15 Fantastic Chili Recipes for Next-Level Comfort Food (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to amazing chili? ›

Only Add Flavorful Liquids

Instead of adding water to your chili, add some more flavor with chicken or beef broth, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, or even beet or wine. Each one of these options brings out different notes and levels of sweetness that will enhance your culinary creation.

If you want more of a smoky flavor, add cumin, Spanish paprika, ancho chili powder, or a combination. If you are looking for more heat, add cayenne, crushed red pepper, or Hungarian paprika. If it's too spicy add a little brown sugar and some sweet paprika.

Chili cooks low and slow, so you need enough liquid to tenderize the meat and keep everything from drying out. That liquid should also add flavor to the chili, so use chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or beer.

Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed." If that sounds a bit uptight, the ICS's Homestyle Chili competition defines chili as: "any kind of meat, or combination of meats, and/or vegetables cooked with beans, chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients.

Most Common Chili Spices. Cumin, Chile Powders, and Paprika are the most common spices in chili followed by garlic, onion, coriander, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves. These ingredients can be combined to create a savory and well-balanced pot of top notch comfort food.

Bush's Chili Magic transforms tomatoes and your favorite protein into a delicious weeknight chili. Stock your pantry with 15.5 oz recyclable cans of Bush's Classic Homestyle Chili Magic Chili Starter. Bush's Classic Homestyle Chili Magic is made from tender pinto beans in a mild chili sauce with traditional seasonings.

Chili Concentrate: Chili Sauce (Water, Tomato Juice, Tomatoes, Calcium Chloride, Seasoning (Sugar, Salt, Corn Starch, Dried Chilies, Spices, Flavor Enhancer [Dextrose, Salt, Yeast Extract, Silicon Dioxide, Modified Corn Starch], Citric Acid, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Xanthan gum), Beans (Pink Beans, Red ...

Butter smooths out the bitterness and adds its unique richness, making you take another bite without quite knowing why. A dash of sugar and vinegar gives a sweet-sour flavor that also makes the sauce rounder and more satisfying.

To give your chili more flavor, try adding Chili Smoked Brown Sugar from The Smoked Olive. This unique ingredient enhances the depth of your chili with its balanced combination of heat, sweetness, and smokiness. It's perfect for creating a more complex and irresistible flavor profile that will elevate your dish.

The best meat for chili depends on the type you're making, but professionals generally use a combination of ground chuck, brisket, short ribs, or diced tri-tip sirloin mixed with bacon and sausage to layer multiple textures and flavors.

What does cinnamon do for chili? ›

Cinnamon. The beauty of ground cinnamon is that it brings a warmth to your chili, without being spicy. It works well with other flavors commonly found in chili (like tomato, cumin and chile powder) so you only need a little bit to achieve the desired balance.

Stir some puréed pumpkin into your chili just after sautéing your aromatics (onions, garlic, etc...) and before adding any liquid. This will deepen and sweeten its flavor, making it a great balance for all the chile peppers and heat.

Make your own spice blend

Although canned chili will already have some seasonings, fresh herbs and spices will add bolder flavor. You can upgrade your chili using ingredients you likely already have on your spice rack, such as chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is alkaline. According to Cooks Illustrated, when mixed with ground beef, it raises the meat's pH level, “making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively.” This helps the beef brown better and, even more important, makes it quite tender.

Although canned chili will already have some seasonings, fresh herbs and spices will add bolder flavor. You can upgrade your chili using ingredients you likely already have on your spice rack, such as chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Another ingredient that will change your chili forever is chocolate. It balances out the spicy edge with its signature bittersweet tone. Together, they infuse the chili with a unique complexity. It's a taste sensation like no other, weaving together contrasting elements that still work in perfect harmony.

Spices– chili powder, ground cumin, sweet paprika, and ground coriander. Brown Sugar– this is a must when making chili! It adds a sweetness that really balances the flavor.

It contains NO beans or other “fillers”. Finely cut meat seems to be preferred to ground meat (although some cookoffs advertise as ground meat only). The chili contains very little or no grease. Winning chili must look good, smell good and taste good.