My Mom’s Classic Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}
The flavors of this red chili are classic. Perfectly spiced and loaded with beef and beans. Add some fritos and cheese and you are looking at red chili perfection.
Updated from the archives (from waaaay back in 2009), this chili recipe is a classic. Simple, comforting, perfect, it’s my mom’s tried-and-true recipe and it’s the only chili I ate from birth to age 18 (plus, it’s been known to win a chili cook-off or two).
My mom will insist until she is blue in the face that she doesn’t like to cook and she is undoubtedly rolling her eyes right now if she knows I’m talking about this and her and cooking and all the facts.

Some of my favorite recipes (like this lasagna) come from my momma.
Growing up she always had dinner on the table for our family – a homemade dinner – and even though I took those dinners completely for granted (ah, childhood), now I am even more grateful for all those home cooked meals knowing that cooking is probably her least favorite thing to do ever.
Perfectly warm without being too spicy (although you can up the heat to your heart’s content), the flavors of this chili are delicious.
I’ve made a few changes over the years to suit our tastes and ingredient preferences but it’s still pretty darn close to my mom’s original.
This is one of my favorite chili recipes. It speaks of home and good memories, and I can’t help but love how simple and uncomplicated it is.
P.S. Thank you so much for your sweetness and sincerity on last week’s post. Thank you, thank you; you have no idea how much it means to me! I hope the last remaining days of 2015 are treating you very, very well.
My Mom’s Classic Chili
Ingredients
- 2 medium, or 1 large yellow onions, diced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 to 2 ½ pounds ground beef or lean ground turkey
- 3 large cans (29-ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 46 ounces tomato juice
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup (227 g) ketchup
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup water
- ¾ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more if you want the chili spicier
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, brown the ground beef (or turkey) with the onion and salt until the meat is cooked through. Drain excess grease, if needed.
- In a large pot, combine the pinto beans, tomato juice, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Stir in the bay leaves, water, garlic salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne, cumin and brown sugar.
- Add the cooked meat/onion mixture.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, over medium-low heat for an hour (or up to 4-5 hours), stirring occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed, before serving.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my mom, Michel W.
Just made this for dinner and it was awesome!!! I doubled the spices but halved the beans. It was spicy but delicious! We had it with cheddar cheese. Yum!!
Made this today for a church party. I was told later that someone wanted to know who made this one because it was the best one there. He said he’d been looking for a recipe this good for years. Thought I’d pass the compliment along.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My picky children ate every bite and my husband and I loved it. The flavors are delicious and it was super easy to make. I’m adding this to my list of favorites.
I’m the cook in the family, and while I’ve done so ably for 30 years, I have never tackled homemade chili…even though I love it (when it’s good). After grabbing a few other recipes from your site, I stumbled upon this one. Quite frankly, I can’t wait to try it. I already know your recipe will be a home base, from which I will venture to “taste destinations” as yet unknown in my quest for the perfect chili. But very shortly (and the hot weather won’t slow me down) I will try this!
And thanks for the Smothered Pork Chops and Island Chicken recipes (to name two).
I’m so sorry, Mel, I made this back in December and forgot to report! YES, thank you to you and your Mom, I have my go-to recipe now! I think this is my favorite chili ever. Posting it with my crockpot version today!
So, I made this last weekend and had enough to freeze for my husband to take to work for lunch. He texted me today “That is really good chili!!!” A new favorite is now in my recipe file!
I can’t wait to try this recipe – and a lot of your other recipes too! Found you on Pinterest and am now browsing through your recipes and pinning like crazy!
Can I just tell you how INSANELY happy I was to read this was a chili recipe without chunks of tomatoes in it?? My husband is a WEIRDO and, although he loves pizza sauce, won’t eat *anything* with chunks of tomatoes in it (or mushrooms, or celery, or onion, or visible garlic… but I’ve figured ways around those!) I’ve been wanting some chili *so bad* and hope, FINALLY!, that we can both share in the joy of chili on a cold, Buffalo, NY evening… (oh, and thanks again for the notes about freezing it and reheating in the comments— that makes a BIG difference for me when deciding on a recipe— if I can just cook double the amount one time and save a whole bunch of cooking time another day!)
I’m so knowledgeable when it comes to what is ok to freeze and whats not. I was wondering if this is a freezable meal? P.S. This is my favorite go to chili recipe! Super yummy!
Hi Dani – yes, I’ve frozen this chili before with good results. Sometimes I even pull it out of the freezer, unmold it from the container into the crockpot and heat it on low for the day to reheat.
Fantastic! Made it tonight for the Trunk-or-Treat. Everyone loved it. The only thing left in my crock pot at the end of the night were the two bay leaves!! LOL I accidentally bought tomato sauce rather than tomato juice so I did 24-oz sauce + 24-oz water to = the 46 (48) oz of juice. Turned out wonderful! Thanks for a great, classic chili.
I’m way excited to try this recipe…but I was wondering if I could bring to boil, reduce heat, then simmer in a crockpot for a couple hours…I would feel better about that then just leaving the stove on while I’m not there…just a thought…just trying to manage my time effectively. Thanks!
Rachel – yes, I think that would work great!
This is so yummy….simple, tasty and easy. Thanks! I will definitely make this again.
Hi Mel,
Just had to tell ya , I came across this recipe lookin for another one. Chili was on the menu at the school so I adapted the recipe to serve 100, thank goodness for #10 cans, left out the cayenne. You are right about the flavors being classic. I love trying and creating different chili recipes and this is certainly going into my repertoire. Everyone at school loved it, served it with cheese slices and saltines and fresh fruit. Here in Kentucky a lot of people eat peanut butter crackers with their chili, i always thought it was kinda wierd, well they finally convinced me to try it and it really was good with this particular recipe. I sent the leftovers home with my oldest daughter and her family loooved it.
I live in Malaysia and can’t seem to locate pinto beans. Do you think I could use canned kidney beans instead? I’m craving chili and can’t seem to find a recipe that includes stuff I can find at the markets here. Thanks!
FYI, I have no idea why this randomly posted twice. Thanks for your response!
This may be a dumb question but when you use dried beans do you cook them separately with no seasonings?
This may be a dumb question but when you use dried beans do you cook them plain with no seasoning and then add them to the rest?
Hi Tammy – I’ve never used dry beans in this recipe but if you wanted to, you would need to soak the beans in water overnight and then add them to the mixture with the other ingredients, following the recipe. You may need to add more salt to taste, also.
I grew up on chili made with dry beans. Yes, follow directions on bean package, then drain and add to your recipe. Do not add salt to the beans as they cook. easy!
Funny story..at our ward Chili cook off last night, my chili (your “classic red chili” recipe) won best tasting recipe. Shocker for me because I’ve never made chili before last night. It was obviously fabulous! My friend made a white chili that everyone raved about as well. When I asked her for the recipe she directed me to your site and said it was the white chili under the “best” recipe category. Who knew!…you have many fans in NY! Keep the deliciousness coming! Your recipes are wonderful!
Made this again but reduced ketchup to 3/4c and added a couple cans of drained diced tomatoes. Also bought V8 instead of tomato juice by accident. It turned out awesome with the V8! Loved it and can’t wait to eat the leftovers 🙂
Made this last Saturday and ate it off and on all week – I know who wants to eat chili all week, but it worked for us and our circumstances in this instance – it was great. I’m super wimpy about spice in my food, so I might lessen the cayenne a bit next time, but we really enjoyed it, thanks!
I made this tonight for my family and also took it to my niece who just had a baby. Bravo, Mel! Bravo! 😀 It was all sorts of amazing!
Thanks, Hollie!
I just made this wonderful chili and I think it is a new favorite!!!!! Taking it to a Girl Scout concession stand later this afternoon but wish I could keep it here at home!!
Jenni – hope the concession-customers like it, also!
So if you’re using regular size cans of beans, it would be almost six cans?
I made this chili this past weekend and it’s SO good! I froze a bunch of it and have a feeling it’s going to reheat SO well. Thanks so much for all of the great recipes – I hope to make your white chili this week!!
fittingbackin – thank you! Glad this was a hit, too.
This is the best chili I have ever had! Its finally cooling down a little bit here so I’m glad I got to make it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Dani – I’m glad you liked this chili so much! The cooler weather for fall is perfect for chili.
I made this last week for guests. I served it over fritos corn chips with shredded cheese, sour cream and avacados. Everyone loved it although I think I will cut down on the sweetness of it by reducing the amount of ketchup next time. This is an excellent quick chili. Thanks!
Amy M – that’s exactly how my mom served it growing up, over the fritos and with cheese and sour cream. I’m glad you liked it!
Melody – sorry about the error. You were right to put it in with the meat/onions. I’ll edit the recipe!
I was making this and couldn’t see where I was supposed to add the 2 t. salt, so I just put it in when I was browning the meat/onions…?
exactly what i was looking for! thank you 🙂
Hi I’m Apryl – so glad you liked this recipe and the cornbread…sounds like a delicious meal for the chilly weather we are having. Thanks so much for letting me know it got rave reviews!
I made this chili with the cornbread and honey butter tonight and I’ve got to tell you that it was the greatest meal we’ve ever had! Thank you and your mom! It was just spicy enough and the cornbread was so chewy and just plain yummy!! I love it when a recipe works out 🙂
Melanie A. – I know, isn’t it funny how many Melanies there are out there! Thanks for using your last initial so I can differentiate – I really do remember each and every comment but it helps when there are similar names! I’m really, really glad you liked this chili. Thanks for letting me know!
This chili is the perfect “classic” chili! I’ve been searching for a good recipe, and this one turned out great! Thanks. -Melanie A. (P.S. you have so many followers with your same name that we are now having to sign off with our last initial too!)
We had a chili cookoff for our Ward’s Halloween party and I told Jed that his mom’s chili was about, oh, one million times better than any of the chilis in the contest! I just love her recipe!
Jill – glad you liked this! Thanks for letting me know.
I made this recipe and it was wonderful. I did a few less beans, but other than that I didn’t make any changes. Super delicious. We’ll be making it again for sure!!!
Hi Valerie – thanks for letting me know the chili and cornbread turned out for you! I’m going to make it with dried beans next time since I have a bunch in my food storage.
I made your chili recipe along with your wonderful corn bread. I used a 1/2 of the meat – and made my own beans. My husband and I both love it – and the corn bread is the best – by far – I’ve ever made. Yum!
anissa ferguson – thanks for letting me know you made this! I think the addition of green chiles is brilliant. I hope you liked the end result!
Great chili recipe Thank you for sharing i really enjoyed
Kitchen Hood Cleaning
Just found your blog googling for caramel dipped pretzels…I’m in love! LOVE IT ALL!
Thanks for posting this great recipe, I made it a few hours ago and added green chilies, It will be a wonderful addition to our Halloween Night:)
so making it for the elders quorum tomorrow.
I have been making the same chili recipe for awhile but lately I feel like I need to try something new. This looks like the perfect recipe to switch things up a bit. -Liz K.
Mmmmm! It is definitely good weather for chili.
so funny you are posting chili…..we must be in the same mood. I am making green chili tonight for dinner. lol.
I’ve been looking for a good chili recipe…we’ve just been using the seasoning packets you buy at the store, I look forward to trying this one!
Mmmmmm chili sounds so good right now!
if you ask me, true chili is red and beany. i’d say your mom has a winner on her hands here–i know i’d love it!
I love chili with pinto beans… I’m going to be trying this soon (along with your corn bread recipe). I can’t wait! Thanks for all the great recipes!
ooooooooooo i’m in a chili mood again 🙂