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This Beef Chili Recipe skips the ground beef entirely, big chunks of chuck roast get seared in bacon fat and simmered in beer and beef stock for two hours until they practically fall apart, and it has been my cold weather Sunday ritual for years because the house smells incredible all afternoon. If you love a good bowl of red, our copycat Wendy’s chili is the ground beef classic to make next.
Two hours of lazy simmering turns an affordable chuck roast into the most tender chili you have ever had.
Beef Chili Recipe Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 3 hours
- ⏳ Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 8 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 420kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Deep, smoky, and beefy with a gentle chipotle warmth
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our white chicken chili
Quick Answer
Cut a chuck roast into 1 inch cubes, season with salt, and sear in batches in bacon grease in a Dutch oven. Toast cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and chipotle in the drippings, deglaze with beer, then add beef stock, tomato puree, and the seared beef. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours until tender, then stir in black beans and corn and cook 30 more minutes until thick.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Chuck roast beats ground beef for texture. Chuck is marbled with connective tissue that melts during the long simmer, turning every cube spoon tender while ground beef would just turn grainy.
- Searing in bacon grease builds the base. The browned crust on the beef and the smoky bacon fat create layers of flavor a dump and stir chili never gets.
- Toasting the spices wakes them up. Thirty seconds in hot fat blooms the cumin, chili powder, and chipotle so they taste rich instead of dusty.
- Beer deglazes and deepens. Scraping up the browned bits with beer adds malty depth, and the alcohol cooks off completely during the simmer.
- Simmering uncovered thickens naturally. Two hours with no lid reduces the liquid into a thick, glossy chili without any cornstarch or masa.
- Beans and corn go in last. Adding them for only the final 30 minutes keeps the beans intact and the corn sweet instead of mushy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Big fork tender chunks of real beef instead of crumbly ground meat.
- It is a one pot wonder, sear, simmer, and walk away for two hours.
- It fills the same cozy lane as our easy corn chowder, pure comfort in a bowl.
Key Ingredients
Simple ingredients, one important cut of beef.
- Chuck roast: The star. Trimmed and cut into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes, it turns fork tender after the long simmer.
- Bacon grease: For searing the beef and toasting the spices, it adds a smoky undertone. Vegetable oil works too.
- Beer: One 12 ounce bottle deglazes the pot and adds malty depth. Use a lager or amber, nothing too hoppy.
- Chipotle and chili powder: The smoky, warm backbone, boosted by a packet of chili seasoning for convenience.
- Black beans and corn: Stirred in at the end so they stay distinct in the thick, beefy base.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make this bowl of red your own.
- Skip the beans entirely for a Texas style bowl of red, just add an extra cup of stock.
- Swap the beer for more beef stock if you prefer, the chili still builds plenty of depth.
- Kick up the heat with a diced jalapeno or an extra half teaspoon of chipotle.
- Craving that Cincinnati style instead? Our Skyline chili coneys are a completely different, equally delicious animal.
How to Make Beef Chili Recipe
- Place a Dutch oven over medium high heat and let it get hot. Season the beef chunks with salt and sear them in batches in the bacon grease until browned on all sides. Remove the beef to a plate.
- Toast the cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and chipotle in the remaining fat for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, then add the beef stock and tomato puree.
- Return the beef and its juices to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.
- Stir in the drained black beans and the corn and simmer another 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, then serve thick and hot with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Sear in batches, never crowd the pot. Crowded beef steams gray instead of browning, and browning is where the flavor lives.
- Trim the big fat caps but keep the marbling. The internal fat melts into the chili, external chunks just float.
- Keep the simmer lazy. A hard boil toughens the beef, you want slow bubbles for the full 2 hours.
- Stir every 20 minutes or so to keep the bottom from catching as the chili thickens.
- Taste before the final salt. The seasoning packet and stock both carry salt, so adjust at the end.
- Make it a day ahead if you can. Like most chilis, it is even better after a night in the fridge.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Ladle this beef chili into deep bowls and load it up, shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, and sliced jalapenos are the house standard.
Cornbread is non negotiable around here, and a pot of it next to our chili mac and cheese makes an unbeatable game day spread.
Serving a crowd with different tastes? Put this out alongside our white chicken chili and let everyone pick their bowl.
Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge and taste even better on day two. It also freezes beautifully for up to 3 months, thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stove with a splash of stock.
Beef Chili Recipe FAQs
Chuck roast is the best cut for chunky beef chili. It is affordable, heavily marbled, and full of connective tissue that melts into gelatin during the long simmer, which makes the meat fork tender and the chili silky. Brisket and short rib also work but cost more.
With chuck roast chunks, plan on 2 hours of uncovered simmering before the beans go in, then another 30 minutes after. The beef is done when a fork slides in with no resistance. Rushing it leaves the chunks chewy.
Beer deglazes the browned bits off the bottom of the pot and adds a malty background depth you cannot get from stock alone. The alcohol cooks off completely during the two hour simmer. If you prefer to skip it, replace it with more beef stock.
Yes. Sear the beef and toast the spices on the stove first, deglaze with the beer, then move everything except the beans and corn to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, adding the beans and corn for the last 30 minutes.
That depends on which chili camp you are in. Texas bowls of red say never, most of the rest of the country says yes. This beef chili recipe uses black beans for texture and heartiness, but it is just as good without them.
Simmer it uncovered, time does the thickening naturally as the liquid reduces. If it is still thinner than you like, mash a few of the beans against the pot wall or stir in a tablespoon of masa or cornmeal and simmer 10 more minutes.
Made this Beef Chili Recipe? I would love to hear how it turned out, leave a comment and a star rating below!
Beef Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 pound chuck roast fat trimmed, cut into 1 – 1 1/2 inch dice
- 1 Tbls bacon grease or vegetable oil
- 28 oz can tomato puree
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp chipotle
- 1 packet chili seasoning
- 12 oz beer
- 2 Cups beef stock
- 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 ear of corn corn cut off the cob or 1 Cup corn kernels
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place dutch oven on stove top and get hot over medium high heat. Season beef chunks with salt and sear beef in batches with the bacon fat.
- Take all beef out of pan and toast all the dried spaces in the remaining fat just until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add in the beer, scraping off any bits in the bottom of the pan. Add in the stock and tomato puree, place the beef back in the pan with any juices. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally until the meat is tender.
- Add in the black beans and corn and cook for a remaining 30 minutes, adjust seasoning if necessary. Chili should be thickened and flavorful, serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Best comfort food for cold winter days. Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things, hope to see you again!
I think it sounds perfect with the chunks of beef as well. My chili is usually just beans, so this would be a nice addition. Thanks for sharing on Weekend Bites!
Love the chunks of beef! And, the chili sauce looks rich and delicious and just the right amount of spicy zing! Pinning to Pinterest!