Dutch Oven Chili

This Dutch oven chili is so hearty, thick, rich, and full of flavor! Made with simple ingredients, this beef and bean chili comes together in a few simple steps on the stovetop. This comforting chili is the perfect dish for a chilly day or even a game day party.

Whenever it's a bit chilly, I immediately start craving chili. There's just something so comforting about a bit bowl of beef and bean chili and I'll gladly scarf down a bowl or two. Here's how I make my favorite chili in my Dutch oven!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• It's very easy to make! I promise, anyone can make this chili! It's so easy and simple.
• A big batch of this makes for the perfect family meal, but leftovers also hold up really well in the fridge and reheats wonderfully.
• This beef chili is delicious on its own or topped with your favorite toppings.
• The combination of beef, bacon, beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes makes for a variety of fun textures.

Ingredients You'll Need

• bacon — I recommend using thick-cut bacon. I find that the thin bacon at my local grocery stores have more fat on them so when they cook down, there's not a lot of bacon left!
• onions — I use a small yellow onion but feel free to add more if you'd like.
• ground beef — I use lean ground beef as the fat from the bacon will be enough in the chili. Using a fatty ground beef will require you to drain excess fat or the chili will feel oily.
• seasoning — this beef chili uses salt, pepper, chili powder (keep in mind, this is American chili pepper which is a spice blend, not European chili powder which is likely to be ground chili pepper), cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika (normal or smoked), red pepper flakes, and dried oregano.
• bell pepper — I use a red bell pepper for a bit of sweetness.
• tomato paste — this adds a richness to the Dutch oven chili and helps thicken the chili.
• crushed tomatoes & fire-roasted tomatoes — I use crushed tomatoes and pair them with some diced fire-roasted tomatoes as they add a layer of flavor to the chili.
• beef broth — I use low-sodium beef broth.
• Worcestershire sauce — this adds some extra unami to the chili.
• sugar — to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
• beans — I use kidney beans and navy beans but feel free to use your favorite beans. Make sure to rinse and drain the beefs thoroughly to remove the extra sodium.

How To Make This Dutch Oven Chili Recipe

• In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, fry the diced bacon until browned, around 10 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of your bacon.
• Add the diced onions and saute for 1 to 2 minutes before adding the beef.

• Cook the beef, making sure to use a wooden spoon until the beef is more than half cooked before adding the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano.
• Cook for a minute, making sure the seasoning is well blended into the meat.

• Add the diced bell peppers and cook for a minute.
• Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute.

• Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and bay leaves to the pot. Stir well to combine.

• Add the beans and stir to combine. Cover bring the chili to a boil over medium heat and simmer on medium-low for 60 to 65 minutes. Feel free to uncover and continue to simmer until it reaches your desired level of thickness.
• Taste and season additionally if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving with the toppings of your choice.

Tips and Notes

• You can cut the bacon into smaller pieces if you want there to be less chew to the bacon in the chili.
• If the beef chili is too thick, thin it out by adding beef broth or stock.
• Some of my favorite toppings for chili are shredded cheese and sour cream. I also swap sour cream for Greek yogurt for when I want something lighter.
• I love serving my chili with baked potatoes!
• I'm using an enameled Dutch oven. If using a cast iron Dutch oven, make sure it is well seasoned and prepared so the acidity in the tomatoes does not affect it.
• If you have more time, simmer the chili for longer! The longer it simmers, the more the flavor develops. This is why a Dutch oven is preferred, as the pot retains and distributes heat evenly. Keep the lid on if you are simmering it for longer than an hour so all the liquid does not evaporate.
• Getting all the seasoning together in a bowl ahead of time will save you time so you don't spend forever measuring and adding seasoning to the pot while the ingredients are cooking.
• Deglazing is adding liquid (beef broth in this case) to a hot pot, which allows all of the caramelized bits stuck to the bottom to release. You'll have a ton from the bacon. Scrape the bottom of your pan with a wooden spoon, and it'll get all the goodness off the bottom of your pan and into your sauce. Do not skip this step as you get so much flavor in the sauce when deglazing.

Recipe

Dutch Oven Chili

This Dutch oven chili is so hearty, thick, rich, and full of flavor! Made with simple ingredients, this beef and bean chili comes together in a few simple steps on the stovetop. This comforting chili is the perfect dish for a chilly day or even a game day party.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 7 to 8 servings

Equipment

• Round Dutch Oven, 5.5 qt

Ingredients

Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano

For the Chili

• 4 slices bacon diced
• 1 pound ground beef lean
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz/796mL)
• 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (28oz/796mL)
• 3½ to 4 cup beef broth low sodium
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 can navy beans drained and rinsed (19oz/561mL)
• 1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed (19oz/561mL)

Instructions

• In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, fry the diced bacon until browned, around 10 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of your bacon.
• Add the diced onions and saute for 1 to 2 minutes before adding the beef.
• Cook the beef, making sure to use a wooden spoon until the beef is more than half cooked before adding the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano. Cook for a minute, making sure the seasoning is well blended into the meat.
• Add the diced bell peppers and cook for a minute. Deglaze with a few splashed of broth as needed.
• Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and bay leaves to the pot. Stir well to combine.
• Add the beans and stir to combine. Cover bring the chili to a boil over medium heat and simmer on medium-low for 60 to 65 minutes. Feel free to uncover and continue to simmer until it reaches your desired level of thickness.
• Taste and season additionally if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving with the toppings of your choice.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 1383mg | Potassium: 1490mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2650IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 206mg | Iron: 9mg

Course: One Pot

Cuisine: American

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More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.