My Favourite Chilli Con Carne

 

The secret to this amazing chilli is in the spice mix.

Chilli Con Carne is one of my favourite winter meals. Those spices, and that melted cheese …

And it definitely still feels like winter. Brr.

I always make a double batch - cook once, eat many times!

And if I’m organized enough then I prefer to do the prep the night before and chuck it all into the slow cooker.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, salsa, a bit of avocado or guacamole … up to you.

Over corn chips.

Atop a baked potato or rice.

It also works really well as a pizza topping! 😋

Enjoy! Hx

 

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

500g Balsar Glen beef

3tbsp tomato puree

400g chopped tomatoes - you could add a second 400g tin here if you want

400g kidney or black beans - I leave these out for a low carb version

2 beef stock cubes - optional as I find I don’t need stock cubes when using our beef 🤷🏻‍♀️

125ml water

Salt and pepper to taste

Chilli Spice Mix

**There are some punchy flavours here so try halving the quantities for more sensitive palettes.

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tsp paprika

5 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp onion or garlic powder - the original recipe doubles this quantity but I find that too much

2 tsp oregano

Method

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or casserole dish over medium high heat.

  2. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute.

  3. Then add pepper and for a further 2 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

  4. Turn the heat up to high and add beef mince. Cook, breaking it up as you go, until mostly brown.

  5. Add the Chilli Spice Mix now, and cook until the beef is brown all over.

  6. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, stock cubes (optional) and tomato paste.

  7. Quick cook option - Add 125ml of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20-40 minutes, uncovered.

  8. Slow cook option - Add 375ml of water, bring to a simmer, turn down the heat and cover. It should be bubbling gently. Leave to cook for 1.5 to 2 hours.

  9. Slow Cooker option - Add 75ml water and chuck it all in a slow cooker. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.

  10. Season just before serving.

Based on the Chilli Con Carne recipe on here. Do check out Nags’ website. I love so many of her recipes.

RecipesHeather Closeslow cooking, Mince, Mexican, Winter warmers, family meals