Delicious and warming chilli con carne with a meat-free option included in this recipe. This family favourite is sure to impress anyone who tries it! Serve with rice, atop a jacket potato, nachos or with a side of homemade cornbread.
I’m sharing another of my family favourite dinner recipes. Who doesn’t love a big, steaming bowlful of freshly homemade chilli con carne, it’s the ultimate Tex-Mex comfort! It’s only recently that I’ve started to make my own chilli con carne completely from scratch and after several attempts I’ve developed a great chilli spice blend. I make this spice blend all the time and keep in a jar in my kitchen store cupboard ready for whenever I want to make a batch of chilli – my secret for authentic chilli flavour is adding lots of cumin.
Below is a tasty vegan chilli sin carne I made using my original recipe.
I took a butternut squash (roughly 1kg) and it chopped up leaving the skin on and deseeded it – keep the seeds and bake those to make a nutritious crunchy snack. I roasted the butternut squash along with 4 bell peppers (use any colours you like) with a tablespoon of oil, salt and black pepper for approx. 40-45 minutes until they start to pick up colour and the veg is soft.
While the veg was cooking I had my sauce on the stove top cooking away. Once the vegetables were cooked, I transferred them to the sauce along with a can of kidney beans and simmered everything for a few more minutes.
We served our chilli with rice, salted tortilla chips, a spoonful of vegan sour cream/mayonnaise and a wedge of lime to squeeze over the finished dish.
This chilli recipe always gets great reviews from anyone who has tried it, whether a meat eater or not!
(Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
Spice Blend:
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander/cilantro
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Generous pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika (I use smoked for the best flavour)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt/powder
1 teaspoon mild chilli powder – omit if using fresh chilli
Chilli:
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 red or white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
400-450g (approx. 1lb) lean minced beef (I tend to go for 5% fat) – you can use a meat alternative instead if preferred
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1-2 green or red chillis, deseeded and finely chopped (optional) – adjust depending on how spicy you want the chilli
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g (14 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
200ml beef stock (if making vegetarian/vegan you can use a meat-free beef stock cube)
Juice of 1 lime
400g (14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed – you can also use kidney beans in chilli sauce if you want
Method:
1. Sauté the chopped onion and red bell pepper until soft on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the minced beef and cook until browned and starting to colour – this will take about 10 minutes. Add the tomato purée, chopped chilli (if using), garlic and the spice mix. Cook for a further minute or two until fragrant.
2. Now add the chopped tomatoes and the sugar. Add the stock and the lime juice, bring the pot up to the boil and then cover and simmer for an hour stirring occasionally. After an hour remove the lid and continue to cook for another 30 minutes until glossy and all the stock has been absorbed. Finish by adding the beans and stir until they’re heated through.
3. Serve the chilli piping hot with rice, atop a jacket potato, with nachos and your favourite dips or with cornbread.
Love Mexican food? Try this Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) next!
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So perfect for cinco de mayo!! Looks awesome!
This looks great! Sounds like you’ve developed the perfect spice mix 🙂
Jessica, this honestly sounds like the best chilli recipe I’ve seen! I love the mix of spices you’ve used and the addition of the lime and the cherry tomatoes. Definitely bookmarking this one for future reference!
I am all over this recipe Jessica!! I love Chili con Carne, and I love celebrating Cinco de Mayo!! Pinned!! 🙂
This recipe looks delicious, Jess! No need to remind me of those baked churros–I remembered them instantly when I saw this beautiful bowl of chili con carne. A perfect pairing.
Amazing looking chilli con carne. 😊
The chili looks so good. I love it! I also loved churro’s every time I see a street vendor with them I buy a bag, warm and sugary and delicious. I have never had them baked, thats great, less fat.
We love Chilli Con Carne at home and this recipe looks perfect! Pinning right now. I still have to try making your churros (I keep thinking about it but never get round to it!). x Mel
This recipe sounds delicious! Adding it to our Cinco De Mayo dinner menu now 🙂
Yum! I LOVE mexican food. You’re right – the day is approaching where we all must enjoy some delicious combo of Latin meats/cheese/spice/avocado. . . it only makes sense!! 😉
This is awesome Jessica! I have never had chili on top of rice, but I don’t know why. That looks awesome and so comforting! Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
You checked all my boxes, too! Chili on rice is something I just love … and this version looks amazing! You’ve got all of us ready for Cinco de Mayo now!
Your spice mix sounds great, Jessica! Love your chilli!
I only discovered Mexican cuisine when I moved to London. I feel in love with it! Now one of my favorite food is burrito. This chilli looks great, maybe I can try to make it vegetarian using some soy mince (I know, I know, it won’t taste the same…). I absolutely love the abundant amount of chopped onion 🙂
I love chili con carne et ta recette seems gorgeous! By the way, your plates are so beautiful!
Churros I love it! When I go to Andalucia I eat them all the time 🙂
This looks delicious Jessica! I love Chili con Carne and this is such a great recipe and perfect for celebrating Cinco de Mayo 🙂
This looks so delicious! Must try it soon!
This looks amazing! Also I NEED to check out your churros recipe!!!
One of my favorite meals ever is chili. I love the sound of the spice mix, and serving the chili over rice with sour cream looks so delicious! Having cheesy nachos with it takes it completely over the top. 🙂
Mmmm so hearty and perfectly Cinco De Mayo-y! 🙂
Your photographs made me so hungry! Just gorgeous. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Your chili looks so thick and hearty! I love anything Mexican- this would be so great for Cinco de Mayo! 😀
Yum I have been craving chilli for a whole now.. Might have to be dinner tonight!
This looks so satisfying. Love that you smothered it with all those yummy toppings!
Wow Cinco de Mayo is so soon! What a great way to celebrate it 😀
I am a huge fan of Mexican food and have never had chili con carne. I’m going to have to try this. Perfect timing for Cinco de Mayo. Oh and those churros…yum! Pinning!
As I was reading this I got so hungry for chilli con carne, then BAM those churros! Now all I can think of is warm donuts and cinnamon! Mmmm they look amazing!!
You are making me rather hungry esp since I am still drooling over the baked churros.
oh my goodness, I love this! I’m totally going to try this! I am guilty of buying those already made spice packets so I love that you have a homemade version here!! Chilli con Carne, here I come!
Scrumptious! Love the recipe and photography, Jessica. I must make this soon…perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
This chilli con carne is just perfect for the coming holiday…I just need a margarita to go with it…yum!
Hope you are having a great week Jessica 😀
Love it, Jess. My dad used to make this all the time and I haven’t had it in forever. Now I can’t wait to make it myself :). Looks so good!
Yay for Cinco de Mayo! I am loving all the mexican recipes that everyone is posting right now! This looks fantastic!
I can eat Chili all the time, especially over rice or a baked potato. Great recipe.
Yum, that looks amazing! I just had dinner but now I’m craving chili too. 🙂
Gorgeous. Gotta love a homemade chilli con carne, so much better than the spice mix versions. Your pictures have me absolutely drooling Jess!
I have to confess …. I do buy the Mexican spice mix in the sachets! I will definitely try your spice mix next time. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE Mexican food but have never tried chilli con carne before. I will have to try it! Looks delicious!
I think one more round of chili is in order to see this cold weather out! Looks awesome!
I don’t think I need to wait for Cinco del Mayo for this chilli con carne! Looks amazing and comforting!
Chilli con Carne is a weekly staple in our house Jess, so I think I will give your recipe a try next week, it looks lovely!
Homemade chili is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. This looks delicious, Jess!
Loving this chili recipe! It looks amazing! And those baked churros… OMG I want them right now!