Chili Con Carne: A One-Pot Mexican Feast (And Yes, Your Guests Will Work for Their Food)

One of our absolute favorite cuisines at home is Mexican. At least once every two months, I find myself standing over the stove, tending to a massive, bubbling pot of Chili Con Carne that anchors an entire Mexican feast.

I’ve written before about how smart and easy it is to host a dinner party with this kind of food. Instead of sweating in the kitchen and serving meticulously plated dishes with tweezers, you just let your guests do the work. You whip up a few dips that take about 5-10 minutes each (a little guacamole, fresh Pico de Gallo, sour cream), pile a huge plate of tortillas in the middle of the table, add a big bowl of rice, and present that giant pot of Chili Con Carne. From there? Everyone builds their own perfect plate with the ingredients they love most. It’s a total breeze, yet everyone leaves convinced you slaved away in the kitchen for days.

Chili Con Carne

Surprisingly, even though it’s probably the very first thing that pops into everyone’s head when they hear “Mexican food,” Chili Con Carne is not a classic Mexican dish at all. It’s Texan. This is where the concept of “Tex-Mex” comes in. This cuisine is essentially a historical fusion born on the border between the US state of Texas and Mexico. Americans took traditional Mexican staples (like beans, corn, and chili peppers) and combined them with their own abundance and (fairly gross and excessive) habits: commercial quantities of beef (it is Texas, after all) and melted yellow cheeses like Cheddar. So technically, this dish belongs to American cuisine, but between us? Why ruin a good story with facts.

Just like Italian Bolognese sauce, where everyone is dead certain their recipe is the one true, accurate, and original version passed down through generations since the Jews immigrated from Italy—Chili Con Carne has endless variations. Authentic Texans will tell you that putting beans in the pot is an absolute sin. In other places, they wouldn’t dare make it without them. Some versions have chopped jalapeños; some don’t. You get the point, right? The literal translation of the dish is simply “Peppers with Meat.” As long as you have ground beef and peppers, you have the base. From there—the sky, and whatever you have in your pantry, is the limit.

How to Season Chili Con Carne? If you ask a Mexican homemaker what the most common spices are in her kitchen, there’s a good chance that right after various types of chilies, the top five will include cumin, oregano, and paprika. I like to season my Chili Con Carne with sweet paprika, smoked paprika (if I don’t have dried Mexican chilies), cumin, and oregano.

Where to Buy Mexican Chilies? One thing that will truly elevate your Chili Con Carne to new heights and add incredible depth of flavor is a combination of different dried Mexican chilies. I used to bring these back from my work trips to the States, but nowadays, I just buy them locally from Tres Pesos. Before adding the chilies to the stew, I always open them up and remove the dry seeds. I wouldn’t dream of making this stew without them, but if you don’t have any on hand—half a tablespoon of smoked paprika will give you a somewhat similar effect. Still, if you really want a serious kick of flavor—make the effort. Keep in mind that different chilies have different heat levels, so definitely check how spicy they are before tossing them into the pot.

If you’ve made it this far and somehow you’re still not following me on Instagram—now is definitely the time.

Recipe Summary

A rich, easy, one-pot Tex-Mex Chili Con Carne. Beef, beans, peppers, and winning spices that completely sort you out for the perfect Mexican dinner party with friends.

Chili Con Carne

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• ½ kg Ground beef
• 400 g Canned crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 can kidney beans or 1 cup frozen cooked beans
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• ½ tablespoon smoked paprika optional
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoon Tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 dried Mexican chilies preferably different types, depending on your preferred heat level

Method

 

1. Dice the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper into small cubes.
2. Heat the oil, and once it’s hot, sauté the vegetables until softened.
3. Add the ground beef and fry, breaking it apart into small crumbles, until it browns and loses its raw color.
4. Add the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes, and mix well.
5. If using dried beans, soak them overnight and cook until they begin to soften. If using canned or frozen cooked beans, simply add them directly to the stew.
6. Season with paprika, salt, cumin, and oregano, and mix well.
7. If using dried chilies, open them up and remove the seeds. Toast them for 10 seconds on each side in a hot, dry skillet, and add them to the pot. If you are not using dried chilies, add half a tablespoon of smoked paprika instead.
8. Transfer the pot to your lowest stovetop flame, or place it in a preheated oven at 130°C (265°F), and cook for another 1.5 to 3 hours.
9. Add salt to taste, mix well, and serve.

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