What you’ll need:

1/2 lb of medium or lean ground beef
1 small cooking or white onion, diced finely
2 small cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 small tomato, diced medium
1 small carrot, diced small
1 jar of Passata Tomato sauce (680 ml)
1 can of any type of bean (black, navy, mixed, red, etc)
1/2 of a large bell pepper (any colour)
1 fresh cob or corn or 1/2 cup of frozen kernels
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of paprika
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
2 tsp of Italian seasoning
A splash of worchestire sauce
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
A bag of your favourite tortilla chip
1 avocado, ripe and cut into strips (optional)
1/4 cup of sour cream (optional)

Let’s get started!

First, get all of your ingredients ready for yourself. Chop all the veggies, get your seasoning measured out and take the ground beef out of the fridge.

Next, if you have a small dutch oven, this is the perfect recipe to cook in it. If you do not, grab a medium sized sauce pan.

Next, pour into the bottom of the pan about a tablespoon of olive oil or veg oil and turn your burner on high.

Once your pan is heated, add your chopped onions and garlic. Let it cook for a minute or two, give it a stir and add your ground beef. Don’t be tempted to stir the beef as soon as it hits the pan. Let it cook for a minute without stirring. Once your time has passed, stir the beef with the onions and garlic already in your pot. I typically use a wooden spoon to do this but a heat proof spatula works well too.

Next you will add your spices and worchestire sauce. I find that the beef gets a chance to absorb those delicious spices. Side note, if you like it spicy, add some chillie powder or chillie flakes to your liking. I always use the rule of thumb, add a little at a time and you can always add more but once its in the pot, you cant take it away!

Stir everything together and keep breaking down the ground beef. This is your opportunity to make sure that the beef is small enough because you have been stirring and that there is as little liquid left from the beef as possible in your pan. Remember, leave your heat on high, you’ll thank me later!

Once there is very little to no liquid left in your pan, add your carrots and tomato. Stir together for a minute or two.

Next, add your can of beans. Make sure that you rinsed the beans ahead of this and if you are using fresh beans that’s just fine as well. Stir everything together.

Next add about half your jar of passata sauce. If you don’t have passata sauce, a can of crushed tomatoes will do just fine as well. You want enough sauce to just cover the ingredients in your pan. You don’t want too much sauce because then you are going to have a very heavy tomato based sauce and instead you’re looking for a nice thick chili!.

Next, you are going to turn your burner way down to low. Get the lid for your pan and cover the chili half way so that some steam can still escape. Now, if you have the time, let the chili cook for 1-2 hours on low, stirring occasionally. If you do not have the time, you can keep the burner on medium and stir frequently and be done in about 30 min.

Once your chili has had some time to cook, you add your corn and peppers at the very last minute. You are looking for the corn and the peppers to really only get heated through and not cooked to death. If you do not want to add these ingredients, please feel free to leave them out. I’ve made chili with them and without them and love my chili either way!

You can serve your chili immediately or warm it up on the stove on medium low later that day or the next day. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, avocado and sour cream. You can do all three or none or some! Its your chili! Serve your chili with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Serves 4 people generously.

Notes: you can add more veggies, make it purely vegetarian, change the ground beef to ground turkey or chicken, you can add more spices, seasoning, anything you like. I am giving you the foundation and my version of chili but please do not hesitate to change it up! I would love to see and hear how it turns out for you! Happy cooking!