Do you make your chili with or without beans?

[happybird]

A good friend and I argue every time the topic of chili comes up. I am firmly in the bean camp, he is just as firmly anti-bean. Making a pot now, and while straining the light red kidney beans and black beans, I wondered about the opinions of my DU family, and also any “secret ingredients” you may add.

Chili: Beans or No Beans?

[msongs]

1. its good with bacon and or beans nt

[happybird]

21. Never have tried bacon in there...

next time! 🥓

[Mr.Bill]

62. You should. It's excellent.

I have began substituting it for beans lately.

Pro tip: check your grocery stores for bacon ends and pieces. They are scraps packaged in 2-3 lb packages for a much lower price. Can't tell the difference between good bacon once you chop it up.

[Sane1]

2. With...

Kidney beans.

[crud]

3. extra beans

and bacon is my secret ingredient.

[happybird]

22. Loooove bacon!

Am going to try some in there next time! 🥓

[spooky3]

4. I hate beans and thought I was the only one who made chili without them. :-)

[dweller]

5. With

Chili no beans belongs on hot dogs


✌🏻

[SheltieLover]

6. Light, dark, & black beans

[Duncanpup]

10. Yes

[DinahMoeHum]

7. Beans: with chili, not in it.

For me, beans are a side dish to chili and eaten with either rice or cornbread. I like black beans.

Texas Red is my style, for beef or pork. I also make a white chili, with turkey and chicken, again without beans in it.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

8. With.

[KarenS]

9. When I used to make chili,

I used pinto, black, and red beans

[hlthe2b]

11. With--they make it "healthy" no matter what else you add.

Plus. where would "Blazing Saddles" be without them!

[LiberalLoner]

12. No beans

[EarthAbides]

13. Plate Chili

We make chili with left over taco meat, red beans, black beans and pinto beans. Spoon the chili on a plate over shredded lettuce and then top the chili with black olives, chopped onion, chopped cucumber, grated cheese, avocado, pico de gallo and a dollop of sour cream. Plate chili! Yum!!

[happybird]

20. I use taco seasoning in mine :)

It started out as, “Oh no, I thought we had an envelope of chili seasoning in the cupboard, but here’s an envelope of taco seasoning…” and it turned out to be a happy substitution! McCormick Chicken Taco Seasoning and lots of chili powder.

[pansypoo53219]

14. i do 2 versions built on my paternal grandma's. my aunt is allergic to beans.

can of tomato sauce
can of stewed toms or can of whole toms
beef bouillon
i use 1/4c of ground beef amount up to you
1 onion
celery
pasta
chili powder as much as you like

bean version i like a mix of red + black beans
can tomato sauce
can of whole toms crushed
beef bouillon
onion
celery
potato
chili powder

[happybird]

30. I love black beans!

Never known anyone with a bean allergy, but then it occurred to me that it’s probably not uncommon: legumes, peanuts, etc. I am intrigued by including potatoes! I like chili over pasta or rice, bet it would be great over some diced, boiled potatoes, too.

[pansypoo53219]

42. my grandma made hers w/ kidney beans, pasta + potatoes. i don't like mixing taters + pasta. my other aunt is not a bean

fan.

[sorcrow]

15. Beans!

Beans for chili in a bowl. I saw an interesting recipe for a beans-free hot dog chili. Reminds me of the chili dogs from the Tastee Dog when I was a little kid. Used to sit at the counter with my mom, eat chili dogs, and listen to Ahab the Arab on the jukebox.

Best regards,
Sorghum Crow

[happybird]

23. That's a nice memory :)

[Freethinker65]

16. With

[MiKenMi33]

17. With

I use light red kidney beans and chili beans.

[Hotler]

18. With ,,,, Sam Arnold's "Historic Jailhouse Chili"

Sam Arnold's Jailhouse Chili
Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
1/2 lb hot bulk pork sausage
2 pounds ground chili beef or
chopped stew meat
1 cup of chopped onions
2 mashed garlic cloves
2/3 cup chopped green pepper
4 tablespoons pure New Mexico red chili powder
2 teaspons of cilantro
1 teaspoon or leaf oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
2 cans of beer
1 12-oz can of tomato paste
3 cups cooked anasazi or pinto beans (canned beans may be used, but they're not nearly as good as cooking them from scratch!)
Preparation:
Cook bacon crisp, drain, cool and crumble, set aside. Brown sausage, drain, set aside. Keep 1/4 cup of the fat. Brown ground beef. Cook pepper, garlic and onion and combine with cooked beef, sausage. Add beer and tomato paste, and simmer at low heat (200 degree F) for two hours. Add beans, cook 20 minutes longer and serve with shredded cheese and chopped onion over the top. If you like it hotter, add finely minced serrano chilies (not jalapenos).

Acknowledgment:
This receipt was published in the Denver Post ~1997 or so. It comes from Sam Arnold's extensive cook book of special frontier receipts that he had researched. Many of which are used now at his family's "The Fort" restaurant located near Red Rock, Colorado, a southwestern suburb of Denver. If you are ever near by, you just have to dine at The Fort. It is a very unique dining experience.
https://inquestllc.com/Chili.php

[happybird]

25. That sounds wonderful!

I use ground chuck but would like to try stew meat. It would have a great texture.

[subterranean]

19. With beans

Usually black and pinto.

[chowmama]

24. I make both kinds

Midwest chili with ground meat and beans, and Southwest chili with cubed meat and no beans. I love both of them.

I haven't seen very many variations on SW chili; it's still mostly dried chilis made into a paste for seasoning. I know there's some argument about if other veg can be included with the meat, and purists seem to object to even onion and garlic. Tomatoes are sometimes almost as much a heresy as beans. Not much room there.

My Midwest chili is fairly standard (chili powder, onions, beans, tomatoes, etc.), but my father borrowed a trick from some neighbors to extend the meat even further by including corn kernels. Weird, but tasty. 1 pound of meat made at least 12 servings, at a time when we could use the savings. DH decided he likes it that way, so I add corn, too. (But more meat and chili powder, so less savings.)

The weirdest Midwest chili I ever ran into was at college, at a theater pre-show potluck. That guy's family used all the usual additives, and then threw in elbow macaroni and pineapple tidbits. Not much seasoning, if I recall - it was just an odd hamburger bean stew, sort of like hot dish soup in a bowl, with pineapple. Hella cheap, though.

[happybird]

26. omg, pineapple?!?

That sounds … interesting.
😁

I do like my chili over pasta (penne or macaroni, anything hollow) and a dollop sour cream on top. And I have put corn in there a few times. The little pops of sweet are nice and satisfying. The SW chili people would judge me so hard, lol!

[chowmama]

28. College cooking on a budget, what can I say?

Some of those potlucks and after-show parties got pretty interesting. I remember the night we were doing tequila shots with salt and lime, and we ran out of limes. Somebody else had brought slightly scorched molasses ginger cookies, so we used them instead.

Of course, we'd gone through a fair bit of tequila by then.

[LeftInTX]

49. The Southwest style is more like a gravy or carne guisada, served on top of corn bread etc.

[Backseat Driver]

27. Usually w/dark/light kidney beans and multicolored peppers, mushrooms, sweet onion, fire-roasted diced tomatos, spices -

shhh...it's a secret - a full dutch oven pot on top of range simmered a long time.

[Ilsa]

29. I use ranch style beans and ground turkey, Rotel tomatoes,

McCormick's chili seasoning, frozen cut onions and bell peppers (sautéed first), garlic, and tomato sauce for a quick chile.

I also like making chili by cutting beef down into small chunks (bean size) to sauté with onions, garlic, seasoning, etc. No beans necessary. More purist.

[magicarpet]

31. I loads thems beans right up.

Kidney beans,...

Pea beans,...

And Black beans.

Stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, lots garlic, sausage, ground beef, onion, green pepper, jalapeño, chili powder, and ground pepper.

Great on cold snowy weather days.

[DBoon]

32. mostly beans

meat is for flavor

[question everything]

33. If no beans what, then? Not chili. An omelette?

[Gaytano70]

55. No

[BlueKota]

34. I like the beans

[diane in sf]

35. Yes.

[rocketdem1964]

36. Beans, of course

As a vegetarian, the beans are the best part. I also thrown in some homemade refried beans to get the thickness that I like.

[Mark.b2]

37. No...

and no ground beef….cubed sirloin and ribeye.

[Zambero]

38. Lentils

when out of beans!

[UTUSN]

39. Mild. With. Secret ingredient: Can.

[Figarosmom]

40. Yeah

It's the beans I like. I know a lot of people say chili is just meat, whatever. But to me if it's just meat why give it a name instead of just calling it boiled meat soup.

And I like V8 instead of plain tomato sauce. Lots of chili powder and jalapeños and onions. Beef bullion
and crushed red peppers. And always the bean juice from the can. I use one can dark kidneys and the rest are dried beans

[LoisB]

41. Definitely no beans.

[AllaN01Bear]

43. gound beef( wheres the beef)? boil in a bag rice an frozen mixed veggies for a rounded meal :)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

44. I make my chili with a pan and a can opener.

With beans.

[Skittles]

45. make?

no

eat? without beans

[Paladin]

46. With beans.

Way too much argument over the beans/no beans chili issue. Eat it the way you prefer---end of story.

[Luciferous]

47. With beans because I usually make

vegetarian chili

[ProfessorGAC]

48. With

I should mention that I use bourbon & cinnamon, too.

[Dulcinea]

50. My favorite chili recipe calls for black beans & red kidney beans.

It also calls for moose meat, but since I live in Georgia, I use ground turkey.

[lkinwi]

51. Definitely without!!!

[roomtomove]

52. beans

It is NOT chili without beans!!!!!!!

[happybird]

59. Amen!

[brewens]

53. Beans until the next time because my new girlfriend can't eat beans. Not a lot anyway. Or I make a side-batch

without beans for her.

I'm ready for a whole new recipe anyway. I'll see what looks good and try it.

[Gaytano70]

54. No beans

My diet in keto for diabetes management. I do add bell peppers, which kind of gives the mouth feel of beans. Of course, lots of chilis for flavor!

[Redleg]

56. Beans yes

Around here, Cincinnati style chili is popular. No beans in it and a hint of cinnamon. Not a huge fun but it's okay on a conie.

[NBachers]

57. Beenz Pleeze

[fargone]

58. My mom added spaghetti to the chili.

[Mr.Bill]

63. A restaurant chain called Bob's Big Boy on the west coast had that on their menu.

Either Spaghetti and Chili, or for a little more you could get it with a hamburger patty under it.

[GPV]

60. Black beans only

[LetMyPeopleVote]

61. No beans

[AnnaLee]

64. With. Beans are the best part of chili.

[beemerphill]

65. Beans

Both ways can be delicious. I prefer beans, but will eat it either way. Noodles are acceptable, but not needed. It seems that those born in Northern states like noodles in their chili, while others do not. Black beans and kidney beans seem to be the best kinds. A handful of chopped poblano pepper adds a lot to the pot too. Everyone I know likes their chili their way. Most of them are pretty good.