Classic Chili Con Carne – a hearty chili made with beef, onions, salsa, tomato sauce, and green chiles.
This recipe for Chili Con Carne has become our favorite fall dish. Whether we serve with cornbread, chips or over a hot dog we all love this easy & delicious recipe.
My husband’s winning chili recipe, is always a hit.
For over a decade now my husband and I have been arguing who makes the best chili. I always made the point that his recipe isn’t really chili because it doesn’t have any beans.
Then a few years back our church had a chili cook-off and really we didn’t care about who won overall what we did care about was who had the most votes between the two of us.
To my dismay, Jake won. He went around recruiting people, at least that is how I saw it. He asked people to blindly taste both of our chili’s. In the end, he won 22-1. I guess you could say he just didn’t win, he butchered me.
I love sour cream and cheese with my chili, what about you?
I have never lived that day down. Since Jake hates beans, I would always make my chili and remove the beans from his helping….haha. {I never told him his chili was cooked with beans – shh!}
To decide whether his chili was indeed a chili I Googled to find out what chili was called with no beans. And it came up with Chili Con Carne. It originated as a hearty stew with beef, tomatoes, and chiles. And we now just call it chili and typically people add beans.
How do you make Chili Con Carne?
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.
- Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and green chiles. Mix well, bring to a slow boil overr medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Is chili the same as chili con carne?
Yes, they are the same. Chili Con Carne means with meat and traditionally has no beans.
This recipe has become our Halloween tradition.
So I had to put my hubby’s recipe online, of course, my variation of it and I would love to have a rematch. I am sure that this Classic Chili Con Carne would win. Enjoy! XOXO San
Check out how easy this Classic Chili Con Carne is to make!
Love chili? Check out these other delicious recipes:
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Blue Ribbon Chili (with beans)
- Buffalo Chicken White Chili
- Crockpot Taco ChiliChili
- Cheese Fries for a Crowd
Don’t forget to pin this Classic Chili Con Carne to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Classic Chili Con Carne
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 - 28 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 cup salsa
- 2 - 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 10 tablespoons chili seasoning
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.
- Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and green chiles. Mix well, bring to a slow boil overr medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
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This post was recently updated, original post in December 2016.
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Can I do this in my crock pot?
This looks great! I have a few in my family that hate beans too. Do you have your husband’s recipe posted as well?
Love this!! I’m hungry now!!!
Looking so tasty gorgeous. Excited for chilli con carne for dinner tonight, lovely meal.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank You!!!! a chili recipe without beans 🙂
This dish can just eat with steamed rice, can also eat bread. It is very delicious and amazing. As with bread.
That was fast! Thanks for correcting it…and so quickly, too!
That’s one of the best thing for girlfriend day
waooww !! love this <3 i am must try for my boyfriend
Thank you, I’m sure he’ll enjoy it!
Amazing !! Its Looks so tasty gorgeous. Excited for chilli con carne for dinner tonight, lovely meal. Thanku for sharing
I hope you enjoyed it!
I love this. I want to try and make it. One of the ingredients is salsa. What do u mean by that?
Hi Rachel! The salsa we like to use is our Best Ever 5-Minute Salsa, but you can use your favorite jarred salsa or whatever you have on hand. I hope this clears it up for you, enjoy!
This is perfect for those cold evenings!
It really is, enjoy!
I love the simplicity of this chili – sounds delicious, I look forward to trying it!
Thank you! Enjoy.
Such a rich and hearty dish! My husband will love it!
I hope he does! Thank you!
This is such a comforting meal for weeknights!
It really is, thank you!
My family is going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to make this! Looks so delicious and tasty!
Thank you, enjoy!
Oh yum this looks good! Love the use of salsa and green chiles for that extra kick.
Thank you! Enjoy
Love the addition of salsa in this!
Thank you!
Love this recipe….I added a few extras,,,,Instead of 2lbs of ground beef I used 1lb of ground beef and 1lb of mild sausage, kidney beans, chili beans, and a green bell pepper….PERFECTO!