Spicy Chili
Hearty, spicy chili with ground beef (or half sausage), peppers, beans, V8, and fire-roasted tomatoes.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 lbsground beef or use half sausage and half ground beef
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 small jalapeno peppers diced (seeds and veins removed for less spice)
- salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoonsgarlic powder
- 1/3 cupchili powder
- 1 1/2 Tablespoonscumin
- 1 1/2 cupsketchup
- 3 Tablespoonslime juice
- 1 Tablespoonbrown sugar
- 1 TablespoonWorcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoonsvinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoonsmustard
- 3 cupsspicy hot V8 or regular
- 16 oz cankidney beans
- 114.5 oz canfire roasted tomatoes
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Instructions
- If using sausage, use half sausage and half ground beef (1.5 lb sausage + 1.5 lb ground beef). Otherwise use 3 lb ground beef. Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground meat and brown, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until no pink remains.
- Drain most of the grease from the pot, leaving a little fat to cook the vegetables. Transfer the browned meat to a plate and set aside.
- Add the diced onion, green pepper, red bell pepper, and diced jalapeños to the pot. Sauté over medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1/3 cup chili powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin, 1 1/2 cups ketchup, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard, and 3 cups spicy hot V8 (or regular) to the pot. Stir well to combine.
- Add the 16 oz can kidney beans and the 1 14.5-oz can fire-roasted tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to incorporate.
- Return the browned meat to the pot. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cover and simmer for 1–2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste near the end and adjust salt and pepper as needed before serving.
Equipment
- Meat Chopper
Notes
Notes
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Follow steps 1 &2 and add all ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low 2-3 hours.
Instant Pot Instructions:
Use the sauté setting to brown the meat then sauté the veggies. Add remaining ingredients and select the chili/beans setting and cook for 20 minutes. Allow a natural release or use a quick release.
Meat Substitute:
feel free to substitute ½ ground sausage or ground turkey, or leave out the meat and add 2 more cans of beans, to make it vegetarian.
Beans
: pinto or black beans would also work well.
Mild chili:
for a more mild flavor, use regular V8, less jalapeño pepper, or regular diced tomatoes instead of fire roasted. Or try my
classic chili recipe
.
Spicier chili:
to make chili even spicier, don't remove the ribs or seeds from the jalapeño. You can also add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or dice up another hot chili pepper. I recommend trying the recipe as stated and letting the flavors sit for a few hours before adding additional spice.
Make ahead instructions:
Make spicy chili up to 2 days ahead of time (depending on the freshness of your ingredients) and store in the refrigerator until ready to reheat and serve. Reheat on low on the stovetop.
Freezing instructions:
Allow chili to cool completely and store in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Follow steps 1 &2 and add all ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low 2-3 hours.
Instant Pot Instructions:
Use the sauté setting to brown the meat then sauté the veggies. Add remaining ingredients and select the chili/beans setting and cook for 20 minutes. Allow a natural release or use a quick release.
Meat Substitute:
feel free to substitute ½ ground sausage or ground turkey, or leave out the meat and add 2 more cans of beans, to make it vegetarian.
Beans
: pinto or black beans would also work well.
Mild chili:
for a more mild flavor, use regular V8, less jalapeño pepper, or regular diced tomatoes instead of fire roasted. Or try my
classic chili recipe
.
Spicier chili:
to make chili even spicier, don't remove the ribs or seeds from the jalapeño. You can also add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or dice up another hot chili pepper. I recommend trying the recipe as stated and letting the flavors sit for a few hours before adding additional spice.
Make ahead instructions:
Make spicy chili up to 2 days ahead of time (depending on the freshness of your ingredients) and store in the refrigerator until ready to reheat and serve. Reheat on low on the stovetop.
Freezing instructions:
Allow chili to cool completely and store in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.