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There is no dinner that stretches further or makes a house smell better than a big pot of chili. These 30 chili recipes and chili night sides are the ones we actually make all winter long: classic beef chili and a Cincinnati style copycat, lighter chicken, turkey and vegetarian bowls, the loaded dinners we build with the leftovers, honey jalapeno cornbread and pull apart rolls, plus every topping, dip and side that turns one pot into a whole chili bar. Almost all of it is from scratch, plenty of it comes together in the slow cooker, and most of it tastes even better the next day. Pick a chili, grab a couple of sides, and let the pot do the work.
Classic Beef Chili Recipes
Best Beef Chili Recipe (Chunky Chuck Roast Chili)
This one skips 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 fall apart against the spoon. Get the recipe →
Slow Cooker Award Winning Chili Recipe
The rich, hearty slow cooker chili that won over the whole family, first made in a giant batch on a chilly football Sunday. Brown the beef, load the crock, and let it go all afternoon. Get the recipe →
Wendy’s Chili
The thick, perfectly spiced copycat that tastes exactly like the drive thru classic, made right on your own stovetop. We make a big pot on cold game days and nobody misses the paper cup. Get the recipe →
Skyline Chili: Create Your Own Cheese Coneys
A spot on Cincinnati copycat with a thin, finely textured beef sauce gently spiced with cinnamon and cocoa. Ladle it over hot dogs, bury them in shredded cheddar, and build your own coneys. Get the recipe →
Easy Frito Pie Casserole Recipe
Everything you love about a walking taco, the chili, the cheese, the salty corn chip crunch, baked into one bubbling scoopable dish. The family attacks this pan the second it hits the table. Get the recipe →
Chicken, Turkey and Vegetarian Chili
Best White Chicken Chili Recipe
The cozy, creamy bowl we crave the second the weather turns, and it all happens in one pot with hardly any fuss. Tender chicken and white beans with just enough warmth. Get the recipe →
Best Turkey Chili
Thick and cozy with tender shredded turkey, two kinds of beans, and just the right amount of smoky heat. This is what saves the week after Thanksgiving when nobody wants another plate of leftovers. Get the recipe →
Best Homemade Vegetarian Chili
Thick, smoky, and loaded with three kinds of beans, tender veggies, and bold chipotle spice, all in one pot in about 30 minutes. Nobody at the table will ask where the meat went. Get the recipe →
Vegetarian Taco Soup
The cozy dump and simmer dinner we lean on when the week gets crazy, hearty with beans and veggies and on the table in about 25 minutes. Crush some chips over the top and call it done. Get the recipe →
Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup (Tortilla Soup Recipe)
Creamy, masa thickened, and melted through with cheese, this tastes exactly like the chain restaurant bowl. It came out of one long Sunday afternoon of testing until it was right. Get the recipe →
Loaded Dinners to Make With a Pot of Chili
Easy Homemade Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe
Two comfort food legends in one pot: hearty beef chili and creamy mac and cheese, together. First made on a freezing weeknight when the girls were starving and it never left the rotation. Get the recipe →
Homemade Chili Cheese Fries Recipe
Fries piled high with homemade beef chili, a silky cheddar cheese sauce, and another handful of shredded cheese on top. My family demolishes a tray of these every football Sunday. Get the recipe →
Stuffed Taco Baked Potato Recipe
Taco night and baked potato night become one dinner. A fluffy russet with crispy skin gets split open and piled high, so everybody builds their own without you cooking two things. Get the recipe →
Loaded Tater Tot Nachos (Totchos)
Crispy tater tots loaded with taco seasoned beef, a homemade cheddar cheese sauce, and melty cheese over the top. Nachos with a better crunch underneath, and the pan never comes back full. Get the recipe →
Ultimate Loaded Nachos
A giant sheet pan piled with seasoned beef, beans, and melty cheese, then drizzled with a creamy sriracha lime sour cream that pulls the whole thing together. My go to crowd pleaser. Get the recipe →
Cornbread and Breads for Chili Night
Jalapeno Cornbread with Honey
Moist, buttery, and sweet with honey, with just the right kick from pickled jalapenos. I bake a pan of this whenever there is a pot of chili simmering on the stove, which is most of the winter. Get the recipe →
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins (Sweet and Moist)
Real pumpkin and warm spice baked into golden muffins that disappear straight off the cooling rack. Sweet, moist, and a nice change from the usual square of cornbread. Get the recipe →
Texas Roadhouse Rolls
The soft, fluffy, slightly sweet steakhouse rolls you cannot stop eating, and they are even better warm out of your own oven. Make a big batch, because they go fast. Get the recipe →
Homemade Crescent Rolls
Soft, buttery, and so much better than anything that comes out of a can, with a flaky inside and a golden tender outside. These are the rolls my family begs for. Get the recipe →
Easy Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks Recipe
Gooey pull apart breadsticks stuffed with cheese that vanish off the pan before dinner even starts. They became our go to after the girls asked for the Bosco style sticks. Get the recipe →
Chili Bar Toppings, Dips and Starters
Easy Queso Dip Recipe (Queso Blanco)
Two ingredients and under 10 minutes for the creamy, melty, restaurant style white cheese dip that never survives the first quarter. Keep it warm and keep the chips coming. Get the recipe →
Crock Pot Queso Dip with Chorizo
Smoky ground chorizo melted into three kinds of cheese with tomatoes and green chiles, held warm in the crock pot. This is the dip that disappears fastest at every party we throw. Get the recipe →
Mexican Street Corn Dip
Sweet corn, cool creaminess, and all the street corn flavor in a scoopable dip that takes about 20 minutes of hands on time. It works at a cookout in July and a chili bar in January. Get the recipe →
Homemade Guacamole
Creamy and zesty with ripe avocados, juicy tomato, and a bright squeeze of lime in every scoop. I make a big bowl any time we have taco night, and a chili bar counts. Get the recipe →
Pico de Gallo
Fresh, crunchy, and lime kissed, the salsa that makes everything taste like a taco truck. One bowl, no cooking, and it wakes up a heavy bowl of chili better than anything else on the table. Get the recipe →
Easy Sides and Sweets to Finish Chili Night
Copycat KFC Coleslaw Recipe
Creamy, sweet, and tangy, this copycat became our family standard the first time we made it. The cool crunch is exactly what a hot bowl of chili is missing. Get the recipe →
Slow Cooker Creamed Corn with Green Chiles
Sweet corn swimming in a velvety cream cheese sauce with a little green chile heat, and the slow cooker does all of it. Your stovetop stays free for the chili. Get the recipe →
Easy Bean Salad (5 Bean Salad with Vinaigrette)
Five kinds of beans tossed with corn, peppers, and a sweet and tangy dill vinaigrette, with no cooking at all. It disappears first at every cookout we bring it to. Get the recipe →
Best Crispy Fried Pickles Recipe (Deep Fried)
Crispy, tangy, and golden every single time, with a crunchy cornmeal coating and cool ranch for dipping. My girls beg for a batch every time the oil comes out. Get the recipe →
Best Fudgy Brownies Recipe
The fudgiest, most chocolatey brownies we have ever pulled out of the oven, with shiny crackly tops and dense gooey centers. The dessert I can make from memory. Get the recipe →
Save This Chili Night Menu
Pin this roundup so the whole chili night lineup is one tap away the next time the temperature drops, and if you make one of these, leave a comment on the recipe and tell us how you loaded your bowl. From our kitchen to your table!
