I know, I know, I JUST posted an incredible chili recipe recently, but this red chili is too good not to share, so here’s to snubbing diversification in favor of tremendous food. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law (thanks, Brad and Cass!) passed this recipe on to me a few weeks ago and the name alone was intriguing enough to want to make it right away – not to mention the fact that they made it and won first place in a chili cook-off deep in the heart of Texas. It has a winning combination of spice and heat paired with the sweetness and tang of sun-dried tomatoes and brown sugar. This just might be my new go-to red chili recipe and I’m sure I’ll make it many more times as the weather cools down. Just a tip: both Brad and I made the chili a day or so in advance and stored it in the refrigerator to be reheated the day of eating. Easy and flavorful!
Stay tuned, because I can’t wait to tell you about my new, favorite, you-won’t-believe-how-simple, bread that I served with this chili.
Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili
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Printable Version with Picture
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed or diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound of ground meat (I used ground beef)
1 quart of meat stock (I used beef but Brad and Cass used 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 beef stock)
2 large cans (28 oz. each) of whole stewed tomatoes
1 can of kidney red beans
1 can of black beans
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp creole or cajun seasoning blend
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Over medium heat, saute first four ingredients (onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic) in 1 tbsp
of oil. Once the onions begin to sweat, add your choice of ground meat. Brown to perfection.
When the meat is cooked, add the stock, bay leaves, dry mustard and cayenne. Simmer over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. Rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes and
dice. Puree the stewed tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add to pot. Rinse the canned
beans in plenty of water, add to the pot along with brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and the
cajun or creole seasoning. Mix well and simmer over low heat for two hours, stirring
occasionally. Take off heat and allow to stand covered for five minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Source: from Brad and Cassidy
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Perfect!Thanks!btw- I have tried about 8-9 of your recipes now and they are ALL amazing! On sunday I had the Easter dinner Pork and Asparagus. Mmmmmmm.. It was the best Pork I have ever tasted!
Hey there..Is it ok to use the sun dried tomatoes that come in a little jar packed with oil? Thats the kind I have on hand!Thanks!
I made this last night. FANTASTIC. Just had a bowl for breakfast, and I agree that I would make it the day before serving.YUMMA LUMMA !!!!!!!!!!! tHANK yOU.tHIS WOULD BE GREAT FOR A BIG CROWD !!
Oooh, first place winners? There’s nothing that sucks me in like an award-winning recipe! Can’t wait to try it out.
Hi Brandy – I thought it was a bit spicy, too, which is why next time I’ll definitely cut down on the cayenne pepper, but I would say if you want to try de-spicing the already made chili, adding tomatoes or broth would work – it will thin it out and you’ll lose some of the other flavor but it would probably help to cut the heat. Let me know what you try so I know for the future!
okay so ummm im making this recipe this weekend… so i can keep it int he crock pot with family here and not worry about cooking after Bradens birthday party…. They are all whimps. So the extra 15 ounces is that just added or is that added and minus the cayenne
There’s no such thing as too many chili recipes, and this one sounds delicious!!
Yay, Brandy, I’m glad this worked. Thanks for letting me know!
My chili is simmering now and I can NOT stop myself from going into the kitchen and stealing a bite. It is SO SO good. It’s pretty spicy (which I love) so now I’m making breadsticks to tone it down a little. Thank you for ANOTHER brillant recipe. My family thanks you!
i spy sun-dried tomatoes in the recipe, so i’m immediately interested. plus, brown sugar tends to subtly improve just about everything, so this is definitely a keeper.
We just had dinner and my family loved the chili. But my husband said it was a little too spicy for his liking. To make it a little more mild do you think I can add anything to the already made chili? I was thinking maybe another can of tomatoes. Or maybe some more beef stock. What do you think?
I am definitely intrigued – I was just gearing u[ today to make a batch of chili – I may have to give this a shot. What I want to know is if your family will adopt me so I can have direct access to all the amazing recipes!
Hope you are doing great! (PS – I am going to be in your neck of the woods on the weekend of Women’s Conf – if you will be around I’d love to get together).
I added on more 15oz. can of stewed tomatoes and it tasted perfect!!
Brandy – you’ll have to let me know if/when you try it without the cayenne. I bet it will be delicious!
I LOVE a good chili recipe (especially during football season!). And the fact that this is a prize winner is terrific. Definitely bookmarked!!
Thanks for writing back! I think for next time I will cut out the cayenne pepper all together and just stick with the cajun seasoning. I am going to go with the tomatoes and I’ll let you know how it turned out!! Honestly this chili, even though it has a HUGE kick to it, is one of the best chili’s I’ve ever had!
Hi Brandy – well, the credit definitely is due to my brother and sister-in-law for this recipe! I’m glad the few bites you’ve tasted have been good – and bread is probably the perfect thing to help with the heat!
Queen B – Yay! Very glad you enjoyed this as well. I was anxious to hear the verdict after you mentioned it was simmering on the stove.
I’ve been on such a chili kick lately, I will definitely try this out and let you know how it goes.
Anonymous – absolutely. That’s usually the kind of sun-dried tomatoes I buy, too, so they will work just fine (just drain and chop them well).
So have you tried this recipe yet with less cayenne? I’m going to make some up tomorrow and just wondered.
CoralieandCasey – I haven’t tried it with less cayenne but I’m sure it would be delicious. I would just spice it up according to your tastes. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.
I ended up using 1/4 tsp. and it was quite mild, perfect for our kids but I think my husband and I would really like more spice. It was great nonetheless!
Coralie and Casey – thanks for the notes on less heat for this recipe. I’m glad everyone liked it!
It does not say what size can of black beans and kidney beans. Have tried it once and everyone loved this recipe. They would keep going back for seconds. Can you add more or less of the beans
Debbie – yes, you can add as many beans as you like or take them out. It is a versatile recipe. The recipe calls for 15 ounce cans of beans.
I am making this Chili for the 2nd time today- I love it! It has such a unique flavor, and just the right amount of heat for my Husband and I.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks, Kaitlyn – and two times in one day?? Awesome.
Just made this for a church chili cook off and we won first place. It is sooo yummy and I guess I wasn’t the only one who though so
Brittany – that’s high praise for this chili – congratulations!
I made this for the first time for company a couple of weeks ago in the crockpot. It was really good; I left out the cayenne and used less cajun seasoning because I didn’t want to risk it being too spicy. My friend asked for the recipe, so of course I sent her your way.
Shannon – great idea to make it in the crockpot – glad you loved it!
This chili is oustanding! It is just finishing simmering on the stove…yum! I just sampled a bite. I too used oil-packed sundried tomatoes..perfect..just drain and toss is food processor after doing tomatoes. Another website published this recipe only they used red roasted peppers instead. I think I might prefer the sundried only because of their pronounced flavor intensity that mellows in this recipe. I also used McCormick’s Cajun spice…and it was just perfect. Thank you Melanie for passing along another unique recipe for chili…one is never enough!
I’m in charge of an upcoming family party and really want to do chili. This recipe looks perfect! There are about 35 people and half of that number is children (some small, some teenagers). Anyway, I’m wondering how many pots of this would you advise I make? There will also be other stuff (salads, breadsticks, etc.) to eat as well. What do you think?
Am making this now for my son’s going away dinner tomorrow night. Yes, he’s leaving home and that is just, ugh, heartbreaking BUT he’s leaving with a full stomach and with a cookbook full of my tried and true recipes (ok, yeah, they’re mostly yours Mel!).
Ok, so my family party that I mentioned a few weeks ago is on Sunday. I have a sun-dried tomato question. I noticed in one of your comments that you used the ones packed in oil and then drained them, right? They are SO expensive here ($5 for a little jar) that I thought I’d use the ones that aren’t packed in oil (about half the price). How do I measure them? Do I rehydrate them first and then measure 2 cups? AND, are they just as yummy as the ones packed in oil? ALSO, how exactly do I rehydrate them?
I’m very excited to make this!
Hi Joyce – some people use the sun-dried tomatoes you referred to interchangeably. I’m sorry to hear the jarred variety are so expensive! I have to admit I prefer the taste of the jarred variety – the dehydrated ones I’ve used in the past have kind of an off-flavor to me and the ones in the jar seem to be more tart and true to flavor, but that isn’t to say the rehydrated ones won’t work. I’ve always put the dried tomatoes in a bowl of really hot water, submerged, for 15-20 minutes. Then I drain them and chop – and yes, I’d measure them after they are rehydrated. Hope you like the chili!