No Bean Chili-this chili recipe has no beans, but don’t worry, it’s super satisfying and full of flavor. It’s made with beef, sausage, tomatoes, and traditional chili spices. It’s perfect for game day, potlucks, or any meal. It also freezes well!
A chili with no beans? Is that even possible? Yep! This is a meat lovers chili and perfect for people who don’t like beans or can’t eat them for dietary reasons.
I personally love my vegetarian chili, but this No Bean Chili recipe gets two thumbs up from all of the guys in my house. It’s perfect for game day, a cold winter day, or easy entertaining.
This recipe gets all of its flavor from beef, sausage, bell peppers, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and the most incredible blend of spices.
Tips for Making No Bean Chili
- Josh likes to use ground beef AND sausage, instead of all beef. His secret ingredient? Maple breakfast sausage. The hint of maple adds great flavor to the chili. Of course, you can use any sausage and if you don’t care for ground beef, you can use ground turkey.
- The recipe calls for a green bell pepper and a red bell pepper, but you can use your favorite color of peppers. Orange and yellow would be good too!
- Use fire roasted tomatoes, they are so flavorful!
- Let the chili simmer so the spices can come to life! Stir occasionally to make sure the chili doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- If you like spicy chili, feel free to add a jalapeño.
- You can make the chili in advance. I think chili is always better the second day after the flavors have had time to hangout. So this is a great recipe for meal prepping!
Chili Toppings
I love to put lots of topping options on the table so everyone can customize their own bowl. Here are a few favorites:
- Sour cream
- Tortilla chips
- Green onions
- Slices of avocado
- Shredded cheese
- Jalapeño slices
- Chopped cilantro
What to Serve with Chili
Chili is perfect for weeknights, cold days, or anytime you need good old-fashioned comfort food. Here are a couple dishes that go well with no bean chili:
Freezing Chili
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about five days. You can also freeze the chili for up to two months. Chili is the perfect freezer meal, just make sure you label and date it so you know what it is. Defrost, heat, and enjoy!
More Chili Recipes
No Bean Chili
No Bean Chili-this chili recipe has no beans, but don’t worry, it’s super satisfying and full of flavor. It’s made with beef, sausage, tomatoes, and traditional chili spices. It’s perfect for game day, potlucks, or any meal. It also freezes well!
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground sausage (preferably maple flavor breakfast sausage)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded, stemmed, and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded, stemmed, and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 29 ounces fire roasted tomatoes
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14.5 ounces beef broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, jalapeno slices, avocado, chips
In a large pot, brown the ground beef and sausage over medium high heat, until no longer pink, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon while it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked meat to a plate. Set aside. Reserve one tablespoon of the grease in the pot and discard the rest.
Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook over medium high heat until soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, smoked paprika, oregano, and pepper.
Add the cooked meat back into the pot. Simmer the chili on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle the chili into bowls and serve warm with desired toppings.
You can use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Josh likes to use maple flavored breakfast sausage for a hint of maple flavor, but you can use Italian sausage, mild or spicy, or plain breakfast sausage. You can also use all ground beef or turkey instead of using sausage.
Calories: 375kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Sodium: 1383mg, Potassium: 573mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1584IU, Vitamin C: 38mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 4mg
Have you tried this recipe?
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Photos by Sasha from Eat Love Eats
