Easy Beef Chili

You're probably familiar with chili at game-day parties or blue-ribbon cook-offs, with vats of the stuff big enough to feed an army. But there's no reason to wait for a group gathering to enjoy this satisfying and comforting stew. To make a simpler, scaled-down version with the same award-winning flavor, we maximized items that would boost multidimensional flavor and provide great texture in a relatively short time frame. Chili powder and ground cumin added the spicy warmth synonymous with chili-adding the spices right away with the aromatics allowed the flavors to deepen and develop early on. A can of beans and their liquid brought silky texture and richness. And because diced, crushed, or whole canned tomatoes require longer cooking times to dampen their tinny flavor, we instead used a single 8-ounce can of tomato sauce. This enabled us to reduce the cooking time while still adding well-rounded tomato flavor to the beef and beans.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add bell pepper, shal-lot, garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened and spices are fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Step 2

Add ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until just beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in beans and their liquid and tomato sauce. Bring to simmer and cook over medium-low heat until meat is tender and sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3

Serve with lime wedges. (Chili can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)