The Best Beef Chili Recipe (Made with Sweet Italian Sausage)

Hearty filling beef chili recipe. The perfect savory comfort dish for cold winter evenings. Guaranteed to please your taste buds while warming you up from head to toe.

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Hey PBJ’s! It’s January so you know it’s cold, especially here in Philly. It’s gotten as cold as 10 degrees here and we’ve had 2 mini blizzards and the New Year is only 3 weeks old.

So I decided to post a Beef Chili recipe that I created on my YouTube Channel 10 yrs ago that I haven’t yet posted on my blog. But here it finally is and this is a chili recipe Im sure you’ll all love just like my YouTube subscribers did many years ago.

This is the perfect comfort food for this time of year, so yea, this is right on time! This is a beef italian sausage chili so yes, it is made with pork. Below I’ll give you alternatives that be used if you dont do pork.

What makes this a good recipe?

• Easy to make: This is a very easy dish to make and recipe to follow. All you do is brown the meat, season the meat, chop the vegetables, and throw everything in the pot then let the chili simmer, that’s it. It’s as simple as that.
• Quick and simple: Another benefit is how quick it takes. This dish shouldn’t take any longer than 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. So you wont have to wait forever before food is served.
• Crowd-pleasing: Chili is a pretty popular dish making it the perfect crowd pleaser.
• Serving options: Chili is very versatile! You can serve it as a snack, or even an appetizer and have it as a dip with nachos. Or you can serve it as a side dish or even as a main dish over some white rice.
• Plentiful: It stretches and can feed a lot of people. It’s also very filling, so it can be served in smaller portions, which allows it to last for a while.

The best occasions to make Chili for:

So other than dinner, you maybe wondering what other occassions, outside the house, could you make Chili for, especially after you tried it and realize how good it is and now wanna find a reason to share it. 

Here’s a few occassions I think this delicious Chili recipe will be a great addition to. Whatver the occasion, make sure you bring a disposable heater to keep the Chili warm. No one like cold Chili. 

• Superbowl parties: The Superbowl is played annually in the first or second week of February. It’s the last game of the NFL season where the last two teams standing compete for the Superbowl title. Families like to tailgate or throw a house party and watch the game over food like Pizza, wing dings, chips, and dip. Chili can be served as a dip which makes this a perfect dish for the occasion,
• Cocktail parties: A cocktail party where there’s a small gathering taking place and light food is served is the occasion to serve Chili as an appetizer. Especially if it’s during the winter months.
• Family cookouts: Chili is perfect served as a side dish at a family cookout, where grilled chicken, ribs, sausages, hot dogs, and hamburgers will be served. Chili will fit right in here.

Ok so it’s time to get into this recipe. Below is everything you’ll need for this recipe and I’ll tough on some alternatives you can use in place of some of the ingredients and just options in case you wanna switch things up.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• Meat: Ground beef and Sweet Italian Sausage
• Beans: Pinto and Red Kidney Beans
• Vegetable Add-Ins: Onions, Green Bell Peppers, Minced Garlic, and Celery (optional)
• Tomato Base Ingredients: Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes, and Tomato Paste
• Liquid: Beef Broth
• Seasonings: Chili Powder, Brown Sugar, Cumin, Oregano, Celery Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Bay Leaf

Equipment:

• Large Pot: We’re making a lot of Chili so a large pot is necessary to cook all of this in.
• Big Spoon: You’ll need a spoon to break up the meat while it’s browning… you’ll use both a spoon and spatula to break the meat up and to scoop and serve the Chili.
• Spatula: Use a spatula to break the meat up while it’s browning.
• Can Opener: You might need a can opener to open up the cans of beans and diced tomatoes if the cans dont come with a
• Knife: You’ll need a sharp nice to chop up the vegetables.
• Measuring Cups: Measuring cups are great for accurately measuring things like the brown sugar or beef broth.
• Measuring Spoons: Measuring are also good for accurately measuring seasonings just to ensure you’re not using too much or too little of anything.

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The Ground Beef and Sweet Italian Sausage

Whenever I make chili, I ALWAYS use ground beef and sweet Italian sausage and I use an equal amount of both. Now, there are alternative meats people commonly use, like chicken and turkey, and I’ll get into that later.

But for me, I like to keep it traditional with ground beef and spice it up with sweet Italian sausage. Yes, it’s red meat and pork but these two meats make the best chili to me. I love sweet Italian sausage so much because it’s packed with so many amazing flavors that it can only do one thing.

And that’s elevates a dish, it’s sort of like a cheat code. Lol! You might be able to find some ground sweet Italian sausage meat, but if you can’t, just purchase sweet Italian sausages and remove the meat from the fat it’s wrapped in.

The Beans

Chili is typically made using two type of beans, the most common is red kidney beans because of how hearty they are and they’re texture which allows them to hold their shape during long cooking time.

Now, me personally, I like to use both pinto and red kidney beans, but a lot of recipes call for black beans. I’ve used them quite a few times but I’m a big fan of pinto beans so that’s what I use here but feel free to customize the recipe to your liking.

I use canned beans! If you decide to do the same stick with Goya brand, those are the standard and best in my opinion. They’re pre cooked which means they’re pretty much already done. Which is why all you need to do is throw them in the chili and warm them up.

But just for clarity, Red kidney beans are the most common, along with pinto beans, black beans, and Cannellini beans. What combination you decide to use is up to you.

The Seasonings:

So you’re probably wondering what seasonings make a good Chili. Well, when I created this recipe years ago I knew what taste I wanted the Chili to have and so I knew what seasonings to go for. Here’s the seasonings I like to use and why.

• For taste: For taste, I use celery salt. Regular salt is boring and wont provide flavor so since celery is often used in chili I decided to use celery salt. You can use your favorite complete seasoning to season the meat however. Seasoning salt is a good alternative. 
• Depth of Flavor: Garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper just makes everything taste better and is required to produce a good recipe. These 3 seasonings are used together so much because of the amazing flavor they give food and since we’re using ground beef, it’s a much I use these 3 seasonings.
• Chili flavor and color: So this is chili after all so we use chili powder, a whole lot of it, to give our chili it’s chili flavor. Now most of us like our chili dark red which is the color of a traditional chili, so to go for that dark red look which is so appetizing, use a dark chili powder.
• Heat: No one wants bland chili and if my chili isn’t just a little spicy, I’d consider it bland and not worth eating. So I like to use a little Cayenne pepper to give it the spice it needs. Be careful not to use too much because Cayenne pepper is very spicy. 
• Sweetness: Balance is key, I tell yall this all the time. A pinch of spiciness give this chili life but so does a pink of sweetness. Use brown sugar, NOT WHITE! It will neutralize the bitterness and acidity of the red ingredients and the spiciness from the cayenne. The sweet and spicy combo makes the chili pop.
• Herb: Yall know how big I am on adding a little sprinkle of herbs to my recipes. I like to use a little oregano here, it’s just the perfect herb for this dish and adds a the perfect flavor that makes the chili taste like REAL CHILI. It gives it what it needs so I always add a nice amount of it.

How To Make The Best Homemade Beef Chili

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   Brown the meat and drain the fat: Add the ground beef and sweet italian sausage to a large pot and place over medium high heat. Break it up as it cooks and drain the fat once it browns.  
   
   

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2. Add seasonings, vegetables, red ingredients, and broth: Add in all the seasonings and sugar. Then add in the minced garlic, onions, peppers, celery, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, the bay leaf, and broth.
   
   

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3. Add beans, cover, and simmer: Add in the beans, and give everything a nice stir. Cover with a lid leaving a crack on the side and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Make sure to stir periodically.
   
   

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Cooking tips:

• Use two spatulas: You’re going to need 2 spatulas or a big spoon and a spatula to break up the meat. Chili meat is typically fine so break the meat up as much as possible while it’s cooking. 2 spatulas or a big spoon and a spatula will make this process easy.
• Drain the fat: Once the ground beef and sweet italian sausage browns, you may be left with a lot of fat. Make sure you drain the fat before you add in the seasonings and other ingredients.
• Stir periodically: Once everything is added to the pot and the chili begins to simmer, make sure you stir the chili periodically, every 8 minutes or so to prevent it from sticking.

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Chili Variations:

• Beef and Turkey With Black Beans: Another common way to make chili is to use both ground beef and turkey and replace the pinto beans with black beans. Black beans are one of the common beans used in Chili so you can try to make it this way if you want to switch things up or choose not to use pork.
• Chicken and Turkey Chili: If you dont eat pork or red meat, this meat combo will work. Use the same amounts but replace the beef with chicken and the pork with turkey. Chicken and turkey taste great together and will make a good chili so this definitely works.
• Chili made with Rotel: You can use fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies in replacement of regular diced tomatoes.

Storage and Reheating:

• How to store chili? Place the chili in a dish, like a tupperware bowl, preferably glass. Make sure it’s tightly covered with a lid, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, then set in the refrigerator.
• Can you freeze it? Most definitely. Chili freezes great. Place it in a ziploc bag, make sure it’s tightly sealed, and store it in the freezer. Doing this will keep it fresh for up to 3 months or more.
• How to reheat Chili in the microwave? Place it in a heat proof dish, cover with a paper towel to prevents splashing because saucy tends to pop in microwaves, and set to 3 minutes, stirring after every minutes so every part gets hot.
• How to reheat Chili in a saucepan? Place the chili in a saucepan or small pot and add a splash of broth if needed. Cover with a lid and simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until warm. Stir periodically.

FAQs:

• What kind of broth would I use if I use ground turkey or chicken? If you decide to make a variation of this recipe and go for a split of beef and turkey or chicken for example, you can just stick with beef broth. But if you use just chicken or turkey use chicken or turkey broth and if you use a mixture of those two, you can pick between chicken and turkey broth.
• How long does it last? This will be good and stay fresh for up to 5 days as long as it’s properly stored. I find that it taste better after sitting for a day because all the ingredients marry and come together.
• How can I double this recipe? To double this recipe I’d suggest first off, using a very big pot, and simply doubling all the ingredients. The cooking time will definitely be a little longer but not by much.

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Other Ground Beef and Italian Sausage Recipes:

• The BEST Stuffed Peppers Recipe Ever 
• Easy Spaghetti And Meat Sauce Recipe
• Grandma Vals Easy Classic Meatloaf Recipe
• Easy Dirty Rice Recipe (Made with Sweet Italian Sausage)

I hope you all enjoy this recipe. If you do give me 5 stars if really helps me on these google streets. Lol! Also, subscribe to receive notifications everytime I post a new recipe.

For updates on everything Philly Jay Cooking, follow me on social media at the following platforms: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Enjoy, later!

Pbj~

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The Best Beef Chili Recipe (Made With Sweet Italian Sausage)

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• Author: PhillyboyJay
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 30 Mins
• Total Time: 50 Mins
• Yield: 8
• Category: Steak & Beef
• Method: American
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Hearty filling beef chili recipe. The perfect savory comfort dish for cold winter evenings. Guaranteed to please your taste buds while warming you up from head to toe.

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Ingredients

• 1 Lb Ground Beef
• 1 Lb Sweet Italian Sausage
• 10oz Canned Pinto Beans
• 10oz Canned Red Kidney Beans
• 1 Cup Yellow Onions, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Green Bell Peppers, chopped
• 1/3 Cup Celery, chopped
• 15oz Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 3/4 cup Prego Tomato Sauce
• 6oz Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbs Minced Garlic
• 1–1/2 Cup Beef Broth
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 5 Tbs Chili Powder
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbs Cumin
• 1 Tbs Oregano
• 1 Tsp Celery Salt
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne

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Instructions

1. Place a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add in the ground beef and sweet Italian sausage and cook until brown, about 8 minutes.
3. Break the meat up and chop into small pieces using a big spoon and spatula.
4. Meanwhile, chop the onions, peppers, and celery into small pieces.
5. Once brown, drain the fat, if any, then reduce the heat to medium.
6. Drain the cans of beans and diced tomatoes.
7. Add in the seasonings, vegetable add-ins, red ingredients, the bay leaf, and broth, then stir well.
8. Fold in the can of beans and stir well. 
9. Cover with a lid, leaving a crack on the side.
10. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring periodically.

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