This chilli con carne recipe has it all. Fall apart chunks of tender beef in a rich thick, smoky spicy sauce. I’ve been making this for over 30 years, testing and refining time and time again until it is perfect!
Perfect homemade chilli con carne
I still have my recipe notebooks from university so I know that I first made this well over 30 years ago in my shared student house.
It was a staple then; my friends would frequently walk from the other side of the city for a bowl, and it is a staple now.
Over the years I’ve tweaked the recipe a little, but the core remains the same. Chunks of beef slowly cooked until they fall apart, in a rich thick smoky fully flavoured sauce.
It’s stood the test of time, and the same friends still come to visit and enjoy a bowl decades later!
See Also
- Delicious chilli with fall-apart chunks of beef – slow cooker chilli con carne
- You won’t miss the meat with this 5 bean chilli ideal for bulk cooking
- Another veggie chilli this time made with Quorn
- Can you tell I love chilli? all my chilli recipes in one place!
Whether you call this chilli, chili, or chilli con carne there are a few things that make the recipe work really well. I’ll show you how (and why) this is so good, as well as my trick for thickening the sauce.
What makes my chilli con carne so special?
- I’ve been making a version of this for well over 30 years – that is a lot of testing and refining and tweaking that I have done – so you do not need to.
- It contains chunks of beef – which have more flavour and a far better texture than mince (ground beef).
- Long slow cooking makes the beef fall apart tender. This also means you can use a cheaper cut of meat.
- Amazing flavour without a long list of ingredients – thanks to properly frying off the meat and the long slow cooking this chilli needs minimal ingredients and still delivers great flavour.
- I far prefer black beans to kidney beans – it is a chilli game changer. I also use blitzed black beans to thicken the chilli
- Ideal for batch cooking and making ahead to enjoy as a week night dinner. In the same way you cannot hurry curry simply cannot come home from work and make a decent chilli to eat that evening. In fact this is even BETTER the next day reheated, or even after a spell in the freezer.
- You can make this as a one pot wonder – so minimal washing up (can you tell I developed this recipe when at university?)
- Cook this on the stove top or in the oven – it has been a staple for me when I have not had access to an oven.
Ingredients for the perfect chilli con carne
- Stewing steak – Stewing or braising steak – ideally with a little fat on it. This chilli is slowly cooked for a long time so the tougher (and more flavoursome) and cheaper cuts of meat are ideal here. Beef shin would work well.
- Onions – any sort will do here, I’ve used regular brown, but white, red or even a handful of leftover shallots would work well here.
- Garlic – Two fat cloves. Make sure your garlic is fresh and plump. Old dried out stale garlic is only fit for the bin.
- Smoked chilli paste or ground chipotle – The smokiness really lifts the dish and is essential for the final result, so do try to find good chilli if you can. If you can’t find smoky chillies, however, see the tips at the end of the recipe for alternative suggestions.
- Spices – ground coriander & cumin seeds, and cardamom pods
- Canned tomatoes – You don’t have to pay top price for these but choose one with a flavour that you like. Some of the cheap versions can have a nasty metallic tang. I go for the regular supermarket brand. Alternatively you can use passata.
- Black beans – also known as turtle beans. These are also blitzed up to thicken the chilli – which makes a great flavoured sauce with an almost creamy texture.
- Dark chocolate – strong and not too sweet. This is the secret ingredient to make a great chilli. Alternatively you can use cocoa powder.
- Dripping (not shown) – for frying. You can use oil, but I do think that meat fried off in dripping is so much nicer. I have also used duck fat in this recipe rather than oil.
Do not be scared of dripping, I do often use oil for frying, and am increasingly coming back to dripping as I feel it gives a better result. there is a reason Granny kept a dripping pot!
- Lime (not shown) – Always serve with a wedge of lime – a drizzle of the fresh juice makes all the difference and elevates this chilli to the next level.
Chilli con carne recipe step by step
Step One – Melt a little dripping, or add half the oil to a big frying pan and then some cubes of the beef leaving some space between each piece.
Cook for several minutes over a medium heat turning from time to time. As each cube browns, transfer it to a heavy enamelled casserole dish / Dutch oven with a well fitting lid. (Because this dish contains acidic tomatoes which will react with cast iron we need to use an enamelled dish).
This will take a good 10-15 minutes. I’ll often have two or more frying pans going at once. Don’t rush, as taking your time does make a difference to the flavour. Add more dripping or oil as needed.
You can peel and chop the onions while the beef is cooking.
Once all the beef has been fried off there will probably be some little bits of beef stuck to the pan. Don’t waste them, as they are full of flavour. Use a spatula to scrape it all out into the pot.
You can fry the meat off in a stovetop proof casserole dish setting each browned piece of meat aside on a plate, but it takes far longer.
Helen’s Pro Tip
You will find recipes that just ask you to put the raw meat straight into the casserole, but I find it’s always worth browning the meat first.
When you fry the meat in the pan, you speed up the Maillard reaction, which is a process by which proteins and amino acids react with sugars in food, creating rich, savoury flavours.
It’s not a lot of extra effort and it really pays dividends in flavour.
Step Two – Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until it is fragrant and turning golden.
Then add the garlic and fry for another minute. Then add the ground spices and fry for another few minutes until they are fragrant.
Transfer to the casserole dish.
Step Three – Add the cardamon pods, chipotle / chilli paste (if using), the tomatoes , then add the chocolate. Add a splash of water to the empty can of tomatoes and give a good swish to get the last of the tomato out.
I find the cardamon pods float to the top during cooking so you can easily fish them out at the end.
Stir, bring to a very gentle simmer, put the lid on the casserole, turn the heat right down. If cooking on gas you may need to use a heat diffuser to get the heat low enough.
Leave to cook for 90 minutes alternatively cook in the oven at 160 °C / 140 °C fan / Gas Mark 3 / 325 °F
Step Four – Whilst the chilli is cooking prepare the black beans.
Drain them, reserving the liquid, blitzing up half the beans in the liquid. Rinse the other half of the beans.
Helen’s Pro Tip
Trust me! I’ve been thickening my chilli and other casseroles with blitzed beans for decades. It does sound strange but it works a treat. It adds flavour, colour and an almost creamy texture. Try it!
Step Five – After cooking for 90 minutes the chilli would have thickened and the pieces of beef will be melting soft and falling apart.
Step Six – Stir in the black bean paste and whole black beans, replace the lid and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
Step Seven – Remove the cardamon pods, which would have floated to the surface and give the chilli a good stir. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.
Serving Suggestion
Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over – it works and elevates the chilli to the next level.
I love a bowl of this as is with all the chili toppings – guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, nachos, salsa and the more the better!
Also serve with rice, in a baked potato, or try my slow cooker cornbread.
Variations
- Adjust the heat and spicing to your taste but don’t forget that the spices and heat develop with time and cooking, so don’t go too wild at the start.
- I have deliberately kept this simple, just the onions, beef and a few beans. You can add more vegetables and another can of black beans to make it go further. In that case increase the spicing a little to keep everything balanced
Storage
This chilli con carne is far better when made the day before so the spices have time to develop and meld.
Fridge – The chilli will keep well for three days in the fridge. As soon as it is cool enough, transfer to a suitable container, cover and pop in the fridge.
Freezer – Transfer to freezer proof stackable containers (I love those plastic trays that takeaways come in) according to whether you want portions for one, two or more. When the chilli is cold, put the lids on and move to the freezer. Keeps well for three months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge or for a few hours on the counter top. Reheat in a pan on the stove top, in a lidded casserole in the oven, or microwave in a glass container.
Hints & tips
- I like a smoky chilli, but the smokiness is completely optional. This chilli will still be delicious without using smoky chilli.
- To get the smoky flavour, ideally use smoked chillies or a smoked chilli paste. You can also add some smoked salt or a drop or two or liquid smoke.
- For best results this needs at least two hours cooking time and to be made a day in advance and reheated.
- This recipe is perfect for batch cooking and can easily be doubled or even trebled. When scaling up you need proportionally less liquid so I’d skip rinsing the tomato cans out. Cooking time will need to be about 30% longer.
- Equally because this is a long slow cooked dish it really does not work to scale the recipe down. It is best to cook extra that can be frozen for another day.
- To prevent the dish drying out try to use a casserole dish with a well fitting lid which is the smallest you have for the amount you are cooking.
FAQs
I wouldn’t recommend cooking at a higher temperature and faster. The fat in the beef needs the time to render out, which is what give the pieces their falling-apart consistency. Better to cook this when you have the time, and freeze it.
I prefer to use cubed beef chuck, also known as braising steak. The advantage of using a single cut, rather than mixture sold as “beef trim” is that the single cut will all be the same, with the same fat content. A mixture of trimmed offcuts might not cook evenly, with some pieces being fattier than others.
More Chilli Recipes
- Pumpkin beef chilli: classic ground beef chilli recipe becomes a true one-pot dinner when enriched with fabulous golden pumpkin.
- Fuss-free, effortless and delicious, my Quorn chilli recipe is so easy to pull together for a meat-free midweek dinner.
- Peppers – from benign but colourful bell peppers to fiery Scotch Bonnets and beyond here’s my guide to chilli peppers.
The Best Chilli Con Carne
Ingredients
- 2 tbs dripping / vegetable oil (1)
- 450 g diced stewing steak (2)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked chilli flakes
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 onions ( finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 4 squares dark chocolate
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 400 g tin of black beans
To serve
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a flame-proof casserole dish. Fry the steak gently to brown each piece. Do this in stages rather than try to cook all the meat at once. Remove the cooked meat from the pot and set aside on a plate.2 tbs dripping / vegetable oil, 450 g diced stewing steak
- Lightly crush the coriander seed, cumin and cardamom in a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder. Then add the spices to the casserole dish and fry until they release their fragrance.1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 4 cardamom pods
- Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the garlic and fry until both the onion and the garlic are soft.2 onions, 3 cloves garlic
- Return the meat to the pan.
- Add the chocolate, chilli paste and tinned tomatoes. Stir, put the lid on the casserole, and turn the heat right down. You may want to use a heat diffuser if you find it hard to get a very low heat.4 squares dark chocolate, 1 tsp smoked chilli flakes, 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- Allow the chilli to simmer gently for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until the steak is tender and is starting to fall apart.
- Drain the tin of black beans, reserving half the liquid. Add half the beans to the chilli.400 g tin of black beans
- Use a stick blender to blitz the remainder of the beans together with the bean liquid to make a thick paste. Add this to the chilli con carne and stir through.Serve garnished with finely chopped coriander and a wedge of fresh lime.
Notes
- I like a smoky chilli, but the smokiness is completely optional. This chilli will still be delicious without using smoky chilli.
- To get the smoky flavour, ideally use smoked chillies or a smoked chilli paste. You can also add some smoked salt or a drop or two or liquid smoke.
- For best results this needs at least two hours cooking time and to be made a day in advance and reheated.
- This recipe is perfect for batch cooking and can easily be doubled or even trebled. When scaling up you need proportionally less liquid so skip rinsing the tomato cans out and adding extra liquid. Cooking time will need to be about 30% longer
- Because this is a long slow cooked dish it really does not work to scale the recipe down. It is best to cook extra that can be frozen for another day.
- To prevent the dish drying out use a casserole dish with a well fitting lid which is the smallest you have for the amount you are cooking.
Update notes – recipe originally published January 2014. Republished with improved method, new images and hints and tips January 2024
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
Wonderful chilli! 30 years of testing shows!
Anne
Mmm I love chilli! such a lovely big bowl of comfort food!
I made it a while back using stewing steak too, is miles better than mince! Love the sound of the smoked chilli paste too!
Nayna
Simply the best chili!
Rachel Palmer
I love the trick of blitzing the black beans for the sauce
lisa prince
I love your chilli and this one is a real classic
Katie
Delicious chilli – I’ve got some portions in the freezer!
Ren Behan
Some handy tips in there, I like the idea of whizzing up some of the beans – no waste at all from the can. I
Jacqueline Meldrum
We mostly eat chilli on wraps with salad, but you have tempted me to go back to having it with rice and some extras on the side.
Tina @ The Spicy Pear
I’m going to add chocolate to my chilli next time.