Kickin' Hot Chili

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If you like your chili seriously hot, this hot chili recipe is for you. For an even bigger kick, use the whole teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

a recipe photo of the Kickin Hot Chili served in a bowl and topped with jalapenos
Photo: Christine Ma
Active Time:
20 mins
Additional Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
50 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
8 servings

How to Make Kickin' Hot Chili

Research suggests that capsaicin, the compound in chile peppers that gives them their heat, can boost your metabolism. If you're a fan of this metabolism-boosting sensation, you'll love this easy hot chili recipe. (And if you don't, we'll tell you how to tone it down!) Here's how you make Kickin' Hot Chili:

Cook the Meat and Vegetables

To build the flavor, we start with mild ingredients. Lean ground beef, onions, bell peppers and bottled garlic are all cooked together to add a rich, complex flavor that can cut through the heat. Bell peppers don't add spice, but they do add flavor. Green bell peppers are less sweet than red, but they offer a splash of color. The color of bell pepper you choose is up to your personal preference. We call for bottled garlic here which offers a more muted flavor than fresh. (Plus, it cuts down on the chopping!) If you want to use fresh, three large cloves will be enough. Depending on how lean your beef is, you may have to drain off some fat from the pan before you add the remaining ingredients. If you want to skip this step, we recommend using 90% lean or leaner beef.

Stir in the Beans

Canned beans offer fiber and a neutralizing flavor to the dish. We call for a mix of kidney beans and great northern beans, but any canned beans such as pinto beans or black beans will work well too. Be sure to give them a rinse before you add them to wash off some of the sodium. If you're watching your sodium intake, using no-salt-added beans can reduce the sodium amount even further.

Add More Flavor

To give the chili a flavor boost and a thicker texture, we add mustard and tomato paste. Mustard offers a horseradish-like bite and a hint of vinegar while tomato paste thickens the chili and adds sweetness. Ground cumin, which appears often in chili, adds an earthy flavor. For a stronger cumin flavor, grind your own cumin seeds in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

Bring on the Heat

The rest of the ingredients add heat to the chili. Canned tomatoes with green chiles, chili powder, ground black pepper and cayenne all add varying amounts of heat to the chili. If you want to really turn things up, use hot chili powder and the full amount of cayenne pepper. Also, make sure your spices are fresh. If they've been on the shelf for longer than two years, they begin to lose their heat and flavor.

How to Make Chili Milder

There are ways to stop your mouth from burning when you eat spicy food. But if you want to cut down on the heat or take it out entirely, you can with some easy substitutions. Opt for plain canned tomatoes without green chiles and choose mild chili powder. You can add just a pinch of cayenne, or leave it out.

Additional reporting by Hilary Meyer

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef

  • 2 large onions, chopped

  • ½ cup chopped green or red bell pepper

  • 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic

  • 3 ½ cups water

  • 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

  • 1 (15 ounce) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

  • 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chile peppers, undrained

  • 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste

  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

  1. In a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook ground beef, onions, bell pepper and garlic until the meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat.

  2. Stir in the water, beans, undrained tomatoes and chiles, tomato paste, mustard, salt, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne and cumin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Originally appeared: Diabetic Living Magazine; updated January 2023

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

253 Calories
9g Fat
25g Carbs
22g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Serving Size 1 serving
Calories 253
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 25g 9%
Dietary Fiber 7g 24%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 22g 44%
Total Fat 9g 11%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 54mg 18%
Vitamin A 1009IU 20%
Vitamin C 27mg 30%
Folate 14mcg 4%
Sodium 320mg 14%
Calcium 80mg 6%
Iron 4mg 22%
Magnesium 26mg 6%
Potassium 622mg 13%

Nutrition information is calculated by a registered dietitian using an ingredient database but should be considered an estimate.

* Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.

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