Feel smug at having dinner sorted hours ahead of time with this wonderful Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli – perfect for busy days! Using diced beef rather than beef mince takes the humble chilli con carne to the next level… and the long slow cook ensures the beef is meltingly tender. Instructions given for both oven and slow cooker.
Are you a get ahead person or a last minute merchant? I am most definitely the former (yes I was that annoying person who always had their homework done a day early!). I particularly like getting ahead where food is concerned…there is a wonderful feeling knowing you’ve got dinner all sorted and organised and chuntering away in the oven hours before dinner time. This Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli is perfect for those sorts of days when you want to get ahead.
It only takes a few minutes to put this dish together earlier in the day, then it happily spends the next 3 hours or so (it’s flexible) doing it’s stuff in the oven (or 6-8 hours in the slow cooker), not to mention filling the house with the most amazing aromas. All you need to do is make some rice or heat some tortillas right before you want to eat and you are done. Oh the smugness at having dinner sorted hours before it’s needed!
The idea for this meal came from the fact I LOVE the flavours of a good Chilli con Carne, but I’m not mad keen on mince – I’m just not that big a fan of the texture of mince and I feel the flavour is not a patch on the flavour I get from all the slow cooked beef dishes I love (my Beef Bourguignon and my Hungarian Beef Goulash in particular). So I decided to combine the flavours of a chilli with the gorgeous, meltingly tender texture and delicious flavour of slow cooked beef – the result is out of this world and has had me kicking myself for not trying this before now.
Don’t worry about the generous amount of chilli flakes and spices, I add to this dish. The long slow cooking softens and mellows the chilli and spices and the result is only a gentle level of heat – my kids can’t cope with much heat and they were fine with this – loved it in fact! If you want, you could simplify things further and replace the chilli, herbs and spices with 2 tablespoons of mild chilli powder. And obviously, if you like things hot, feel free to add more chilli flakes!
The best thing about this Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli is it is even better the next day, so don’t forget to make an extra portion to reheat the next day. I reheat mine in a saucepan with a splash of water and heat until the beef is piping hot all the way through (10 minutes or so), but you could also reheat this in the microwave, if you prefer. This is also a great recipe to make a double quantity of and freeze half for a busy day in the future.
If you want to turn this simple one pot meal into a bit of a feast, add rice and / or tortillas, sour cream and guacamole and you will have a fabulous dinner party main for hardly any effort (promise I won’t tell).
A Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon would be a great match for this dish or why not try an Argentinian Malbec?
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 800 g stewing beef diced into 1cm / ½inch cubes
- 2 cloves garlic – crushed or finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large red pepper chopped into small chunks
- 400 g tin kidney beans
- Rice and/or tortillas to serve
- Guacamole, sour cream & fresh coriander to serve (optional)
Instructions
Oven Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
- Put the onion and olive oil in an oven proof saucepan or hob proof casserole dish and fry gently, with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the onions are softened but not brown.
- Turn the heat up and add the beef. Fry for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, chilli flakes, herbs and spices. Turn the heat down and gently fry for 2 minutes.
- Next add the tinned tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Put the lid on and transfer to the oven. (If you haven’t used a pan you can put in the oven, transfer to an oven dish, before putting in the oven). Cook for 2 hours 30 minutes.
- After 2 hours 30 minutes, add the kidney beans and the red pepper and stir. Cook for a further 30 minutes.
- Serve with rice and / or tortillas plus sour cream, guacamole and fresh coriander.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Follow the instructions above, but instead of putting the stew in the oven, place it in your slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. Add in the kidney beans and peppers 1 hour before the end.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Chili con carne is an all time favourite meal here! I love how versatile the sauce is, I love it with rice but you cannot beat using it in enchiladas! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Chilli is great, isn’t it – I love the flavours. I like it equally with rice or tortillas – or sometimes if I’m feeling very decadent BOTH! And I love the leftovers with a jacket potato 🙂 Thanks for commenting! Eb x
Morgan Prince says
Great recipe, I’ve never tried chilli because my boys aren’t particularly keen on beans. However I might have to sneak this one in one day! Thanks for sharing.
#TastyTuesdays
Eb Gargano says
Aw, that’s a shame. I am lucky as my kids love beans! You could easily make this recipe without the kidney beans, though if that works best for your family. Or alternatively, you could take the boys’ portion out first and then add in the kidney beans and quickly heat through on the stove top. Tinned kidney beans don’t really need to be cooked, just warmed up – so that could work for you!?! Do let me know if you try it – I’d love to know how you get on! Eb x
Sarah says
I am also not a huge fan of mince, although chilli con carne brings back happy memories for me (first successful meal I made for my parents when I was a teen). I’m excited about trying this out with beef pieces instead though. 🙂
Eb Gargano says
I’m glad I’m not the only one! Mince is ok, but definitely not a patch on gorgeous chunks of slow cooked beef – chilli is soo much better this way! 🙂 I love foodie memories like that one – now you’ve got me thinking what I first made for my parents…I’m really not sure. Might have to ask them! Would love to know what you think of the chilli if you try it out! Thanks for popping over 🙂 Eb x
clare says
This looks really good, but alas I don’t have a slow cooker – maybe I should invest Cx
Eb Gargano says
You don’t need one, Clare! Just something with a lid that goes in the oven – I use a lovely cast iron Le Creuset style pot (which I would hugely recommend!) but any old oven dish would do! I am tempted to buy a slow cooker though, as I am doing a lot of meals like this at the moment and they would be perfect to pop in a slow cooker! Thanks for commenting 🙂 Eb x
Paula says
Defo get a slow cooker!!! I have 2! I use them all of the time, you can make full english breckies in them, cakes, and even pizzas!!! What with these and my air fryer, my oven hardly gets a look in lol.
Eb Gargano says
Funny story… I did actually get a slow cooker after I wrote that comment (It’s an old recipe, that’s since been updated with slow cooker instructions too!) but I still much prefer doing stuff like this in the oven… Not sure why – maybe it’s just old habits die hard! Good to hear you are getting such good use out of your slow cookers though! Eb 🙂
Corina says
Such a great one pot meal! My husband doesn’t like mince much so I also tend to use stewing steak rather than mince for meals like this. My picky daughter has also recently decided she likes beef so I may have to make a mild version soon too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina! I don’t hate mince but I think this chilli is much better with nice big chunks of slow cooked beef 🙂 Glad your daughter now likes beef – it’s great when they do that, isn’t it? My kids have just decided they don’t hate asparagus after all!! Yey! Just in time for asparagus season 🙂 This chilli is actually quite mild – the slow cooking seems to soften the flavour of the spices, but you could always halve the quantities if you wanted to make sure it was super mild! 🙂 Eb x
Alison says
I totally love chilli made with beef instead of mince, it seems to have more flavour. Loving this recipe
Eb Gargano says
Me too! Loads more flavour and a much nicer texture too 🙂 Thanks for your kind comments, Alison 🙂 Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
This sounds so yummy! I’ve only tried slow cooking chilli once before and I found that the tomatoes got a bit over-reduced and overpowering. I’ll have to take a look at your quantities as yours look perfect.
P.S. Congratulations on getting your pictures accepted on FG xx
Eb Gargano says
Oooh – interesting, the tomatoes definitely don’t taste too concentrated in my version – quite a lot of juice comes out of the beef, which I think dilutes it – I did originally try this with beef stock too but I found my chilli was then swimming in sauce, so I cut that out and, actually, I find the flavour of the tomatoes, spices and beef to be just enough without the need to add stock too. Thanks – I was so chuffed to get a pic accepted by Foodgawker – I was beginning to think it just wasn’t possible. I keep being told my pics are to dark! And I haven’t yet worked out how to fix that – nor can I really understand it as I photograph in a conservatory, so light shouldn’t be a problem! Gah! Got to keep it up now 🙂 Thanks for your lovely comments. Eb x
Honest Mum says
Wow that looks incredible x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Vicki! Tastes pretty good too 🙂 Hope you have a fab weekend! Eb x
Martin @ The Why Chef says
Bizarrely I was way slow at school and never did my homework, but plan my cooking weeks in advance! In fact I’ve got a brisket sous vide cooking for a BBQ Sunday, and a chicken just about to brine for the same event…
I also think slow cooked food tastes tons better than most quick made dishes! Like the hours of love really add to the flavour! I’ll add this to our cooking diaries for the weeks ahead 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Haha! Brilliant!!! I am super impressed at your get-ahead talents – you beat me hands down! Are you the same with everything now, or just cooking? I totally agree that a lot of food tastes better when cooked slowly – particularly meat – give me a slow cooked beef stew over a fillet steak any day of the week! (and the slow cooked stew would be way cheaper too!) Would love to know how you get on with this if you try it. Hope you have a fab BBQ on Sunday! Eb 🙂
Martin @ The Why Chef says
Ever since I got married I’ve lived my life weeks ahead! I think I’m just tons more interested in things that I was at school!
Thanks Eb, I’m sure I will cook this as it sounds like our kind of food again! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Eb Gargano says
It’s been the other way round for me…my husband is way more laid back than me and it has slowly rubbed off over the years. Have a great weekend too! 🙂
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
This looks sublime 🙂 I love a good meaty chilli & I especially love a dish you can make ahead and then serve up later that day. Great recipe 🙂 Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare…….Sorry I’m late 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Hey don’t worry about being late…if you hadn’t mentioned it I would never have noticed!! Thanks for your lovely kind comments about my chilli – it really is a good one for making ahead of time – can even be made a day or two ahead and reheated if need be – good one for the freezer too! Eb x
Julia says
Just wondering if you ever ‘sirtified’ this recipe with cocoa, etc? I am ~4 weeks into sirtfood living and your posts are some of the only I’ve found with applying this (long term) to real mom life!
Eb Gargano says
No, I haven’t, but you absolutely could – with celery, cocoa powder, red onions – maybe even a splash of red wine… and obviously it already has chilli and olive oil. Then maybe serve with buckwheat and kale! Let me know how it goes if you try it 😀
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Anything that is slow-cooked is a winner with me. This looks like a bowl of super-comfort xx
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Kate! Eb 🙂
Lesley says
What a delicious recipe, nothing beats a slow cooked beef chilli. A great make ahead dish.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Lesley! Yes, I agree – perfect for making ahead and filling the freezer. Eb 🙂
Louise Fairweather says
Lovely comfort food – thanks for sharing #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Louise! Eb 🙂