The Best Sunday Chili

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU LOVE CHILI!

Here’s the thing – I do love chili. But here’s the other thing – I’m kind of picky about chili. I like chili that is:

Thick! Mega thick.
Chunky, but small, even chunks – no huge pieces of tomato, please.
Spicy, but not like fire-in-your-mouth spicy. Just the cozy, warming, winter afternoon kind of spicy.
Beany in moderation. I want to know that the beans are there, but not be thinking about beans with every bite.

So… with that, I’d like to introduce you to my new favorite Sunday Chili.

In This Post: Everything You Need For The Best Chili Recipe

VIDEO for How to Make Chili
Ingredients in This Chili
How to Make Homemade Chili
Bacon in Chili
Thick or Thin Chili
Perfect Chili Toppings
What To Serve with Chili
Freezing Chili
Frequently Asked Questions

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

What I Love About This Recipe

It’s thick and appropriately chunky, spicy and extremely flavorful without being hot, balanced just right between meat, beans, and vegetables, and excellently scoopable (what else is chili for, really).

And not to mention it does that chili magic thing where it GETS BETTER AS LEFTOVERS.

There’s just something about a slow-simmered chili on a Sunday that’s chock-full of cozy goodness.

Ingredients For Chili

We have a really simple and delicious ingredient list for you.

Ground beef
Bacon
Jalapeño pepper, onion, and garlic
Carrots (if you want)
Spices
Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste
Beans (black beans and pinto beans are great, or you can also add kidney beans)
Broth

Easy ingredients, the perfect balance of flavors, and all ready to simmer away.

The Basics On How To Make Homemade Chili

Here we go – let’s cook!

Crisp the Bacon: Very important step here – make an extra slice of bacon to crisp up and munch on while the rest of the chili cooks. This is essential.
Sauté Veggies: Save that bacon grease in the pan and plop your chopped veggies right in there. Your onions, your garlic, your carrots, your jalapeño – all of that goes in the pot. Also, hot tip alert. Take a look at all the ways to cut an onion (without crying).
Cook The Beef with Your Spices: Ooooo! Things are smelling really good!
Add Beans and Liquid: Toss in the tomato paste, tomatoes, beans, broth, and crispy bacon bits (you know, the ones you have left at least after snacking).
Let it Simmer: Give things a stir, cover the pot, turn the heat down to a low simmer, and go grab a magazine and a glass of wine. Or maybe more realistically in your household, unload the school backpacks, fold the laundry, and listen to the dog bark at a random squirrel in the yard because dinner is pretty much cooking itself at this point.

Scoop these big flavors into a bowl, get your toppings together (maybe cilantro, probably avocado, definitely chips!) and let’s gooooo!

Adding Bacon and Winning Hearts

The bacon! Did the bacon get mentioned yet?! You need it. It’s crispy, and smoky, and provides just the right amount of surprise. Plus, bonus! You can just sauté your veg right up in that bacon grease.

Bless it.

Plus, spices! It’s all in the spices here, friends. Use really fresh spices. Just trust! Go into your kitchen cabinet or spice drawer right now and make sure you don’t have any spices that you’re still using that are from 1986 because, yes, the hairstyles were boppin’, but no, your spices are most definitely not still boppin’ from then. We’re using chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt, which are such kitchen staples that you’ll go through them really quickly.

Sunday chili in a dutch oven with a spoon.

Thick Chili Or Thin Chili?

Either beef broth or chicken broth will be perfect here for the liquid in this chili. Low-sodium broth can work in a pinch if that’s what you have on hand – just add a bit more salt to balance everything out. Personally, thick chili is the way to go IMO, but just add a bit more broth if you need to thin it out.

Let’s Talk Chili Toppings

The toppings – do we even need to discuss? – are a heavenly salad bar of possibilities. My favorites:

Avocado
Cotjia cheese or cheddar cheese
Cilantro
Green onion
Red onion
Sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips or crumbled cornbread or Fritos if you’re classy… yes, yes, and yes.

What Else To Serve With Chili

There’s a lot happening here to make this recipe a meal in itself, but if you’re making a full spread, there are a few favorites you could serve alongside it:

Cornbread: It’s a classic for a reason! It just works.
Baked Potatoes: Bake ’em, slice ’em open, and stuff ’em with all this chili goodness. Wholeheartedly approve of this decision.
One-Ingredient Socca: As you know, I’m currently obsessed with this and I think the golden/crispy/bready texture makes it a great dipper with this chili.
Miracle No Knead Bread: But there’s always this delicious bread for something a little more crusty, hot, buttery, and traditional
Simple Green Salad: For a little something fresh, green, and crunchy to brighten things up.

How To Freeze Leftover Chili

Okay, wait. You have leftovers? But how?! While we don’t fully understand how you have extras of the best chili ever (!), good news is this chili freezes wonderfully!

Plop everything in a freezer-safe container or bag.
Toss it in the freezer to be thawed at a later time.
Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stovetop. Your future self will thank you for leaving such an incredibly delicious meal for a hectic weeknight.

This hearty, meaty, chunky, high-protein, slow-simmered Sunday chili has BEEN THERE for me and it can be there for you, too.

Grab your toppings and your dippers and your biggest soup spoon.

Sunday + Chili + You = A Very Good Thing.

Sunday Chili: FAQs

Can I use diced tomatoes?

Sure! I really like using crushed tomatoes here, but you can also use canned diced tomatoes.

I have everything except bacon on hand. Will this work without bacon?

It will. The bacon is optional, but SUPER good! A faster alternative is skipping the bacon but sauteeing your veggies in reserved bacon fat or smoked paprika – you keep bacon fat in your fridge, right?! TIME TO START.

Can I make this chili in the Instant Pot?

You sure can! Once everything is browned up, you can add it to the Instant Pot and pressure cook it for 20-30 minutes to concentrate the flavors in less time.

Whew! Looks like a lot of veggies to chop. Any tips to speed this up?

Speedy tip coming your way! You can buy pre-chopped veggies or just chop all your veggies up in the food processor! (affiliate link) Less precise, but super fast and easy. You can also save time on veggie prep with this guide to How to Cut an Onion.

Could I use ground turkey instead of ground beef?

Absolutely! Ground turkey would work great in this as well.

How could I make this chili spicier?

Adding in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes with the other spices should do the trick!

Source notes: Chili recipes that helped me come up with this version: Oh Sweet Basil’s Instant Pot Chili and Pressure Cook Recipes Instant Pot Chili. (The last few weeks I started making a Sunday chili in the Instant Pot but realized I preferred a regular stovetop version better, which is how I got here!)