NQM Awesome Beef & Bean Chili Recipe

Prep time: 15-20 minutes (see shortcuts section; skip shortcuts = longer prep time)
Serves: around 6 people
Suggested toppings: grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, picked jalapeños, hot sauce
Cook time: 8 hours on low — Fills 3–4 Q Slow Cooker.
For larger capacity 6.5 Q Slow Cooker, you can double the recipe but reduce the chicken broth by 1 cup.
Serve with: tortilla chips or cornbread

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. beef chuck steak/roast cut into 3/4″ cubes
2-3 tbsp. olive oil, plus more as needed (vegetable oil is okay)
1.5 tbsp. Kosher salt and 1.5 tbsp. ground pepper (+/- to taste)
2 large yellow onions, chopped
8-10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp. chili powder (optional 1-2 tbsp. more for extra spicy)
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2.5 cups chicken broth
2 16-oz. cans of kidney beans, rinsed
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 14-oz. can of tomato sauce
28 oz. chopped fire roasted tomatoes

Optional if you like hot to extra hot:

4 dried chilis New Mexican or arbol
½-1 cup pickled jalapeños
5 dashes +/- hot sauce like Franks or Tabasco

Cooking instructions:

Cube chuck steak, salt & pepper cubed beef (lightly–moderately depending on personal state).
Brown steak in 1–2 tbsp. olive oil, transfer browned meat to crock-pot.
Brown ground beef in same skillet, add to crock-pot, wipe skillet for next step.
Chop 2 onions, brown in skillet using 2 tbsp. olive oil, once translucent add chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, & garlic and stir.
Transfer onion mixture to crock-pot.
Add to crock-pot: chicken broth, rinsed beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste & tomatoes. Stir well.
Do not open lid to stir until there is about an hour left.
For hour of cooking, remove lid and allow the chili to thicken. Crock-pot brands vary some in heat levels so you may need to adjust this timing to a bit. If you prefer thinner soup like chili, skip this step.

Shortcuts:

Can cook on high setting but it won’t be as flavorful and steak cubes won’t be quite a tender.
Use cornbread mix (Krusteaz is my favorite).
Chop onions & grate cheese topping in food processor.
Use jar minced garlic (quantities vary depending on brand, most are ~ 2 teaspoons = 1 clove) 10 tbsp. = 1/5 cup so I often grab the ¼ cup scoop and fill it a bit below the top.

Notes:

When buying the beef, look for better quality, grass fed and/or hormone free that’s lean to moderate (extra lean often ends up dry when slow cooking).
If you like a more rustic, chunky style whole-canned tomatoes and chunk them with your hands instead of buying pre-chopped tomatoes.
Non-fire roasted tomatoes work fine, the fire roasted ones are just a bit more flavorful.
If you prefer pinto beans, sub them for the kidney beans.
If you want hot spice level, mixed the crushed dried chilis with tomato paste before adding to crock-pot. For XX hot, do the tomato paste/chili step plus right before serving, add ½ cup up to 1 cup pickled jalapeños and hot sauce to taste.
If you have a larger 6 or 6.5 Q crock-pot, make a double batch and freeze one batch.
For left overs, make chili dogs or chili nachos.

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE!

Featured Photo by Nicole Vaughn