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Unreel Recipes
cooking · Stew

15-Minute Weeknight Chili

From a video by J. Kenji López-Alt · 19 min watch

A quick weeknight ground beef chili with beans, made in one pot with pantry staples. Brown the beef, bloom spices and aromatics, simmer briefly with tomatoes, beans, and stock, then thicken with masa. Ready in about 20 minutes of active time and great with classic toppings.

StewAmerican
15-Minute Weeknight Chili
Source video — J. Kenji López-Alt on YouTube
From the creator
J. Kenji López-Alt
Visit their channel ↗
Watch the full video on YouTube ↗
Total time
~1 hourEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Hands-on
~30 minutesEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Servings
~6 servingsEstimated by Unreel from the complete recipe.
Difficulty
EasyEstimated by Unreel from the recipe steps — the creator didn't state this.
Cook this recipe
Extraction confidence: medium

Auto-generated from the video and rewritten in our own words. Double-check quantities against the source before cooking.

Ingredients

Ingredients scaled to 6 servings
  • 3 lb ground beef, 80/20
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • dried oregano, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cans Rotel tomatoes, 10 oz each
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1 can red beans, drained
  • 2 bay leaves
  • fish sauce, to taste
  • masa harina, to taste
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste

Preparation

  1. Step 1
    Heat a little oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add the ground beef in an even layer and let it cook undisturbed until well browned on the bottom. Stir and break the beef up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
  2. Step 2
    Dice the onion and mince the garlic cloves. Grind the cumin seeds if using whole. Combine the chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, and garlic powder.
  3. Step 3
    Add the diced onion, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper to the browned beef. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the onions soften slightly.
  4. Step 4
    Add the tomato paste, spice blend, and any optional fresh minced chiles or peppers. Cook, stirring, to bloom the spices in the rendered beef fat until aromatic.
  5. Step 5
    Stir in the Rotel tomatoes (or diced tomatoes), chicken stock, drained red beans, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes until thickened and flavors develop, adding more stock if needed.
  6. Step 6
    Taste and adjust seasoning with fish sauce and salt. Stir in masa harina to thicken as desired. Serve garnished with grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

Notes