Growing up, I wasn’t a huge chili fan. There was nothing all that special about it. It always tasted good but I never thought to myself, “I really want some chili today!” That being said, I was watching some cooking show one day (normal day for me) and the recipe called for ground beef AND stew meat. Why hadn’t I thought of that?! Now this is the only way I’ll make my beef chili and is a regular menu item especially during the fall and winter months. If you prefer not to eat red meat, try this with ground chicken and chicken breast cut into big chunks. It’s just as good!
The Rotel and jalapeño black beans will add a little bit of heat to this but if you need more, add some cayenne pepper. I normally stay away from making my food as spicy as I’d like because I’m also feeding a tiny human who can’t handle it yet 😊
Classic Beef and Bean Chili
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 lb Stew Meat
- 15 oz Canned Red Beans
- 15 oz Canned Jalapeño Black Beans
- 10 oz Rotel
- 15 oz Tomato Sauce
- 1 Medium Onion (chopped)
- 3 Bell Peppers (any color)
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- Salt (to taste)
- 3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 2 tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Cumin
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Preheat your oven to 400° F and set your crockpot to high for 4-6 hours.
- Chop the ends of your garlic exposing a small portion of the raw garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and bundle in foil. Roast for 30-40 minutes.
- In a large pan, brown your ground beef. Season with salt, cumin, and chili powder to taste (not the entire 2 tablespoons here. You’ll use that later). Drain any excess grease and add to your crockpot.
- Brown your stew meat. Season with salt, cumin, and chili powder to taste (don’t actually try to taste this. Just use the same amount you used for the ground beef). Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and cook an additional minute. Add to the crockpot.
- Sautee your onion and bell peppers and add those to the crockpot.
- Add your beans, tomato sauce, rotel, bay leaves, roasted garlic, cumin, chili powder and remaining cocoa powder to the crockpot. If you like thinner chili add a little water or beef stock.
- Let this cook 4-6 hours or until the stew meat is tender. You can also cook this on the stove for 2-3 hours, but the longer you let this cook, the better.