This delicious chili is the best southern style chili ever! Rave reviews of “best chili ever, mind blown…no cap!” are already rolling in!

Looking for your new favorite chili recipe? This is it! The flavors are amazingly delicious, and I’m calling it now: this chili is going to be winning chili cook-offs right and left.

Spoon scooping bite of beef and bean tomato chili in sour cream, shredded cheese and corn chips.

Easy Chili Recipe

This southern-style chili starts with a tomato and beef-broth base and is enhanced with chili powder, BBQ sauce, a variety of canned beans, and several other ingredients that boost the flavor into “out of this world” territory.

The cooking method is SO easy:

  1. Brown the ground meat with the veggies.
  2. Throw in all the other ingredients.
  3. Simmer for a couple of hours.

After simmering, the chili is ultra-thick and hearty and perfect for piling on all the chili toppings your heart desires.

Cast iron pot with ground beef, ground pork, jalapenos, bell peppers, onions and garlic.
Cast iron pot with ground beef, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, BBQ sauce, chili powder, and salt.
Pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans in chili pot.
Tomato, bean and ground beef chili in cast iron pot.

A Few Unique Ingredients

There are a few ingredients that help this chili achieve extra-special status.

  • BBQ sauce: choose a BBQ sauce you love, because you will notice the flavor in the chili (although it doesn’t overpower the chili with too much overt BBQ flavor). I use Kinders Hickory Brown Sugar or Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce (best version was half of each). This homemade BBQ sauce would also be excellent in this chili.
  • Sweet and Spicy: chili powder and jalapenos add a bit of heat (which can easily be moderated depending on how spicy you want the chili). To balance out the heat, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, white grape juice (see the note in the recipe – it’s important!), and a hint of honey or brown sugar are added. SO GOOD.
  • Variety of Beans: using several different kinds of beans makes the chili especially yummy and interesting (both in texture and flavor!).
Ladle scooping beef and bean chili in cast iron pot.
Top down view of southern beef and bean tomato chili in white bowl with handles.

How This Chili Got Its Name

My cousin Katie deserves credit for introducing me to this chili (my Aunt Marilyn plays a part, too, since she quickly marched some over to my house after Katie made it, ordering me to try it immediately).

Since then, Katie and I have shared details on our variations, and I eventually landed on the one you see here today as my ultimate favorite.

I have made this southern-style chili for lots of people (including my parents!), and it is met with such ecstatic praise each time. You might be thinking: what’s the big deal? It’s just chili?? But let me tell you: it’s not JUST chili. It’s the most uniquely delicious chili ever.

Here is a text I got from a friend after I brought this chili to their family for dinner one night a few week’s back (hence the inspiration for the title of the recipe) 😉:

It really is some of the best chili ever. If you’ve been looking for a new chili recipe to win you fame and fortune (or just a cute paper award) at your next chili cook-off, this recipe is for you!

Top down view of spoon scooping bite of beef and bean tomato Southern chili.
White bowl with handles and spoon scooping bite of beef and bean chili with shredded cheese, sour cream and corn chips.

“No Cap” Best Southern Style Chili Ever

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
4.58 stars (42 ratings)
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork or pork sausage (see note)
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium green bell pepper or poblano pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
  • 1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 medium jalapeno, cored, seeded and finely diced (leave seeds in for more heat)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder)
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups beef stock or beef broth
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (see note)
  • ¾ cup white grape juice or apple juice (SEE NOTE)
  • 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder (see note)
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar (optional – helps cut the acidity)
  • 1 tablespoon coarse, kosher salt (or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt)
  • ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or 1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper)
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Instructions 

  • In a large 7-quart pot, add the ground beef, pork or sausage, onion, bell pepper, celery, jalapeno, and garlic. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink and the veggies have started to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain excess grease.
  • Add all remaining ingredients and give a good stir to combine.
  • Bring the chili to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered or partially covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pot.
  • Add additional broth if the chili thickens too much while cooking. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
  • Serve warm with chili toppings of choice, such as shredded cheese, sour cream, tortilla or corn chips, green onions, etc.

Notes

Pork: if using sausage, look for country- or breakfast-style sausage rather than Italian-flavored sausage. 
BBQ Sauce: it’s really important to use a BBQ sauce you love the flavor of. Don’t opt for sub-par BBQ sauce as the flavor is important in the chili. I use Kinders Hickory Brown Sugar or Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce (best version was half of each). 
Juice: this ingredient is important for the balance of flavors, so don’t leave it out – or if you do or if you sub with something else, keep in mind that the overall flavor will change. UPDATE: based on some reviews, brand of juice can make a big difference, so to avoid overpowering the flavors add 1/2 cup juice to start and add more to taste, if needed. White grape juice has a more mild flavor than apple juice. 
Chili Powder: I use Penzey’s basic chili powder. Different brands of chili powder will vary in flavor and heat. 
Make-Ahead: this chili tastes even better with time. It can be made several days ahead of time and reheated in a slow cooker or on the stovetop (thin with beef broth, if needed, when reheating). 
Author: Mel Gunnell
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Method: Stovetop
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 371kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 1551mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 17g

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Recipe Source: created and brainstormed with my cousin, Katie, and Aunt Marilyn, as we shared variations and details with each other (Katie introduced the original recipe to me that she got while living in Alaska, and we adapted and changed it quite a bit to get this best-ever version)

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