Chilli con carne
See this recipe step by step

Chilli con carne

This great chilli has to be one of the best dishes to serve to friends for a casual get-together

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins - 1 hr 10 mins

Can be frozen

Method

  1. Prepare your vegetables. Chop 1 large onion into small dice, about 5mm square. The easiest way to do this is to cut the onion in half from root to tip, peel it and slice each half into thick matchsticks lengthways, not quite cutting all the way to the root end so they are still held together. Slice across the matchsticks into neat dice. Cut 1 red pepper in half lengthways, remove stalk and wash the seeds away, then chop. Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.
  2. Start cooking. Put your pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add the oil and leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot (a little longer for an electric hob). Add the onions and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft, squidgy and slightly translucent. Tip in the garlic, red pepper, 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder or 1 level tbsp mild chilli powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp ground cumin. Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Brown the 500g lean minced beef. Turn the heat up a bit, add the meat to the pan and break it up with your spoon or spatula. The mix should sizzle a bit when you add the mince. Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes, until all the mince is in uniform, mince-sized lumps and there are no more pink bits. Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become brown, rather than just stew.
  4. Making the sauce. Crumble 1 beef stock cube into 300ml hot water. Pour this into the pan with the mince mixture. Open 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400g can) and add these as well. Tip in ½ tsp dried marjoram and 1 tsp sugar, if using (see tip at the bottom), and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Squirt in about 2 tbsp tomato purée and stir the sauce well.
  5. Simmer it gently. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes. You should check on the pan occasionally to stir it and make sure the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan or isn't drying out. If it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure that the heat really is low enough. After simmering gently, the saucy mince mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
  6. Bring on the beans. Drain and rinse 1 can of red kidney beans (410g can) in a sieve and stir them into the chilli pot. Bring to the boil again, and gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry. Taste a bit of the chilli and season. It will probably take a lot more seasoning than you think. Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and leave your chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving, and relax. Leaving your chilli to stand is really important as it allows the flavours to mingle and the meat.
  7. Serve with soured cream and plain boiled long grain rice.
Try

Other ways to enjoy chilli

Serve it on a bed of plain, boiled rice, with a spoonful of soured cream on top. Pile it on tortilla chips and sprinkle it with grated cheddar. Wrap it up in a tortilla with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and guacamole for a great burrito.

A Mexican twist

Rather than add the teaspoon of sugar, you can stir in a small piece of chocolate (about the size of your thumbnail) when you add the beans. Any plain dark chocolate will do. Be careful not to add too much - you don't want to be able to identify the flavour of the chocolate.

Per serving

387 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 25g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 6g, fibre 6g, sugar 1g, salt 2.32 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 341-360

  • Binder photo Annette

    27 May 2010

    Annette commented on this recipe

    Lovely lovely lovely!!! I make this again and again...

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  • Binder photo barry

    03 June 2010

    barry rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Ive made this twice now and it gone down really well. I use peanut butter instead of chocolate which I think is better. Just don't over do it (a teaspoon is enough).

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  • Binder photo Agatha

    04 June 2010

    Agatha commented on this recipe

    As I do not like kidney beans, i tweaked this recipe and added pinto beans. Also, a few jalapenos give this recipe a kick. I use red chile powder from New Mexico, if you can get it. Gives it a wonderfully different taste.

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  • Binder photo judytapp

    05 June 2010

    judytapp commented on this recipe

    I've been making chilli like this for years - but add a few chopped mushrooms and add a carton of passata to make it nice and thick

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  • Binder photo Tashab07

    08 June 2010

    Tashab07 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the best Chilli recipe ever! Both the men in my life (Boyfriend and Grandfather) absolutely love it. I usually put 2-3 teaspoons of hot chilli powder in and it tastes great (I don't really like things too spicey, but this is just right!) I usually make this every week and take the leftovers to my Granfather and it tastes even better the day after.

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  • Binder photo siobainmoore

    10 June 2010

    siobainmoore rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Simple and tasty chilli ! Perfect for beginners cooks

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  • Binder photo GFreezer

    13 June 2010

    GFreezer rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Have made this recipe several times, always goes down a treat! It's also really easy to modify this recipe to suit your own taste!

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  • Binder photo ditsy miss

    13 June 2010

    ditsy miss rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have tried cooking chilli before and it wasn't very good! So was looking for a simple recipe without too many ingerdients that wasn't complex, THIS IS THE ONE! Got a resounding thumbs up from my husband when I served it last night and even with my cold thought it tasted delish. I tweaked it for us two by only using 240g of mince and half a red pepper but kept the rest the same and it's a winner! I will definitely give this recipe to friends!

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  • Binder photo Claudia Cooley

    15 June 2010

    Claudia Cooley commented on this recipe

    I picked this out for my children to make for dinner. The ingredients were interesting for them to handle, sniff and look at. And it's a great starter cooking adventure: a lot of safety issues (opening cans, cutting the onion, cooking the beef and cleanliness while cooking) plus the fun part of adding Chocolate! They felt really fulfilled when it came time to eat and it was tasty too!

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  • Binder photo Kieron

    16 June 2010

    Kieron rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Rachel

    19 June 2010

    Rachel commented on this recipe

    My first attempt at a chilli.......one word.....Amazing!!!!!

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  • Binder photo Louise

    25 June 2010

    Louise rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is such a good recipe, and I can't believe how much seasoning it can stand up to! Towards the end I found myself adding at least two to three extra teaspoons of spices, and even glugging some Tabasco Habanero into the mix for more punch... altough in the excitement I forgot to add the chocolate. Nevermind - it just gives me a reason to make it again! Also fantastic the next day. Such a deep, well rounded flavour. I'll never, ever make chilli from a packet ever again!

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  • Binder photo Donna D

    03 July 2010

    Donna D rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    THE BEST CHILLI EVER! Don't bother with any others - this is the definitive recipe. The red bell pepper is not necessary, but I would really recommend using plain chocolate rather than sugar - the Bourneville choc from Cadburys Heroes works perfectly! Got another big pot on now & can't wait!!

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  • Binder photo Deb

    14 July 2010

    Deb rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Good - cooked to recipe except chocolate.

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  • Binder photo cookhouse

    16 July 2010

    cookhouse commented on this recipe

    It's easy, It's, tasty,It's quick, and It's cheap. What more can I say!

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  • Binder photo lydia

    20 July 2010

    lydia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Enjoyed this very much. Used a carton of passata instead of chopped tomatoes as I prefer it smoother and added a small tin of butter beans along with the kidney beans to fill it out a bit more. The recipe makes it all sound very technical and precise but you really can't go wrong with a chilli, just chuck everything in. Had with rice, spirnkled with chopped spring onions and grated cheddar and used leftovers the next day wrapped in tortillas. Delicious! A really great chilli recipe.

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  • Binder photo Nora Bella

    21 July 2010

    Nora Bella rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is great, easily feeds four, I use 2 chillies we've grown ourselves dried, I remove the seeds so as they don't make things to heated!

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  • Binder photo ashleyhouston71

    25 July 2010

    ashleyhouston71 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    iv tried a few chilli recipes and this one was by far the nicest, i added a chilli for an extra kick!

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  • Binder photo Miss Riley

    27 July 2010

    Miss Riley rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made a few times now and it's turned out fantastic every time. I much prefer using the dark chocolate to sugar, the flavour is much deeper.

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  • Binder photo FeeFeeLa

    28 July 2010

    FeeFeeLa rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very tasty and easy to make.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins - 1 hr 10 mins

Can be frozen

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves , peeled
  • 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only have mild)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500g lean minced beef
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • ½ tsp dried marjoram
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 410g can red kidney beans
  • plain boiled long grain rice , to serve
  • soured cream , to serve
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Per serving

387 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 25g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 6g, fibre 6g, sugar 1g, salt 2.32 g

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