First Place Chili Recipe
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First Place Chili is a top contender when it comes to comfort food that’s hearty, flavorful, and easy to whip up. This ground beef chili recipe packs bold spices, rich tomato flavors, and tender beef into one pot of pure satisfaction. Whether you’re feeding a crowd, meal-prepping for the week, or craving something cozy on a cold evening, chili checks every box. The best part? It’s endlessly versatile, letting you customize it to suit your taste or what you have on hand.
Serve with Easy Lemon Cobbler Recipe.
First Place Chili Recipe
Over the years, I have tried more chili recipes than I can count on both hands, trying to find the perfect mix of flavors to suit the Hubs. I’ve been attempting countless homemade recipes and many mixes before altering this Chili recipe numerous times.
He wanted the chili thick but still ‘soupy’. He liked spicy, but not too spicy. And, yes, to beans. And I finally figured out that he doesn’t like the taste of masa, even though he had insisted that he did.
I’ve never won a competition with First Place Chili. This recipe has taken the top spot with Hubs after many attempts at perfecting chili. (Updated December 5, 2024: Actually, now, three different readers emailed me to tell me they won Chili Cook-offs with this recipe!! This makes me so happy!!)
Stovetop Method for First Place Chili
First Place Chili is spicy and hearty, and can be made on the stovetop in just a few minutes. (You’ll also like Southwest Creamy White Chicken Chili.) Make it early in the day and allow it to simmer for optimum flavor. It also makes a lot of money when selling for fundraisers and is great for game day or entertaining. When I make it for my family of four, I plan to have leftovers such as chili dogs, nachos, and tamales.
Slow Cooker Method
Additionally, First Place Chili can be prepared in a slow cooker. Break up the meats and cook for 1 one hour, stirring and breaking up the meat 3 or 4 times during the hour. Next, simply add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 4 hours on low.
Get more slow cooker recipes: 25+ Slow Cooker Meals for Busy Weeknights, Slow Cooker Creamy Buffalo Chicken, and Easy Slow Cooker Black Beans. If you have leftover chili, try one of these 20 Ways to use Leftover Chili.
Enjoy these recipes too
First Place Chili recipe is a great cold-weather meal. Made in one pot, it’s an easy weeknight dinner for your family with plenty of leftovers. Enjoy!
First Place Chili
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Ingredients
- 1 pound pork sausage regular flavor
- 1 pound ground beef you can use lean ground beef, ground chicken or turkey
- 1 large white onion chopped, about 1 cup or to your taste
- 10 ounces tomatoes and green chiles Rotel tomatoes
- 16 ounces chili beans drain & rinse if you're concerned about sodium
- 15 ounces beans drained & rinsed. Any beans will work; use your favorite. I used chili and great Northern today.
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 3 Tablespoons chili powder adjust to your liking this is what I’ve found we like
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 Tablespoon masa harina instant corn masa mix- this will make it thicker. You can leave this out
Instructions
- Place sausage, beef and onion in a large stew pot over medium heat and cook until meat is browned and onions tender (about 15 min).
- Break the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Drain off excess fat. Mix the diced tomatoes, chili beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt paprika, oregano, garlic powder and cayenne pepper (and masa harina, if using).
- Bring the chili to a simmer and reduce heat. Simmer for at least an hour.
- Alternately, mix all ingredients in a slow-cooker and simmer for 4 hours on low.
Nutrition
I used hot sausage With your recipe and left out masa harina. it gave it a little more spice. It was so delicious. This is a keeper.
A friend told me to add finely chopped cabbage to chili for sweetness.
I just finished making this for dinner tonight, but had a very small amount to test flavors, this is delicious, I did follow the recipe pretty much to scale except I did not add the masa harina, I also added some beef broth for a more soupy texture ( not to much because it is chili afterall) I noticed that other reviewers also add a bit of sugar , I also like a bit of sweetness and a friend gave me a tip a long time ago to add a bit of molasses, and I use only that now..about 2 tbsp. Works perfectly…this is the first time I’ve added sausage to my chili and will certainly use it going forward…thank-you for sharing…
Thanks so much for you comments. I like the idea of molasses – I’ll try it!
This was delicious! I do question the number of servings mentioned though. The recipe says it makes 10 servings but this only was enough for 4 hearty (but not huge) bowls. My family was disappointed that there wasn’t any leftovers, so next time (and there WILL be a next time) I’ll double the recipe!!
A serving is normally a cup.
How much is a serving?