Ingredients
Serves 4-6; cooking time 1 hour and 20 minutes
- 2 pounds ground beef, or ground turkey
- 1/2 a white onion (about 1 cup), chopped
- Chopped fresh hot peppers; no more than 3
- 2 1/2 cups or one 28 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 8 ounces of fresh salsa
- Seasonings:
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp onion powder, or dehydrated onion flakes
- 1 ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 28-30 ounces of canned pinto beans
Procedures
- In a large pot or dutch oven, combine the ground meat and the onion and saute on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and onion is tender. Drain the grease when the meat is done cooking, if desired.
- Add the seasonings, tomato sauce, salsa, and beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.
- Serve with your choice of toppings: avocado, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, fresh jalapenos or diced tomatoes.
As you can see in the procedures, this recipe is dead simple to make. It does not require very much prep work, nor hours of simmering to meld flavors or reduce the liquid. The beans-to-meat ratio is perfect, so it’s just hearty enough to eat by itself but is great over Fritos or fries, too.
You can adjust how spicy the chili ends up by using mild or hot fresh salsa, or spicier hot peppers like habaneros in place of milder serrano and jalapeno peppers. While the seasoning blend may seem a little complicated, I recommend you keep almost all of these spices on hand, so it’s good to invest in what you don’t have. They’re the main reason this chili tastes so good!
At about $3 a serving, this recipe won’t break the bank. With ground turkey in place of beef, it’s a relatively healthy option, too. With the flavor and ease of this recipe, I guarantee you’ll be making it again and again, whether for game day, potlucks, or just a chilly, early spring evening.