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 81-100

  • Binder photo john1976

    16 September 2008

    john1976 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Loved it will make its again and again.

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  • Binder photo Robinson Towers

    18 September 2008

    Robinson Towers rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Will certainly make this again, best chilli I've made....made double recipe to stock my freezer up!

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  • Binder photo John C Sweet

    24 September 2008

    John C Sweet rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for my wife and she really liked it as did i. We had some left over which we froze and had in pepers the following week. I used the chocolate and used pinto beans instead of kidney. Will be making this again for sure!

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  • Binder photo Donna

    24 September 2008

    Donna commented on this recipe

    A very nice, simple and satisfying dish that has a pleasant depth of flavour.

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  • Binder photo Emz

    26 September 2008

    Emz rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely recipe and so easy to make. Would definitely make again! No more Uncle Ben's or Homepride for me!

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  • Binder photo Sue Mothershaw

    26 September 2008

    Sue Mothershaw rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This chilli is superb, easy to make and very very tasty. Serve with some sour cream to top it off.

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  • Binder photo Peter747

    30 September 2008

    Peter747 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Superb. Added a few sun dried tomatoes and loved it. Will definitely make again

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  • Binder photo Martin

    04 October 2008

    Martin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    this is great every time!

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  • Binder photo Munkit's Mom

    07 October 2008

    Munkit's Mom rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I'd been searching for a recipe for chilli and this is easily the best one I have tried. My chilli fanatic husband loves it and so do the kids. Haven't put the chocolate in yet mainly because I never have any in the house when I want to make it!

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  • Binder photo emma

    07 October 2008

    emma rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delisious!

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  • Binder photo RobNia

    08 October 2008

    RobNia commented on this recipe

    Very good! I was hesitant as to how good this would be. Letting it rest for the last ten mins is so important! Was surprised that this was down to feed 4! I�d say more like 6!

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  • Binder photo RobNia

    08 October 2008

    RobNia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Oops, 5 stars!!!!!!!

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  • Binder photo Katie

    10 October 2008

    Katie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A great recipe. Really easy and very tasty!

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  • Binder photo Chrissy

    16 October 2008

    Chrissy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I use a different recipe each time looking for the ultimate chilli . I have now found it, I read all the comments and opted to put in fresh chilli as well as powder and cooked it slowly for 3 hours. I have now given the recipe to all my friends with glowing reports and recommended using the chocolate, I did a double quantity and used 3 cubes which worked.

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  • Binder photo Jane

    18 October 2008

    Jane rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made double to freeze some. Used a jar of passata instead of tinned tomatoes and my husband added extra smoked paprika and some Bovril! Will definitely make again as we both loved it.

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  • Binder photo nmjw

    27 October 2008

    nmjw rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very good...liked the green pepper and the chocolate but needs a lot more spice than this recipe --- I add more spice TWICE

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  • Binder photo Clare cooks

    30 October 2008

    Clare cooks commented on this recipe

    Great recipe for Chilli Con Carne - up until now I have been making it up as I go along when I make chilli - so thought I would try a recipe instead - Really tasty and everyone loved it!

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  • Binder photo raddersandsimo

    30 October 2008

    raddersandsimo commented on this recipe

    good job they told me to open the tin of tomatoes before adding them to the pan..........x

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  • Binder photo shovelnose

    30 October 2008

    shovelnose rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Did not work for me. Had to add gravy granules to thicken up the sauce which was runny. Double checked the recipe and instructions and I have followed them to the 't' - don't rate this much at all!

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  • Binder photo MsPia

    01 November 2008

    MsPia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very good. Nice amount of spice to make it flavourful by not HOT.

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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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