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The truth about original chili con carne

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The ingredients for the original chili con carne

"Chili con carne is like potato soup, there is no original recipe!"

“DopfGucker” the Dutch Oven Group on Faccebook

I recently read the quote on Facebook and it's true, but a famous meal always includes stories that revolve around the origin. This is also the case with chili con carne. Native Americans have always dried meat along with fat and hot spices to make it durable. If you later boil this mass with water, you get a creamy soup that is reminiscent of the chili con carne, as it is still served in the USA today.

In the name “Chili con Carne” the two decisive ingredients are already mentioned, namely chilies (often in powdered form) and meat - everything else is optional. In the USA, for example, there are many recipes for chili con carne that rely only on beef, beef fat and spices that are cooked together for a few hours.

Beans and corn are also common with the chilli. This custom arose to make food cheaper without significantly reducing the nutritional value. Often they are prepared and served separately.

The origin of chili con carne

Chili con carne is a well-known representative of Tex-Mex cuisine, a dish that originated in the United States but is influenced by Mexican cuisine.

Recipe for a simple and classic chili con carne

Our goal was to prepare chilli con carne in the classic way, as it is cooked in the south of the USA. In addition, we have omitted beans and corn in our recipe.

When choosing the meat, the choice is yours. We opted for minced beef. Pork, lamb or game can also be used. The meat does not necessarily have to be minced. You can also cut it into very small pieces and then insert them.

Refine the chili con carne

Since the Americans like to use extra fat, we used "beef paste", which serves as the basis for soups and sauces. You can often get them in the supermarket where the funds can be found. The beef paste adds flavor and thicken the stew. It doesn't make the chili con carne too runny.

If you don't want to use this paste, replace it with beef stock. However, this causes a thinning of the chilli. Let the water that has entered evaporate without a lid when cooking so that the stew does not become too thin.

For our chilli recipe you also need onions, garlic, maple syrup and tomato sauce.

This is how you influence the sharpness

Chillies belong in a chili con carne. They can be added as a powder or fresh. I like to use fresh chilies better. Regardless of the form, chillies always have a certain spiciness. In our part of the world, not everyone can tolerate spiciness. If you want to serve your chili con carne at a party, it makes sense to be considerate of the spiciness of people who are sensitive to it. So the chilli shouldn't be too hot. One way to control the heat is to adjust the amount of chillies used. It's even better to choose the right chillies. Our table should help you with this.

The chilies listed are available in almost every vegetable section of the supermarket. We recommend using the large fresh peppers. They are only slightly spicy, but have the typical taste of chillies. If you like it spicier, you can easily sharpen your portion with e.g. Tabasco or other sauces.

Before using the chillies, test the degree of spiciness on a small piece and, if necessary, adjust the amount of chillies used accordingly.

What to do if the chilli has become too hot?

If someone has eaten too spicy by mistake or on purpose, milk is given as an antidote. The fat and other components contained in the milk loosen the active ingredient "capsaicin" from the mucous membrane, which causes the unbearable burning sensation, and lock it in. Yoghurt, creme fraiche, sour cream, sour cream and the like have a similar effect.

Our dip against spiciness

We therefore like to serve a mixture of creme fraiche and sour cream with our chilli. If the chilli is too hot for you, you should stir a large dab of it into the portion.

Season the chili con carne

Make sure that the spices you use do not add unwanted spiciness to the food. We opted for the spices popular in the USA, cumin, oregano and cinnamon, in order to give the food the most authentic touch possible.

We did not receive any financial support for this article and only use products that we are convinced of. We would like to thank Spiceworld.at for the free product sample, so we mark this post as an advertisement.

Chili con carne for 10, 12 or more people

Use our "portion calculator" on the recipe to adjust the amounts so that the desired number of people is full. It's better to choose a saucepan that is a little too big rather than too small so that your saucepan doesn't overflow.

Freeze chili con carne and extend the shelf life

Don't let chili con carne stand too long unrefrigerated. Particular care should be taken if the chilli contains pork. If nobody wants to eat more of it, put it in a storage jar during the party and put it in the fridge. It can be kept there for 1-2 days. As you warm up, make sure the stew boils completely once.

While the chili con carne used to be preserved by a lot of heat and drying, today you can simply freeze it. Frozen it can be kept for a few weeks without affecting the quality.

Side dishes

You actually eat a chilli as a stew, without “anything to go with it”. On the other hand, we also like the stew with a portion of rice or pasta. These side dishes can also be very helpful if your chilli has gotten too hot.

What to do with the leftovers

Chili con carne doesn't have to age because it can be processed in many ways. How about a delicious chili dog, for example? Or with a portion of “Chili Cheese Fries”, baked with French fries and cheese? The stew can also be enjoyed perfectly in a wrap. Another way of using leftovers is a casserole made from pasta, chilli and cheese.

A chili con carne gets better if you cook it over a longer period of time. We therefore recommend that you let the chilli cook for three hours. If that's too long for you, you can cut the cooking time by two hours.
Print recipe


  • 1000 g minced beef
  • 6 onions
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 6 Note the heat level of chilies (see introduction)
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup
  • 3 teaspoons of table salt
  • 1200 g of pureed tomatoes
  • 2x40 g beef paste or 400 ml beef stock
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 100 g crème fraîche
  • 100 g sour cream