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October 27, 2015 14 Comments

The Best Chili EVER

Thick-and-hearty-chili-with-a-little-spice-recipe

We have an adopted Grandma that we met when we lived in NJ. We adopted her and she adopted us. I can’t really remember how or when it happened, but it happened and we LOVE having a third Grandma. The Best Chili EVER recipe comes from her. Serve with Mom’s Corn Bread and you’re all set for dinner.

The best part about our third Grandma is she lives a lot closer than our other grandparents. So she comes to visit us every couple of months, and we occasionally invade her space with all six of us….yikes! She’s a good sport.

She is also an awesome cook! The last time we were at her house she made the absolute BEST CHILI I HAD EVER HAD IN MY LIFE! I begged her to tell me exactly how she made it and she ever so kindly did, so now I can share it with you.

More Recipes for Chili Lovers

  • Favorite White Chicken Chili
  • Award Winning Chili
  • Creamy White Chicken Chili
  • Slow Cooker Chili Chicken Casserole
  • Classic Taco Soup
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

It’s a hearty, meaty chili and it has a nice kick to it. She used hot Italian sausage in hers for part of the meat, so it was extra hot. When I made it for my family, I used sweet Italian sausage so it wasn’t as hot. But even with the sweet sausage, this recipe has a nice amount of heat. My kids didn’t complain, but I think they would have if I would have used the hot sausage (Well, everyone but Thatcher…he likes heat).

HOW TO MAKE The Best Chili EVER

  • In a large pot, saute the diced onion in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
  • Add ground beef and sausages with casings removed.
  • Cook until meat is cooked through.
  • Add all other ingredients and allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
  • Serve with corn bread or corn chips and cheese if desired.

Thick-and-hearty-chili-with-a-little-spice-recipeI could gush for hours about how much I love this chili. It is truly the best chili I’ve ever had! There’s something a little interesting about it that I didn’t see coming….it is in part seasoned with a hot taco seasoning packet. WHAT??!!!

thick and hearty chili with a little spice

I would have never guessed it had a taco seasoning packet in it. Give this delish recipe a try and see if you don’t come away screaming that you have a new favorite chili recipe. I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE CHILI RECIPE!!!!!!!!

Tips for making The Best Chili EVER
  • Make sure to remove the casings from the Italian sausage links.
  • Use 2 cans of regular diced tomatoes instead of a large can of plum tomatoes.
  • If you really like hot and spicy chili, use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet Italian sausage.

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5.0 from 5 reviews
The Best Chili EVER
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
40 mins
Total time
50 mins
 
Bring on the Chili Cook-offs! This recipe will make you a winner. BEST CHILI I HAVE EVER HAD!
Author: Grandma Sharon
Recipe type: Chili
Cuisine: Dinner
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4-6 cloves of garlic, approx. 2 tbsp crushed
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 4 links sweet Italian Sausage, casings removed
  • 1 (29 ounce) can of plum tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (1.25 ounce) packet McCormick Hot Taco Seasoning Mix
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
Instructions
  1. In a large pot, saute the diced onion in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
  2. Add ground beef and sausages with casings removed.
  3. Cook until meat is cooked through.
  4. Add all other ingredients and allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Serve with corn bread or corn chips and cheese if desired.
3.4.3177

More Recipes with Italian Sausage

Sausage-and-zucchini-lasagna-roll-upsSausage and Zucchini Lasagna Roll-upsKale and Sausage SoupKale and Sausage Soup with Cannellini BeansDelicious-Chicken-Zucchini-Skillet-with-Cannellini-beansChicken Zucchini Skillet with Cannellini Beans

Beef, Dinners, Family Favorite Recipes, Gluten Free, Ground Beef, High Fiber Recipes, Ingredients, Italian Sausage, Kidney Beans, Recipes, Soup/Stew/Chili, Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes
BEST CHILI RECIPES, Chili Cook-off, chili recipes, easy chili recipe, hot and spicy chili, hot sausage chili recipes, recipes for chili cook-offs, sausage and ground beef chili, sausage chili recipes, spicy chili recipes, the best chili ever, the best chili ever recipe
14 Comments

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14 Comments

  1. Jeanne

    October 28, 2016 at 8:28 am

    Made this for my family, using the Hot Italian Sausage. Even my two boys who hate anything new, or with tomatoes loved it. They both had two helpings and asked for it again the following weekend. Yeah!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      November 30, 2016 at 3:13 pm

      It’s delicious right! This makes me so happy. This is one of my recipes I LOVE and it gets hardly any views. People just don’t know what their missing. 🙂

      reply to this comment
      • Kathy

        December 18, 2016 at 2:34 am

        I am making this tomorrow – just turned cold here and I want a new twist on comfort food. I’ll let you know how it was received

        reply to this comment
        • Casey

          March 18, 2017 at 5:30 pm

          If using diced tomatoes how much should I use? Can’t wait to try tomorrow!

          reply to this comment
  2. Theresa

    November 6, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    Delicious! I wasn’t expecting so much rich flavor from such a quick recipe with so few ingredients! Definitely making another batch to put in the freezer!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      May 12, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      Woot! Woot! Yeah we love it too! Especially because it’s so easy! So glad you like it! Thanks Theresa!

      reply to this comment
  3. Mary

    December 8, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    I made this tonight! I was looking for a fast easy chili recipe because I’m exhausted and this was absolutely delicious! I used 5 hot italian sausages because mine came in a 5 pack.

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      April 2, 2020 at 1:25 pm

      Yay! So glad you found this recipe! It is one of my favorites!

      reply to this comment
  4. Casey

    December 12, 2020 at 10:51 am

    I made this two weeks ago and it was really great. Very easy to prepare. Used the hot sausage and a little jalapeno. Let it simmer for a few hours and enjoyed it for several days. Thank you for posting this!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      December 17, 2020 at 3:58 pm

      Yum! So glad you liked it! I’ll have to try adding some jalapeno next time. Thanks for coming back to let me know you tried it! 🙂

      reply to this comment
  5. Hannah

    January 1, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    My favorite chili recipe! I do mine in the crockpot, I think it’s our new New Years Day tradition!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      January 7, 2021 at 10:52 am

      I am so glad you love the chili! I am going to try it in the slow cooker next time! Thank you for taking time to leave a comment!

      reply to this comment
  6. Nichole

    January 14, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for a long time and I finally did tonight. It was delicious! The Italian sausage really gives it a great flavor.

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      January 15, 2021 at 10:39 am

      Awesome! So glad you liked it!

      reply to this comment

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Welcome friends!

Hi, I'm Maria. A mom of five and a total foodie. My superpower is taking ordinary recipes and making them DELICIOUS. Your family will LOVE these meals! Come cook with me, I promise it will be amazing! Get started here or search my archives below.


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