Chili Recipes Worthy of an Annual Cook-Off

Brrrr! Oh baby, it’s cold outside! The weather’s starting to cool off, leaves are changing, and football is on all weekend. It’s Fall, and that means it’s time to pull out some hearty chili recipes!

We’re highlighting a few of our absolute favorite chili recipes for you to try for your annual chili cook-off event. Try one of our delicious, tried-and-true recipes. You might just find yourself named Chili Cook-Off Champion!

*Warning: Good things take time, and that’s what these chili recipes require - time. Trust me, it’s well worth the wait!

'Best Dang Chil' Recipe

One of our favorite chili recipes is a spin on standard recipes, which is why it’s often referred to as the ‘Best Dang Chili.’ This recipe is featured in AllRecipes and can be found here.

Prep Time: 35 Minutes

Cook Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Anaheim chile pepper, chopped
• 2 red jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch garlic powder, or to taste
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle light beer (such as Coors®)
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 (16 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans (such as Bush's®)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion, bell pepper, Anaheim pepper, jalapeno peppers, and garlic in the hot oil until softened.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; add Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Crumble bouillon cubes over beef and add beer. Continue to cook , scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until liquid is hot, about 3 minutes. Stir beef mixture into pepper mixture.
3. Stir crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and wine to the beef mixture. Season with chili powder, 2 tablespoons cumin, brown sugar, pepper sauce, basil, paprika, salt, oregano, and black pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until meat and vegetables are very tender and flavors have developed in the chili, about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix kidney beans into beef and vegetables. Continue to simmer until beans are hot, about 30 minutes more.
5. Blend sour cream, cilantro, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin in a food processor until smooth. Serve sour cream mixture with chili.

'Veggie Delight Chili Recipe

As a veggie lover myself, I love (and always appreciate) a good vegetarian recipe! Try this recipe and you might just surprise your meat-eating friends with one of their favorite new finds! This recipe is featured in Food Network, and can be found here.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 medium-size sweet green pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 medium-size sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 medium-size zucchini, diced
• 1 medium-size yellow squash, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (11 ounces) corn kernels, drained
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Accompaniments, optional: cooked rice, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chili powder; saute for 5 minutes. Add green and red peppers; saute 5 minutes. Add zucchini, squash, oregano and ground red pepper; saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook 10 minutes. Stir in corn, black beans and salt; cook for 5 minutes. Serve with the accompaniments, if desired.

'Pumpkin Espresso Chili Recipe

Don’t let the name dissuade you, this chili is delicious and one unique recipe you’ll definitely want to try. It’s one of our favorite ‘creative’ chili recipes. Standard ingredients are so yesterday, am I right? Thanks to OurOhio for the great recipe, click here for more information.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup potatoes, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, to taste
• 3 cups instant coffee (regular or decaf)
• 2 cups canned pumpkin (not pie filling) OR 2 cups prebaked fresh pumpkin
• 3 mushroom flavored veggie burgers, thawed and cut into pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions

Bring all ingredients except basil to boil; simmer 60 minutes; add basil in last 5 minutes of cooking.

We hope you try a chili recipe that we've included above and knock the socks off the next chili cook-off you compete in! Let us know if you tweak or alter any of the recipes to make them even better via our comments section. We’d love to share your thoughts with our Hapari community!

Want more recipe ideas like this? Check out these similar blog posts: Homemade Popsicles, Delicious Kettlecorn Recipe, and Easy Three-Course Brunch.