This easy beef chili recipe with beans is made with simple ingredients. It only takes 30 minutes to make, but it tastes like it’s been cooking all day! It has ground beef, hearty beans, and a tasty but mild chili flavor.
Making delicious beef chili doesnt have to be time-consuming or complicated. This chili recipe is sure to please, whether you’re having people over or just want a warm meal. Here are the steps you need to take to make a delicious beef chili that everyone will love.
If you’re not sure what to make with this chili recipe, try our classic Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, our Cornbread, or our Cornbread Muffins. This is a family dinner recipe that never gets old.
Chili is a versatile dish that is enjoyable year-round, but especially perfect for chilly weather. It’s also a great way to use up canned beans you have on hand. While dried beans may provide superior texture, canned beans offer convenience – meaning chili can be on the table in under an hour.
So if you’re wondering, “Can I use canned beans for chili?” – the answer is a definitive yes! With a few tips, canned beans can be incorporated into chili with amazing results. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know, from types of canned beans to work with, right down to how to compensate for the difference in flavor and texture.
An Overview of Using Canned Beans in Chili
Using canned beans in chili offers a few advantages
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Super quick prep: No overnight soaking or long simmering required. Just open the can and add them in.
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Pantry-friendly: Canned beans mean you can make chili anytime without planning ahead. Keep cans on hand for spur of the moment meals.
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Cost effective: Canned beans are budget-friendly, especially when bought in bulk. Making chili with them saves money.
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Nutritious: Canned beans retain a lot of nutrients, as they are picked and canned at peak ripeness. They offer protein, fiber, iron, magnesium and more.
However, there are a couple of considerations when using canned beans:
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Texture: Canned beans tend to be softer than beans cooked from dry. Strategies like rinsing and baking can help firm them up.
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Flavor: Canned beans have a more muted flavor. Boosting seasonings and adding umami ingredients compensates for this.
Overall, with a few easy tweaks canned beans work brilliantly in chili. Let’s look at how to make it happen.
Best Canned Bean Varieties to Use
You can find almost any type of bean canned, but some varieties work better than others for chili:
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Kidney beans: The classic choice. Their hearty texture stands up well. Red kidney beans provide color contrast.
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Pinto beans: These hold their shape decently when canned. Popular in Tex-Mex style chili.
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Black beans: Earthy, hearty black beans work nicely. They also provide visual appeal.
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Chickpeas: Roasted chickpeas lend great texture and nuttiness. Use a combo or swap half the beans for chickpeas.
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Cannellini beans: Their smooth texture balances chunkier beans. Best used in combination.
Avoid navy and great northern beans – their tenderness doesn’t suit chili as well. Feel free to experiment with bean varieties to find your favorites!
Handling Canned Beans Before Adding to Chili
To optimize canned beans for chili, treat them with a quick prep before adding them:
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Rinse the beans to remove excess sodium, starch and liquid from the canning process.
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Pat beans dry to prevent diluting the chili. Spread them on paper towels while assembling other ingredients.
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Toss beans in flour or cornmeal – just 2-3 Tbsp per can. This absorbs moisture and helps firm them up.
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Sauté beans briefly in oil or broth to enhance flavor.
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Bake beans at 400°F for 10-15 mins – this further dries them out and firms them up.
These easy steps make a huge difference in enhancing the bean quality.
Tips for Building Flavor Into Chili with Canned Beans
Since canned beans have a more subtle flavor than cooked dry beans, use these strategies to pump up flavor:
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Brown the ground meat thoroughly to develop a rich, caramelized meaty taste.
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Sauté aromatics like garlic, onions and peppers until softened and fragrant.
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Use a chili base like tomatoes or peppers rather than just broth for fuller flavor.
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Add umami boosters such as tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or mushrooms.
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Use bold spicing with higher proportions of chili powder, cumin, oregano, etc.
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Finish with fresh herbs like cilantro before serving for brightness.
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Garnish bowls with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado or crispy tortilla strips.
Layering these bolder flavors prevents the beans from tasting flat or bland.
Sample Recipes for Chili with Canned Beans
To highlight how well canned beans work, here are a few chili recipes to try:
Quick Weeknight Chili
- 1 lb ground beef, browned
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- Shredded cheddar, sour cream, cilantro (for serving)
Chicken Chili Verde
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cooked and shredded
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 (4 oz) cans diced green chiles
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- Juice of 1 lime
- Chopped cilantro (for serving)
Chili Sin Carne
- 3 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- Shredded cheese, avocado, tortilla chips (for serving)
Get creative and come up with your own winning combo! Chili is very forgiving.
Tips for Leftover Chili with Canned Beans
Like any chili, leftovers with canned beans will thicken up as they sit. To revive it:
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Add a splash of broth or water to thin it out.
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Mash some of the beans into the chili to give it more body.
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Stir in extra vegetables like corn, zucchini or spinach.
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Add a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.
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Serve over rice, pasta or a baked potato.
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Top with shredded cheese or crispy tortilla strips.
With a little tweaking, leftover chili with canned beans tastes fresh again!
Canned beans may not have the perfectly firm bite of dried beans, but with a few easy tricks they can absolutely be used to make flavorful chili. Strategies like rinsing, baking and seasoning amply compensate for any differences in texture and flavor.
With so many types to choose from, use canned beans to whip up quick weeknight versions or stash cans in your pantry for impromptu chili pots. Let canned beans take your chili game to tasty new levels!
Ways to use Leftover Chili
- What are jalupies? I have no idea where this word came from, but this is one of the meals I grew up with. It’s probably because it’s cheap, can feed a lot of people, and can be used in a lot of different ways. Its perfect for serving to a big group of people. This is how we layer our chili. Build your taco bowl with Fritos tortilla chips. Then add a large scoop of chili, sour cream, cheese, salsa, and lettuce shreds. So good!.
- For chili nachos, put tortilla chips on a baking sheet and cover them with shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, and any leftover chili. Bake until the cheese melts, then serve with salsa, sour cream, and olives.
- Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Chili: Cut potatoes in half, scoop out some of the flesh, and fill with leftover chili. Top with sour cream and chives.
- Chili Mac and Cheese: Save some chili and mix it with cooked macaroni and cheese for a hearty and tasty meal.
- To make chili stuffed bell peppers, take the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Then, fill the peppers with chili and cheese. Bake until the peppers are soft.
- For chili quesadillas, put shredded cheese and chili on two tortillas and cook them in a skillet until the cheese melts and the tortillas are crispy. You can make them similar to these chicken Quesadillas.
- Chili Stuffed Zucchini: Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, scoop out the middle, and fill with chili. Top with cheese, and bake until zucchini is soft. It’s the best way to get extra vegetables or use garden food.
- I love cooking with my large Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Very even cooking, nice looks, and easy to clean up.
- A ladel with a nice handle and classic white bowls.
Chili Recipe Video Tutorial
This easy chili recipe on stove, is so easy. Your family will think you worked hard all day, even though it only takes 30 minutes to put together. Its made with ground beef, canned beans, and crushed tomatoes.
- Beans: You can use dry beans and cook them yourself, but when I’m in a hurry, I love using canned beans. You can use just about any type of canned beans. I used two cans of black beans and one can of kidney beans for this recipe. You can use pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, or red beans in this simple chili recipe. Also, for this simple chili recipe, don’t rinse the beans.
- Tomato Base: One large can of crushed tomatoes and one small can of tomato paste make up the tomato base for this beef chili recipe. This chili recipe has a mild tomato flavor. It’s not too strong, but you can taste a hint of it. It has a little different texture because of the crushed tomatoes, and it tastes great because of the tomato paste.
- Ground Beef: This chili recipe is very forgiving. Use whatever fat content of beef you prefer. I like to use 15/85 beef. That stands for 15% fat to 85% ground beef. The butcher gives the ground beef different amounts of fat. The amount of fat will keep the beef very lean and dry, and the more fat that is added, the more juicy the beef will be. This recipe has the right amount of fat for me because I like the chunks of hearty ground beef.
Should I rinse canned beans before using them?
FAQ
Are canned beans good for chili?
Do I drain canned beans for chili?
How do you soften canned beans for chili?
What is a substitute for chilli beans?
Can you use canned beans in chili?
Using canned beans is easy and a big time saver. Just pop the cans open and dump them into your chili. We recommend putting them in late in the cooking process so they don’t get too mushy. You can either add them directly from the can or rinse them first. Many chili cooks prefer them unrinsed as the starchy water in the can helps thicken the chili.
What can I make with canned chili?
It’s the recipe my mom showed me and I haven’t veered from it. One can chili with beans, one can with no beans. Round out canned chili starter with other canned items like dark kidney beans, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato soup.
What can I eat with canned beans?
Vegetarian Four Bean and Chipotle Chili and Pasta E Fagioli are two other easy meat-free dishes I love that use canned beans. For another hearty chili recipe to try, check out our White Chicken Chili and Sean’s favorite Hearty Pepper Chili. If you’re lucky enough to have leftover chili on hand, try a Chili Cornbread Casserole too.
Can you make chili with beans?
Purists say no beans. But chili with beans is simply healthier and heartier. It’s up to you—feel free to alter the proportions of meat and beans to suit your tastes. —replace the beans in the recipe with 2 pounds of meat: beef, venison, or bison. (CASI) event, beans are considered filler and cannot be used.