Three Bean Chili with Ground Beef
The first time I let a pot of chili go five hours, I kept lifting the lid around hour two because I was sure the bottom was scorching. It wasn’t. Lowest flame, smallest burner, a stir every half hour or so, and the beans slowly gave up some of their starch and thickened everything on their own. That’s the whole trick, honestly.
I brown the beef hard before anything else goes in, then let the spices sizzle in the fat for a couple of minutes. Skip that and the cumin tastes dusty. Leaving two cans of beans undrained looks sloppy, but their liquid is what keeps a long simmer from turning into paste. We eat it over rice or straight from the bowl with shredded cheddar and a few saltines, and leftovers keep four days in the fridge.
A big-batch three bean chili with ground beef, made for a lazy Sunday when the stove can do the work. Cocoa and smoked paprika give it a dark, faintly smoky base with very little heat. Thick enough to hold a spoon. It feeds twelve and freezes well in quart containers for up to three months.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the moisture has cooked off and the meat is deeply browned in spots. Leave the fat in the pot.2 lb ground beef
- Sprinkle the cumin, cocoa powder, smoked paprika, coriander, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, black pepper and about half of the salt over the beef. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, until the spices smell toasty and coat the meat.1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp salt
- Add the diced red onion, bell pepper and minced garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onion turns soft and translucent.1 large red onion, 1 bell pepper, 6 to 8 cloves garlic
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens to a brick red and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.2 cans tomato paste
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, the drained kidney and black beans, the pinto beans with their liquid, the broth, chipotle sauce, Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup. Stir well, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom.2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans kidney beans, 2 cans black beans, 2 cans pinto beans, 1 carton beef or vegetable broth, 1 tbsp chipotle sauce, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 to 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Bring the chili to a boil, then move the pot to your smallest burner on the lowest setting. Cover and simmer for 5 hours, stirring every 30 to 45 minutes so nothing catches on the bottom.
- Taste and add more salt or maple syrup if needed. Let the chili rest for 10 minutes off the heat, then ladle into bowls.
Nutrition
Notes
No chipotle sauce on hand: mince one chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo and add a teaspoon of the adobo. For a smaller pot with 1 lb of beef, cut every ingredient in half.
You might also like our Authentic French Beef Bourguignon.
made this sunday in my 7 qt dutch oven and it was right up to the rim lol. left the pintos undrained like you said and by hour 4 it was thick. froze half of it
good flavor, the cocoa doesnt taste like chocolate at all it just makes it darker. i only had 3 hrs so mine was a bit soupier than the pic, next time ill do the full 5
used ground turkey bc thats what i had and threw in an extra tsp of chili powder for my husband. still really good over rice w cheddar