Ultimate Hearty Steak Chili Recipe with Ground Beef

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This delicious, hearty chili packed with rich flavor will quickly become your favorite chili recipe. It is a family friendly recipe and is perfect when you want something that is slow cooking with minimal maintenance. This great chili recipe is packed with nutrients and is versatile because you can add any of your favorite toppings.

This chili is perfect to enjoy on a cold day during the winter months. This is also the best game day steak chili. We love making this recipe, especially on football Sunday when our team is playing over dinner time!

When I think of comfort food, I immediately think of chili. Chili is also one of those recipes that I think is truly better the next day. Once all of those ingredients can sit and marinade with each other, the real flavor happens. This is by far one of my favorite chili recipes, and the secret recipe that helps me bring in that natural heat? Fresh jalapeno peppers.

This was inspired by my Steak Quesadilla on this site, and pairs well with this Cheesy Garlic Bread Baguette.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
How to store Steak Chili Recipe
Top Tip
FAQ
Related
Pairing
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💬 Comments

Ingredients

This recipe uses stew beef and ground beef. There are also a lot of fresh vegetables including red bell pepper, poblano pepper, yellow or red onions, and jalapeño peppers. The sauce element of the chili uses tomato sauce and either beef or chicken broth.

Canned beans and corn add more fresh flavor while providing a simple way to include these ingredients. When it comes to additional flavors and toppings, I included some that I suggest but this is really up to flavor preference.

beef cubes or steak of choice
ground beef
unsalted butter
garlic clove
light olive oil
red bell pepper
poblano pepper
onion
jalapeño pepper
tomato sauce
canned corn
beef broth
can of black beans
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Cholula's Chili Garlic Sauce
salt and black pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onions

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: In a stock pot, melt butter and add olive oil. Add in crushed garlic, chopped onion, chopped red bell pepper, chopped poblano pepper and chopped jalapeño.

Step 2: Add in ground beef and cook on heat until vegetables soften and beef starts to brown.

Step 3: Add in tomato sauce, beef broth, canned corn, black beans, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, Cholula's Chili Garlic sauce, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add in beef cubes and mix again.

Step 4: Bring the burner up to medium-high heat and bring the chili to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until chili starts to thicken and some of the broth begins to evaporate. Pour the chili into a bowl. Top with shredded cheddar, sour cream and chopped green onions.

Hint: do not cook your steak before hand. Allowing it to simmer in the chili will not only allow it to pick up all of the delicious flavor surrounding it, but it will also give it the most tender texture that just melts in your mouth.

Substitutions

Vegetarian - if preferred, the meat can be replaced with cooked tofu.
Beans - the black beans can be replaced with pinto beans, chili beans or kidney beans.
Beef Cubes - the beef cubes can be replaced with a cubed ribeye, chuck roast, skirt steak, or sirloin steak.

Variations

Spicy - add a little bit of chili pepper flakes, chili powder, green chiles, or cayenne pepper while cooking to imbue extra heat into the dish.
Deluxe - top with the normal toppings but then also add crushed tortilla chips or Doritos to really take your chili to the next level and also make it a little more kid friendly.
Kid friendly - omit some of the spicy ingredients to make it friendlier for kids. You could replace the jalapeno with extra bell peppers and green bell pepper.

Equipment

To create this recipe, I prefer to use a dutch oven or a large pot. You can also use a slow cooker, but if you do, make sure that you brown the ground beef prior to adding it to the crock pot. The beef cubes can be added directly to the chili though so it cooks all day in the flavor. You also will need a cutting board and a sharp knife in order to cut up the vegetables.

How to store Steak Chili Recipe

Save leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat before serving.

These ingredients do stand up well to freezing and can be frozen in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 2 months.

Top Tip

If you don't want to use beef cubes, you can get a nice steak and cut it into cubes yourself. This is a great option if you want a good steak. As you let the chili cook, you let the steak cubes cook in it which gets you a real tender steak, especially if you are using a good quality meat.

FAQ

Why don't you add garlic powder?

I personally always prefer to use fresh garlic and usually steer away from garlic powder if I can. Garlic powder is always something you can add, but I don't find it 100% necessary in a recipe that already packs so much flavor.

How big should the steak cubes be?

The steak should be cut into 2-inch cubes. You can cut them bigger if you prefer. I would suggest not to cut them smaller because you do not want them to overcook.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with steak chili recipe:

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