve topped with all your favorite chili toppings!
Notes
- If you decide to use a chuck roast, just be sure to trim as much of the fat as you can. You don’t need that. The natural marbling is more than enough. If you leave on the extra fat, the chili will end up being really oily at the end and you’ll need to skim most of it off.
- You can also replace some of the water/beef broth with a bottle of beer or brewed coffee. It just comes down to preference.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I agree with portmoody gal re: cooking in a low oven (300 degrees) partially uncovered but mine only took 3 hours. I used around 2 pounds of trimmed and cubed chuck but otherwise kept mostly the same ingredients. I did omit the jalapeños as I find them so unpredictable regarding their heat level and used half of a tablespoon of chipotle chile powder as it is quite hot (and I love hot, spicy food). I really liked the silkiness and smooth mouth feel of this chili.
Loved the recipe as it’s similar to a favorite restaurant chili that I’ve been trying to copy for a while now. I used one can of beans and next time I would use two. We do like our chili thick, so I added some corn starch to the broth to thicken it up a bit. Would definitely make it again. Thank you.
How long would it take in the pressure cooker? ?
I too would like to know insty pot
Probably 40 minutes for the meat and then slow cook after that.
I made this for my office chili cookoff and it WON! Thank you for a great recipe. One of the things that a lot of people like about was the tender chunks of meat instead of ground meat.
Really! That makes me so happy! Congrats on the win! 🙂
Would Masa Harina work in place of cornmeal? This looks like a killer recipe and I’m planning on making it tomorrow.
I think masa harina is more similar to corn flour rather than cornmeal. Unfortunately, without further recipe testing I’m unsure whether it would make for a good substitute in this recipe. If you decide to try it, I’d love to know how it goes!
I used masa Harina in equal amounts and found I had to add a cornstarch slurry to get it to thicken.
This looks amazing!! Would you be able to provide the nutritional breakdown? Thank you ?
Thanks so much! I don’t have the NI calculated for this recipe, but if you’d like, you can paste the URL of this page into MyFitnessPal (there’s also an app) and it with calculate it for you. You can also customize the ingredients (with brands you’ve used) and it will give you a more accurate nutritional breakdown 🙂
De-lish-ous! I made this for our chili cook off at work and guess who took home the prize? Me! Thank you for the winning recipe. Everyone loved it. As for the spices- I didn’t have any of the chili powders, smoked paprika, coriander, or cornmeal, however I was able to find them at a specialty store. Heavens the price… But well worth it. Great addition to my pantry. Thank you!
How about converting this one for instant pot!!!?? I’m not seasoned enough with mine to know exactly the way to convert it myself, but I’d love to today— super bowl!! I’m a Texan living in New England:-)
Hi Laura! I’m glad you’re interested in making the chili recipe; unfortunately, converting this to an IP friendly recipe would require additional recipe testing as I’m not sure how the cornmeal mixture will react in the instant pot! It could work as written, or it may burn and stick. If you decide to give it a go, I’d love to know how it went. It would probably take in the ballpark for 35-37 minutes of high-pressure cooking.
Hi! The recipe doesn’t stare at what point to add the Worcester? And then I got a little confused on 2 other things- the ingredients say tomato sauce, but the instructions say to add “tomatoes” along with the brown sugar. I added sauce but now I’m wondering if that was wrong bc mine isn’t as dark as yours. And is it 1 cup of water total or 1 cup and then 1 cups reserved? I added in the water with the brown sugar bc it sounded like that was when i supposed to add. Sorry for so many questions!!
This is a great chili! Love it Love it Love it! I just want to say (and I’m NOT complaining), with beans it’s NOT a TEXAS CHILI!!! So let’s just call it a chili… It’s still in my chili top 3 ???
I love this recipe! I get it all together, bring it to a low boil and then pop it in a 275 or 300 oven with the lid slightly tilted for 4-5 hours – that way I don’t have to stir it more than once or twice. Don’t skip the chocolate (I don’t even like chocolate) and try adding 1/4 c of black dark roast coffee. Both add a subtle complexity to the dish.
This Texas chili is a new family favorite – beans included. Tonight is my second time making it – it is simmering as I write. My daughter doesn’t like my ground beef chili; however, she loved the first batch of this recipe I made – as did my husband. I followed your directions explicitly, with the exception of the different chili powders that I don’t own…other than that, it was and is going to be such a delicious and hearty comfort food.
I saw someone else’s post about your cornbread recipe. I think I will look it up while the chili is simmering. Thanks for a great recipe. p.s. also sharing with friends with whom we swap recipes….I am sure they’ll love it too.
Loved it. I was concerned about the cocoa powder because I’m not a fan of mole or savory recipes with cocoa but there was no chocolate flavor to it. I used masa instead of cornmeal because I was afraid of grittiness. My husband prefers a tomato based chili but he’s from West Virginia, bless his heart. I thought it was fabulous.
Your comment made me chuckle. I am from WV, planning to make chili for some Texans. Decided I better look for a Texan recipe
This should be named “The world’s best Chili,” it is that good!!! Love it!!!
Can this chili recipe be made in a slow cooker? I’m not real handy in the kitchen, yet. But getting better with a slow cooker. Thanks. Jim
Hi Jim! I think this recipe could be adapted for the slow cooker however it will require a few minor adjustments. I suggest searing the beef as listed on the recipe card. I’m not exactly sure you’ll need the additional water listed under the ‘chili’ section of the recipe as the liquid won’t evaporate as rapidly in the slow cooker as it does on the stove. However, you’ll want to check it and stir often just to make sure the chili paste isn’t sticking to the bottom of the slow cooker. For the best flavor, I suggest cooking it on the low setting for roughly 7-8 hours or until the meat is tender. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Five star chili recipe. My new favorite
This dish looked so good I had to try it out. My son loves chili and has a recipe he always wants me to make for him but after making this last night he said he liked it better than his recipe. It was very spicy, The only changes I made was I used 2 jalapenos and removed the seeds and only used 1 T Worcestershire sauce as I am not a big fan that. I did buy corn chips but forgot to use them because I made your Jalapeno cheddar cornbread. I used a 10 inch cast iron skillet for that, cooked it at 375 for 20 minutes. It was delish! I really love your recipes, thank you so much for sharing them.
This looks so good I am planning on making it for dinner tonight. I do like to have corn bread with chili and saw your Jalapeno cheddar corn bread recipe which looks yummy. I was wondering if I can cook the corn bread in a skillet or loaf pan by itself so I can serve it on the side. I will let you know how the chili turns out. Everything I have cooked from your site has been wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
This is some amazing chili, long, slow cooking with beef and loads of perfect spices. I need a bowl of this right now.
I always use ground meat in chili, so I’m excited to try something new! 🙂