Award Winning Chili Recipe

This Award Winning Chili recipe is one of the worlds best chili recipes. It’s thick, spicy and loaded with hearty goodness.

If you are looking for a beef chili recipe that will make your taste buds sing, you found it! This chili has everything you’d desire – it is thick, hearty, sweet, smoky and spicy. This quick chili recipe has tons of flavor and lots (and I mean LOTS) of stick-to-your-ribs goodness.

How this Recipe came about

Let me tell you a little bit about how I came up with this Award Winning Chili Recipe. My son races BMX. For those of you that don’t know, that’s bicycle moto-cross. He races his pedal bike around a dirt track with hills, small jumps and turns.
He’s been racing for a little over a year and has gotten pretty good at it. He’s moved up in proficiency from novice to intermediate level and has even earned the #4 spot in the state for his class! (Can you tell I’m a proud mama?)

I’ll be you’re wondering what BMX has to do with chili, right? A few weeks ago, our local BMX track hosted their annual Halloween race. It’s a fun time with games, racing and, of course, food.

One of the dads at the track brought a big pot of chili. At one point in the evening there was quite a bit of chatter about how this was one of the best chili recipes ever. I had to agree. It was AMAZING!

I’m no stranger to good chili. I love the stuff and have tasted lots of different chilis. My Turkey Chili and Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili are two of my faves. But, this one was exceptional. There were two types of beans, butternut squash and corn cooked into a sweet and spicy sauce that just made you want more. It was definitely the talk of the evening around the track.

The next day, I started working on coming up with a recipe for this chili based on what I had tasted. It took several attempts but ultimately I came up with a recipe that was pretty close to the world best chili recipe ever.

How to Make this Award Winning Chili Recipe – Step by Step

• Step One: First in a Dutch oven add beef, onions, bell peppers and garlic. (Photo 1 below)
• Step Two: Next add the House Blend Seasoning.  (Photo 2 below)
• Step Three: Then use a ground beef masher to break up the beef. This is one great invention.  (Photo 3 below)
• Step Four: Brown the meat over medium high heat. Then drain the fat from the pan.  (Photo 4 below)

• Step Five: Sprinkle the flour over the beef.  (Photo 5 below)
• Step Six: Add my homemade Chili Seasoning.  (Photo 6 below)
• Step Seven: Mix in the brown sugar.  (Photo 7 below)
• Step Eight: Place the chilis in adobo into the mixture.  (Photo 8 below)

• Step Nine: Combine all the ingredients together.  (Photo 9 below)
• Step Ten: Cook for 2 minutes.  (Photo 10 below)
• Step Eleven: Next add Crush tomatoes, corn and butternut squash (Corn and butternut squash not shown in pictures).  (Photo 11 below)
• Step Twelve: Lastly, add your beans and combine. Cook for 30 minutes and serve.  (Photo 12 below)

Can you make this quick chili recipe in a slow cooker?

This chili can definitely be made in a slow cooker. I love using mine for these types of recipes. In addition, you can try making one of my other favorite chilis. My White Bean Chicken Chili.

Is this a spicy chili recipe?

You can easily cut down the spiciness by decreasing the amount of chili in adobo. Likewise, if you like it spicier, add a few more or adding crushed red pepper flakes or other hot sauce. This Best Chili recipe is so delicious because you can adapt it anyway you like. For example, I sometimes don’t use the squash or corn, my mom uses potatoes instead.

Expert Tips for Making the Best Beef Chili Recipe

• Use some Amazing Toppings. For Instance, top your Chili with your favorite Mexican Blend Cheese, Sour Cream and Green Onions
• Instead of a regular bowl, serve the Chili in Bread Bowls to make a delicious meal.
• Use the Chili over Baked Potatoes and then use Melted Cheese.
• This Spicy Chili Recipe Freezes great too!

Shop This Recipe

• Dutch Oven
• Ground Beef Masher
• Ground Beef Drainer

More Recipes You Might Like

• Slow Cooker Taco Chili
• Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
• Easy Turkey Chili

Looking for more?  Check out all of the quick easy recipes for dinner on It Is a Keeper.

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Award Winning Chili Recipe

This Award Winning Chili recipe is one of the worlds best chili recipes. It's thick, spicy and loaded with hearty goodness.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chili

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 589kcal

Author: Christina Hitchcock

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.58 from 14 votes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 sweet onion - diced1 sweet onion - diced
• 1 bell pepper - diced1 bell pepper - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced4 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 teaspoons House Seasoning blend2 teaspoons House Seasoning blend
• 3 tablespoons Chili Seasoning Mix3 tablespoons Chili Seasoning Mix
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili in adobo2 teaspoons chili in adobo
• 2 tablespoons flour2 tablespoons flour
• 1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups butternut squash - diced2 cups butternut squash - diced
• 1 15.5 oz can kidney beans1 15.5 oz can kidney beans
• 1 15.5 oz can black beans1 15.5 oz can black beans
• 1 15.25 oz can corn1 15.25 oz can corn

Instructions

• In a large pot, add ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic and House Seasoning blend and cook over medium high heat until meat is no longer pink.
• Drain excess fat from meat.
• Stir chili seasoning mix, brown sugar, chili in adobo and flour into meat mixture; Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add crushed tomatoes, squash, kidney beans, black beans and corn; Stir until combined.
• Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until squash is fork-tender.
• Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Notes

• Use some Amazing Toppings. For Instance, top your Chili with your favorite Mexican Blend Cheese, Sour Cream and Green Onions
• Instead of a regular bowl, serve the Chili in Bread Bowls to make a delicious meal.
• Use the Chili over Baked Potatoes and then use Melted Cheese.
• This Spicy Chili Recipe Freezes great too!

Nutrition

Calories: 589kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 1190mg | Potassium: 831mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 5540IU | Vitamin C: 30.9mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 4.6mg

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Helpful Tips for All Recipes on It Is a Keeper

• Want to scale a recipe up or down? Simply type in a new serving amount and the recipe will automatically adjust! 
• When a recipe call for House Seasoning Blend, you can use this recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.  
• I always use unsalted butter in my recipes.
• I always use a meat thermometor to test for doneness when cooking meat.  This one is my favorite.  
• When a recipe is made in the oven, it should be pre-heated to the temperature in the recipe, unless otherwise noted.
• The nutritional information provided in this recipe is an estimate.  Learn more on how I calculate nutritional information for my recipes.