Recipes

Slow-Simmered Beef Chili

Mark Bittman’s take on chili is easy, delicious, and perfect to riff on.

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By Mark BittmanNov 7, 2024
A pot of chili next to a bowl of the same chili garnished with herbs, with additional bowls of chopped onions and cilantro on the side, ready for serving.
3 Hours
8 Servings
Easy

Chili means different things to different people, so this version (with beef chuck and pinto beans) is but one of a hundred possibilities. (For a faster version using ground beef and canned beans, see the variation in step 5.)

I’ve listed a couple of garnishes I like, but you might want to add grated cheese, pickled or fresh jalapeños, or sour cream. Serve with tortillas, crackers, chips, or rice, and hot sauce.

Reprinted with permission from How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised 20th Anniversary Edition

Slow-Simmered Beef Chili

Mark Bittman’s take on chili is easy, delicious, and perfect to riff on.

Mark Bittman

3 Hours
8 Servings
Easy
Ingredients
Instructions
    1.

    Put the oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the meat in a single layer (work in batches if the pan is crowded). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the pieces brown and release easily from the pan, about 5 minutes, then stir, and cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is well browned, another 5–10 minutes.

    2.

    Add the yellow onion and garlic, sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft, 3–5 minutes. Add the ground chile, cumin, and oregano and stir until fragrant, less than a minute. Add the tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

    3.

    Add the beans and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the chili bubbles gently but steadily. Cover and cook, stirring once in a while and adding only enough water to keep the beans and meat covered by about an inch of liquid, until the beans and meat are very tender and the flavors have mellowed, at least an hour or up to 2.

    4.

    If the chili is too soupy when the beans are tender, raise the heat, uncover the pot, and carefully let it bubble until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with the red onion and cilantro. (Or refrigerate for several days or freeze for months; reheat gently.)

    5.

    Variation: Fast Beef Chili

    Use ground beef instead of chuck in Step 1. Replace the dried beans with 3 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed. When you add the beans in Step 3, cook only to heat them through; wait to add water until the chili thickens, as you might not need any.

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Mark BittmanEditor-at-Large

Mark Bittman is the author of more than 30 acclaimed books, including the How to Cook Everything series and the #1 New York Times bestseller VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good. Over his long career at The New York Times, Bittman wrote for both the food and opinion pages, and was the lead Magazine food writer. He has received six James Beard Awards, four IACP Awards, and numerous other honors. Together with daughter Kate Bittman, he has hosted the podcast Food with Mark Bittman since 2021.

Bittman is currently special advisor on food policy at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where he teaches and hosts a lecture series. His most recent books beyond the How to Cook Everything Series are How to Eat; Animal, Vegetable, Junk; and Bittman Bread. If you're hungry for more from Mark, catch him at The Bittman Project.