Simple Texas Chili is an quick and easy meal with big flavor pay off.

Are you a chili lover? My family loves a good bowl of chili, especially Hawaiian Chili, but when I found this recipe in an old Family Circle magazine, I knew I had to try.

closeup of Texas chili and cornmeal biscuits

The first reason I wanted to give this a try is that it has no beans! Yes, one of the things that distinguishes Texas chili from other chili recipes is that it has no beans and focuses more on the flavor of the chili paste. In fact, this recipe uses a whole 1/2 cup of chili powder! Crazy, right?! Since this recipe uses chili powder as the main flavoring, make sure a good quality chili powder is used.

Another reason I wanted to try this recipe is it’s simplicity. Unlike many other Texas chili recipes, this one probably won’t require a special trip to the grocery store and uses ingredients that most would have in their pantries. In addition, I like that it gives me another option to use stew meat, yay!

If you decide to try this recipe, don’t forget to try this simple Texas chili with some buttery cornmeal biscuits…yum!

Simple Texas Chili

Name: Simple Texas Chili
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients: 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. beef chuck or stew meat, cut into 1" cubes; 6 thick-cut bacon, diced; 1/2 cups chili powder; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. black pepper; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 1 large green bell pepper, cored and diced; 2 sweet red peppers, cored and diced*; 3 large cloves garlic, chopped; 1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes; 2 cups water; Optional toppings - sour cream and green onions

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

How to make a simple beanless chili with everyday pantry and fridge ingredients.

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. beef chuck or stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
6 thick-cut bacon, diced
1/2 cups chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, cored and diced
2 sweet red peppers, cored and diced*
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
Optional toppings - sour cream and green onions

Instructions

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Increase heat to high and add beef to the pot. Brown one side for 2 minutes, flip and brown for another 2 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add in chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Return bacon to pot with onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add crushed tomatoes and water to the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and cook additional 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed, lower the tempature so chili doens't burn.
Optional - serve with sour cream + scallions and a side of cornmeal biscuits.

Notes

*Red peppers can be substituted with yellow or orange peppers. Just note that yellow and orange peppers aren't as sweet and may change the flavor slightly. Green peppers can be substituted with red/yellow peppers if you prefer a more subtle pepper flavor.

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