Texas Style Chili with tender chunks of beef with a rich, warm heat from three types of chili peppers. Easy to cook on the stovetop or small crock pot, but adjustable for larger amounts to fit your needs.
Ingredients
Beef—trimmed chuck roast or stew meat
Peppers—Jalapeno, Anaheim, Poblano
Aromatics—onion and garlic
Canned—diced tomatoes, beef broth
Pantry ingredients—oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Texas Style Chili
- 👨🍳How to make on the stovetop
- What meat should be used in Texas style chili?
- What chili peppers should be used in Texas style chili?
- Tomatoes and Seasoning
- My favorite chili recipes
- What Makes Texas Chili Different?
- What to serve with Texas chili
- Storing Leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment from Barbara:
"I finally found someone who knows, if it is Texas chili, it has NO beans in it!!! Thank you Dr Dan. thx A true Texas native."
This Texas chili recipe has no beans like a Texas-style chili should and uses three different types of fresh peppers for varying levels of flavor—so good. The heat level is 5-6/10; adjust the Jalapeno to change the heat level.
Easy to make on the stovetop or in your crock pot with the step-by-step photo instructions. It makes about 5 cups of chili and will fit in a 2-quart crock pot. But scales up easily to double or triple size. Perfect for low-carb and keto diets.
👨🍳How to Make Texas Style Chili
You need about 1 pound of trimmed beef cut into 1-inch pieces. You can be lazy and use precut stew meat if you want.
If you want, browning the meat before adding it to the crock pot will add more flavor. (stovetop instructions below)
Chop one medium yellow or white onion. Also, clean and dice a jalapeno (finely), an Anaheim pepper, and a Poblano pepper.
Combine the chopped onion and peppers with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 cup beef broth, 1 tablespoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon oregano, and ¼ teaspoon cumin.
Cook a crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. It will fit in a crock pot of 2 quarts or larger.
Serve topped with sour cream and cheese to contrast the heat.
👨🍳How to make on the stovetop
- Start with a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add a few teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Initially, brown the beef chunks in the pan, then remove them. Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook until the onion clears some, then add the crushed garlic for one more minute.
- Add all the ingredients, including the browned meat, stir well, and bring the chili to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
What meat should be used in Texas style chili?
Texas chili is all about chunks of beef and chili peppers. So, there is no substituting poultry, skipping the beef, or using ground beef. Chunked-up beef brisket will also work, but be sure to cook until it is very tender.
Use 1-inch cubes of trimmed beef. I prefer to cut and trim a beef chuck roast, but you can use store-cut stew beef.
Brown the beef in a skillet before adding it to the crock pot to increase the flavor.
What chili peppers should be used in Texas style chili?
I suggest fresh jalapenos, Anaheim, and Poblano peppers. These will provide a nice, warm heat with an excellent taste profile. Plus, they are commonly available fresh. Dried chiles are not interchangeable with fresh.
This chili is a 5-6/10 spicy, about as high as I go. To adjust the heat, add more Jalapeno for hotter or decrease it for less heat. The other chilis will have less effect.
All the peppers should have stems, seeds, and spines removed. The jalapeno should be chopped very small, but the other peppers should be medium-sized, more like the onion.
Tomatoes and Seasoning
Diced tomatoes are in the recipe, but tomato sauce or paste can be used. The paste will add a nice sweetness to the chili.
The chili peppers provide most of the seasoning. There is some basic chili powder, oregano, and cumin, but not much else. You can add other things like paprika, more chili powder, green chilis, and whatever you want.
My favorite chili recipes
I love this chili but take a few minutes to check out my other personal favorites. Crock Pot Chili is a small crock pot All-American ground beef chili. Stew Meat Chili is a more traditional chili with beans. My all-time favorite chicken chili is Easy Crock Pot White Chicken Chili. And don't miss Crock Pot Three Bean Turkey Chili.
What Makes Texas Chili Different?
Texas chili can be viewed more as a meat dish than traditional chili. There is no "official" version, so it is open to personal preference.
No beans seem to be the most consistent part of the definition. Some will insist that there should be no tomato products, but most modern recipes include tomatoes.
The purest will use just a paste of chiles with the beef and not much else.
If you have a different definition, please post it. But please don't downrate the recipe due to this.
What to serve with Texas chili
Since this chili has some heat, I like to top a bowl of chili with a good spoonful of sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese. Garnish with slices of pickled jalapenos, lime juice or slices, and cilantro.
Add some Old Fashioned Cornbread or Cornmeal Biscuits. And don't forget corn chips and salsa on the side and call it good.
Storing Leftovers
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for four days.
To freeze leftovers, seal them airtight, then freeze them for up to 4 months. I usually use freezer bags.
❓FAQs
Yes, replace the broth with beer if you wish.
Sure, it is your chili. I suggest rinsing any beans you want to use them. Kidney beans would be my choice. Since most people expect Texas chili not to have beans, I would add "with beans" to whatever you call it.
This is a very thick chili, and you should adjust the beef broth up or down to get the thickness you want. You can always add more near the end of cooking.
Many chili recipes use corn flour (masa harina) or corn starch to thicken the chili. If you elect to thicken this way, make a slurry of 2 tablespoons of either with ¼ cup cool water, mix until smooth, then stir into the chili and cook another 10-20 minutes.
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Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Texas Style Chili
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Ingredients
- 1 pound Chuck roast beef - trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes or use stew meat
- 1 jalapeno - diced small
- 1 Anaheim - diced medium
- 1 poblano pepper - chopped medium
- 1 onion - medium chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoons cumin
Instructions
- You need about 1 pound of trimmed beef cut into 1-inch pieces. You can be lazy and use precut stew meat if you want.
- If you want, browning the meat before adding it to the crock pot will add more flavor. (stovetop instructions below)
- Chop one medium yellow or white onion. Also, clean and dice a jalapeno (finely), an Anaheim pepper, and a Poblano pepper.
- Combine the chopped onion and peppers with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 cup beef broth, 1 tablespoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon oregano, and ¼ teaspoon cumin.
- Cook a crock pot for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. It will fit in a crock pot of 2 quarts or larger.
Stovetop Instructions
- Start with a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add a few teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Initially, brown the beef chunks in the pan, then remove. Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook until the onion clears some (about 5 minutes), then add the crushed garlic for one more minute.
- Initially, brown the beef chunks in the pan, then remove them. Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook until the onion clears some, then add the crushed garlic for one more minute.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use pre-cut stew meat or a beef chuck roast trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes. You can also use beef brisket, but be sure to cook until tender.
- This just fits a 2-quart mini crock pot, and bigger is fine. A double recipe, which I usually make, fits in a 3 ½ quart crock pot.
- The "heat level" is about 6/10 to me. Adjust the amount of jalapeno for more or less heat.
- The nutrition for a 1 ½ cup serving.
- It will be good refrigerated for 4 days and freeze well for 3-4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published February 25, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Barbara says
I finally found someone who knows, if is Texas chili it has NO beans in it!!! Thank you Dr Dan. Just a suggestion, if you find it a bit to thin or "soupy" as we down here call it, add some marina masa to the pot about 30 minutes before you serve. Be sure to stir well.
thx A true Texas native.
Philip e Dally says
Should be a brisket if it's Texan. I'm trying to figure out if I made this in a cast iron pot if I could smoke it for 8 hours. Never smoked soup before...Love your recipes!
Dr Dan says
I was lazy and did not brown but don't forget to trim. In my beef stew, I do brown ahead and I believe it did add some taste. So either should be fine.
Julia Roberts says
What a great website! And this recipe looks delicious. Found it when I googled stew meat chili as I've got a ton of stew meat in the freezer. Did you brown the meat first? Doesn't look like it. Does it matter?
Julia Roberts says
This looks great! Going to make it this weekend. Did you brown the meat first? Doesn't look like it.
Chris says
I like the nice mild heat this one brings to the bowl. Spicy but not flaming miserable.