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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!
This chili was extremely flavorful and delicious. The flavor had so much depth. My husband truly enjoyed this dish very much. He was humming when he was not chewing.
I used masa harina instead of cornmeal. I will be using this chili recipe forever! This recipe definitely levels up your average chili.
Game changer!! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Oh no! In my previous comment, I can’t believe I forgot to give the rating. FIVE STARS all the way!! I used 2 jalapeños and 2 poblanos. I think the cocoa is what gives this recipe a totally different depth than any other chili I’ve had before. So good!
This recipe makes the BEST CHILI I have ever found. There are layers of flavors, and it is spicy without being “hot for hot’s sake”. I made it almost exactly according to the directions this first time. I thought I had enough stew meat but found, last minute, that I was short 1-1/2 pounds of meat. So I used 1.33 pounds ground beef that I had in my freezer to make up the difference. Oh, and I did add the pinto beans. Chef’s kiss to this recipe. Thank you Little Spice Jar!!!
Oh, and also:
I used 6 jalapeños, 2 red habañeros, 6 Dutch red chili peppers, but I like it hot so maybe not for everyone.
…and a pinch of msg.
I skipped the cocoa as I didn’t have any, added 50cl of beer instead of broth.
Turned out absolutely delicious, thank you for this recipe.
Made this chili last night & it was so good!! A few things- I read in comments that it was pretty spicy, so I used 1 poblano pepper, 1 green bell pepper, & 2 jalapeños, & that was a winning combo! (still quite spicy) I also used 5lbs of beef w/ 2 cans of beans, so I added a little extra broth. I simmered for 3.5 hrs & baked sweet cornbread to pair w/ it. Very flavorful & hearty chili! I do think it could have more ‘stuff’ in it (if you like a more chunky chili). So when I make again, I will add an extra onion & bell pepper, a 3rd can of beans, & possibly a large can of whole peeled tomatoes. Husband said to keep the recipe!
Texas born, New England raised. Have never had chili this amazing. FIRE! Best Sunday dinner ever!
I had used a rib roast and it was rather chewy after 2 hours, II have it 1 hour in the pressure cooker and it completely fell apart. Just to say it can be difficult to choose the right meat because it the chunks are chewy it ruins the dish. Thor
I used 3 jalapenos and subbed water for corona also served with sweet corn cake …. Phenomenal thank you for sharing this recipe. I will be adding this one to my book!
Fantastic recipe requested by my daughter to “add to the rotation” in our meal plan. So good, it makes you shake your head and go “mmm, mmm, so good”!
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve won a chili cookoff several times with it! We usually use smoked brisket and peppers, Guinness and coffee. So good!
We also love to put leftovers over fried potatoes with a fried egg on top! The BEST brunch on a Sunday morning!
Thank you!!
This is a fantastic recipe. I was a little reluctant to use the roast, but I did anyway.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
Husband loved it. I used a little corn starch instead of meal. I also made this in my instant pot. Halved the recipe for just my husband and I. It was amazing!!
Absolutely delicious! After searing the beef and cooking the veggies paste, I finished the chili off in a slow cooker on low for 7.5 hours – worked really good. Thanks for the recipe.
Totally confused with the EACH and AND instructions for the paste.
“3 tablespoons EACH: ancho chili powder AND cornmeal”
Does this mean 3 tbsps of each ingredient or 3tbsp of a mix of both.
Never seen a recipe instruction like this before and I’ve been cooking for 30 years.
Why not just break out the ingredients line by line?
As a result, I feel like I making this blind.
Amazing! The flavors are perfect and everyone enjoyed it!
Absolutely love this chili recipe! It’s been in our regular rotation for a couple years now! So delicious!
I love this recipe. Been using it for sometime now and so easy to follow. Thanks again for posting.
Your recipe is amazing!
We followed the recipe to the tee, except we flash grilled the roast thus lightly blackened the meat.
The results were AWESOME!
I smoked my meat on the Pit Boss at 200 degrees for about an hour. Made this for the company chili feed today. Added more meat, beans and tomato sauce. Same on the spices. So far everyone that sampled it, loves it.