Chilli Con Carne Recipe

It's hard to beat a good old proper Chilli Con Carne Recipe. Warm, spicy, rich and delicious - perfect served with rice and nachos.

We just love a bowl of beef chilli, it's the perfect food for feeding a family or a crowd. It's super easy to make, you can throw in all your favourite sides and toppings and really turn it into a feast!

A homemade chilli is just perfect for weeknight dinner, parties and is even suited to both summer and winter dining. It's super versatile and super yummy!

Plus you can slowly simmer this in the oven or throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and come back to a delicious, tasty meal.

Delicious served with a pile of our cheesy chips!

Beef chilli is a super easy minced beef recipe, and when you're cooking for a family it's great to have a few stand-by mince recipes you know the kids will love!

Chilli Con Carne Ingredients

You'll just need a handful of tasty ingredients to make our chilli con carne recipe.

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves - finely chopped

• 1 red chilli - finely chopped

• 1 onion - chopped

• 500g beef mince

• 2 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon chilli powder - hot or mild, just choose which you prefer.

• 500g passata

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder - I usually use Green & Blacks cocoa powder

• 400g can black beans

• Pinch salt - to season

You might also LOVE our chilli nachos recipe here

Equipment Needed

• Chopping board

• Vegetable knife

• Large oven safe casserole pan - with a lid (or casserole dish with lid and a saucepan)

• Cooking spoon

• Teaspoon

• Tablespoon

Get loads more easy dinner recipes here

How To Make Chilli Con Carne

You're going to love just how easy this beef chilli recipe is to prepare and cook - super easy and a great meal to make ahead of time and reheat when ready to eat!

Step One - preheat the oven

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4

Step Two - make the best chilli con carne!

• Add the olive oil to a casserole pan and tip in the onions, garlic and chopped chilli. Soften over a low heat for around 5 minutes.

Make your family's mealtimes more interesting with one of our mouthwatering beef mince recipes

• Tip in the beef mince and fry with the onions, chillies and garlic until it browns.

• Then tip in the cocoa powder and stir well.

• Next, add the passata, ground cumin, chilli powder, black beans and season with salt. Tip in about 250ml of water and give everything a good mix together.

Step Three - bake the chilli con carne in the oven

• Put the chilli con carne into the oven and bake for around 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cooks Note! If you need to thicken the chilli recipe, do so by mixing a couple of teaspoons of cornflour into a paste with some cold water, then stir through the beef chilli and cook for a few minutes to thicken.

Get our easy cottage pie with cheesy mash topping recipe here!

What To Serve With Chilli Con Carne

Our BEST chilli con carne recipe is delicious served with any of the following side dishes...

• Boiled rice

• Cheesy nachos

• Homemade guacamole

• Homemade spicy coleslaw

• Buttery corn cobs

• Cheesy mash

• Crusty bread

• Potato wedges

• Yoghurt flatbread

Get more easy ground beef recipes here

Chilli Recipe Variations

We've given you a great chilli con carne recipe but as always, do feel free to make changes, add things in, swap things about - this is going to be your dinner after all!

How can I make a healthy chilli con carne?

Well our recipe is pretty healthy already but if you wanted to you could use a lower fat beef mince, swap the beef for turkey breast mince, or skip the meat altogether and add in some more beans or extra vegetables.

How can I make chilli milder?

You can use a mild chilli powder or skip the chilli powder altogether and use smoked paprika to flavour your chilli instead for a smoky, mild flavour. You can also serve it with a good dollop of natural yogurt or sour cream to take the edge off the heat.

Can I make chilli con carne in advance?

Yes, in fact it tastes even better made in advance, it gives all the spices and flavours time to really marinate. You can make this the day before you want to eat it, or make and freeze for another day.

How do I freeze beef chilli?

Just cool the beef chilli down as quickly as you can (within 2 hours of cooking) and then put into a freezer safe container or freezer bag, label and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Can I make beef chilli in the slow cooker?

Yes - you can make a lovely homemade chilli in the slow cooker and it's super easy! Literally dump and go! Tip in all the ingredients, mix well and cook on low for around 8 hours.

Get lots more delicious, healthy kid friendly recipes here

How To Use Up Leftover Chilli

Leftover chilli con carne is a gift! There's loads of tasty ways to use it up!

• Use it to stuff jacket potatoes

• Stuff it into fajitas, quesadillas or tacos

• Use it up in a toasted sandwich

• Mix it into cooked rice and scatter over some cheese

• Serve it with your favourite pasta

Get more Mexican recipes here

Love A Chilli? Try These Tasty Homemade Chilli Recipes

• Quick Chilli Con Carne With Baked Beans

• Turkey Mince Chilli

• Mild Chilli Recipe

Need Some Family Meal Ideas?

Check out our meal planning here – it’s filled with recipes, meal planning tips and pre-filled printable meal plans weekly or seasonally. We’ve got hundreds of the BEST family recipes and Family Meals your whole family will LOVE!

Try Our Cheeseburger Rice Here

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here