BBQ Chili
intro
Hearty, smoky one-pot BBQ chili loaded with tender ground beef, plump beans, and tangy hickory BBQ sauce, perfect for feeding a crowd at casual summer gatherings.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep all ingredients
First, dice 150g yellow onion and 120g red bell pepper into 1cm pieces, mince 10g (3 cloves) garlic, measure out all spices, BBQ sauce, and broth, and drain and rinse 480g kidney beans to have all components ready before cooking. Place a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven on the stovetop and preheat it over medium heat (175°C/350°F) as you finish prep.
Sauté aromatic vegetables
Add 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil to the preheated Dutch oven. Toss in the diced onion and bell pepper, cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until vegetables soften and turn slightly translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic which will turn bitter.
Brown the ground beef
Add 450g 80/20 ground beef to the pot with the sautéed vegetables. Break the beef apart into small, even crumbles with your wooden spoon, cook for 6-7 minutes over medium heat until the beef is fully browned with no pink remaining. Carefully tilt the pot and drain off any excess rendered fat into a heatproof container to keep the chili from being overly greasy.
Toast the spice blend
Add 14g (2 tbsp) chili powder, 7g (1 tbsp) smoked paprika, 2g (1 tsp) ground cumin, 3g (1 tsp) kosher salt, and 1g (1/2 tsp) black pepper to the browned beef. Stir constantly for 1 minute over medium-low heat to toast the spices, which deepens their warm, smoky flavor before adding liquid ingredients.
Combine liquid base
Pour in 400g undrained fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 240ml (1 cup) low-sodium beef broth, and 180ml (3/4 cup) smoky hickory BBQ sauce to the pot. Stir thoroughly to combine all ingredients, scraping up any browned fond bits from the bottom of the pot to incorporate extra savoriness. Bring the entire mixture to a gentle rolling boil over medium heat, which takes about 4 minutes.
Simmer the chili
Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, reduce heat to low (95°C/200°F), set the pot lid slightly ajar to let excess steam escape, and let the chili simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent the bottom from burning or sticking. The chili will reduce and thicken slightly as it simmers.
Add beans and corn
Stir in 480g drained, rinsed kidney beans and 150g (1 cup) frozen sweet corn to the simmering chili. Cook uncovered for an additional 5 minutes over low heat until the beans and corn are fully heated through, and the chili reaches a thick, stew-like consistency. Taste and adjust salt or pepper if needed before serving.
Tips
2.If your chili is too thick after simmering, stir in 60ml (1/4 cup) extra beef broth to reach your desired consistency; if it is too thin, simmer uncovered for 5 extra minutes to reduce.
3.Serve topped with shredded sharp cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, sliced green onions, or a side of warm cornbread to complement the smoky, savory flavors.
OMG this smoky BBQ chili was an absolute game changer for our Sunday family dinner! I threw all the ingredients together in 20 minutes before my kid’s soccer practice and let it simmer low, came home to the whole house smelling incredible. My picky 7 year old asked for seconds, which NEVER happens. 10/10 will be making a double batch for our neighborhood potluck next weekend!
Super easy recipe, perfect for my weekly Sunday meal prep! I portioned this out into 6 containers for work lunches and it reheats like a dream. The smoky flavor is way better than the boring chili I’ve been making for years, I didn’t even miss the extra spice I usually dump in.
Made this last night for game night with the guys, we crushed the whole pot. Used a little extra chipotle for more heat and it slapped. So easy even I didn’t mess it up, which says a lot because I burn toast half the time.
Really solid recipe! I swapped the ground beef for plant-based crumbles and added a can of black beans for extra protein, and the smoky BBQ flavor still came through perfectly. Only knocked a star because I wish it had a little more guidance on how to adjust the smoke level if you don’t have smoked paprika on hand.
This looks SO good! Quick question for folks who’ve made it: how spicy is this on a scale of 1-10? I’m cooking for my in-laws this weekend and my father-in-law can’t handle anything hotter than a ketchup packet lmao. Don’t want to set his mouth on fire the first time I host them for dinner!
Made this over the campfire last weekend on our fall camping trip, used a cast iron Dutch oven and it was chef’s kiss. The smokiness from the fire paired so well with the BBQ flavor, my friends are already asking when I’m making it again. No fancy ingredients needed, which is perfect for camp meals.
Okay full transparency I forgot to drain the canned tomatoes first so it was a little soupier than I expected, but I just let it simmer uncovered for 10 extra minutes and it thickened right up! The flavor was unreal, my roommate walked in and thought I ordered takeout from the fancy BBQ place downtown. Will definitely be more careful next time but even my mistake version slapped.
Has anyone tried making this with a mix of ground beef and smoked sausage? I have a pack of smoked kielbasa in the fridge I need to use up, wondering if it would work here instead of all ground beef.
This is now my go-to cold weather meal! I made a huge batch when we had that random cold snap last week, froze half of it, and pulled it out for dinner last night when I got stuck late at work. Tasted just as good as the day I made it, no weird freezer burn taste or anything. The kids loved loading theirs up with cheese and Fritos.
Made this in my tiny dorm slow cooker while I was in class, came back to the best dinner I’ve had all semester. Didn’t even need to buy a ton of fancy spices, everything I already had in my little dorm spice rack. Way better than the dining hall chili, that’s for sure. Saved me so much money on takeout this week.
Y’all, I was skeptical about putting BBQ sauce in chili but this blew my expectations out of the water! I used my favorite hickory smoked BBQ sauce instead of the regular sweet kind, and it had the perfect balance of tang and smoke. My husband ate three bowls and asked if we could have it again next week.
Brought this to the Bills tailgate last Sunday and it was the most popular item at our setup! Kept it warm in the crockpot for 4 hours and people kept coming back for more. Even the guys who brought the fancy smoked ribs were asking for the recipe. Absolute home run for game day.
So happy this recipe is naturally gluten free! I used a gluten free BBQ sauce (double checked the labels on all my canned goods too) and it was totally safe for my celiac kiddo. No weird aftertaste or anything, just rich, smoky chili that the whole family could eat. Finally a chili recipe I don’t have to modify 10 things to make work for us.
Really solid base chili! I added a tablespoon of cocoa powder and a shot of dark coffee to deepen the flavor like I do with my competition chili, and it won our neighborhood chili cookoff! The smoky BBQ profile was a nice change of pace from my usual recipe, I’ll definitely be using this as my base from now on. Only knock is I wish it called for a wider variety of beans, but that’s just personal preference.