This is The Best Taco Chili recipe you can make at home. Full of spicy flavor with tender ground beef, beans, and thick tomato broth. Scale it down to make it "for two" friendly.
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It is the best taco chili you can make at home. It is like Taco Tuesday in a bowl. Easy and quick to make, either full size or make it smaller for two with four servings—a meal and leftovers. And done in less than an hour with only one pan if you cook on the stovetop or crock pot.
Instead of using packaged taco seasoning, which has fillers, you make this chili with taco seasoning spices from your pantry. You can adjust the heat or spices, change the size, and even the cooking method using a crock pot or stovetop.
You won't believe this fits your diet. It will fit a healthy diet like a low-calorie or low-fat diet or even a low-carb keto diet. You can decrease the some by using low sodium products and decreasing the salt.
This chili is based on my Ground Beef Taco Meat, like my Taco Casserole. Or check out some other crock pot chicken recipes like Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas, Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Crock Pot Chicken Tacos. This recipe is featured in Cinco de Mayo Recipes and Game Day Party Recipes.
🐄Ingredients
- Ground beef—leaner preferred
- Onion
- Jalapeno pepper
- Canned ingredients—green chiles, black beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth
- Pantry ingredients—chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper
- Ranch dressing powder—optional
👨🍳How to Make Taco Chili
- In a large pan, cook the ground beef with diced onion. Use a Dutch oven if finishing on the stovetop.
- When about half brown, add the spices and about half the can of tomato sauce and finish browning.
- Add the beef to the crock pot or leave it in the Dutch oven on the stovetop.
- Add rinsed black and kidney beans and all remaining ingredients to the meat.
- Cook on low in the crock pot for 6 hours. Or cover and simmer on the stovetop for at least 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours is better.
✔️Tips and variations
- A full recipe makes about 14 cups of chili which makes 8 large servings and needs a 5-quart or larger crock pot.
- This recipe requires ground meat, usually beef, but ground turkey or ground chicken will be fine. There will be a slight taste variation, but spices will mostly cover it.
- Lean ground meat is preferred since we are seasoning as the meat cooking to let the flavors penetrate the meat. Most of the fat will drain but not all.
- The spicing is a modified version of my spicy taco meat. Then I bumped up the spices even more and added a little jalapeno.
- The maximum heat level is 6/10 on the heat-o-meter with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and one jalapeno.
- Add more spices or another jalapeno if you want to burn.
- The heat level without the jalapeno and cayenne pepper will be 1-2 out of 10. You will still have great taste without the heat.
- The dry ranch dressing adds an interesting taste and is an excellent counterbalance to the hot spiciness if you crank up the heat. Optional.
- Optional additions: bell pepper, corn
- Simmering longer will let the flavors come together. So you can heat it through and eat in about 10-15 minutes—it will be good but not great.
⬇️How to make this a "for two" friendly recipe
- This is an easy recipe to cut in half. A half recipe will fit nicely in a 3-quart crock pot or smaller pan on the stovetop and make 4 servings.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Cook for the same amount of time.
❓FAQs
You "can," but you will miss out on most of the great taste.
No. You will have clumps of meat and all the fatty drainage in your dish.
The ground meat must be browned, spiced, and drained before adding it to the pot. Crock pots are great for many things, but cooking ground meat is not one of them.
Adjust the amount of broth to thin it more like soup. If you know you want very thick chili, leave out the broth.
But if you need to thicken, use one tablespoon of cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water. Mix well to make a smooth slurry, then stir into the chili. It will take 15-20 minutes to thicken, and you can repeat it if needed.
Serving and storage of leftovers
Serve topped with some shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Other possible toppings are tortilla strips, jalapeno, avocado slices, cilantro, and green onion or avocado slices. Or your favorite taco toppings.
Side dishes would mostly be tortilla chips and salsa, but Mexican rice, refried beans, or a green garden salad also work for me.
Store leftovers sealed in an airtight container for 4 days in the refrigerator or frozen for 3-4 months. Good in the fridge for 3-4 days and good in the freezer for 3-4 months.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Use the ground meat and beans of your choice. Lean ground beef with black and kidney beans are suggested.
Prep a medium onion with a medium chop and one jalapeno pepper by mincing (optional.)
In a large pan, cook 1 pound of lean ground beef with diced onion. Use a Dutch oven if finishing on the stovetop.
While the beef is starting to cook, combine the spices: 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
When beef and onion have cooked for 6-8 minutes and just browned, drain fat. Add the spices and about half the can of tomato sauce. Continue to cook until beef is well browned–about 10 minutes total cooking time. Add the beef to the crock pot or leave it in the Dutch oven.
Rinse 1 can of black beans and 1 can of kidney beans, and add to the pot. You may substitute any beans you want.
Add all remaining ingredients: 1 small can of green chilies, 2 cans diced tomatoes, the remaining tomato sauce, the diced jalapeno, ½ envelope of dry ranch dressing mix (optional), and a 14 oz can of beef broth. The beef broth may be omitted if you want this thick.
Cook on low in the crock pot for 6 hours or 3 hours on high. Or bring to a boil on the stovetop, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours is better.
Recipe
The Best Taco Chili—Crock Pot or Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef - lower fat preferred
- 1 onion - medium chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper - optional, minced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 oz green chilies
- 14 oz black beans - drained and rinsed
- 14 oz light kidney beans - drained and rinsed
- 28 oz diced tomatoes
- 14 oz tomato sauce
- 14 oz beef broth - Optional-leave out if you want very thick
- ½ envelope ranch dressing powder - Optional
Instructions
- Use the ground meat and beans of your choice. Lean ground beef with black and kidney beans are suggested.
- Prep a medium onion with a medium chop and one jalapeno pepper by mincing (optional.)
- In a large pan, cook 1 pound of lean ground beef with diced onion. Use a Dutch oven if finishing on the stovetop.
- While beef is starting to cook, combine the spices: 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
- When beef and onion have cooked for 6-8 minutes and just browned, drain fat. Add the spices and about half the can of tomato sauce. Continue to cook until beef is well browned–about 10 minutes total cooking time. Add the beef to the crock pot or leave it in the Dutch oven.
- Rinse 1 can of black beans and 1 can of kidney beans, and add to the pot. You may substitute any beans you want.
- Add all remaining ingredients: 1 small can of green chilies, 2 cans diced tomatoes, the remaining tomato sauce, the diced jalapeno, ½ envelope of dry ranch dressing mix (optional), and a 14 oz can of beef broth. The beef broth may be omitted if you want this thick.
- Cook on low in the crock pot for 6 hours or 3 hours on high. Or bring to a boil on the stovetop, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours is better.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- As written, this needs a larger crock pot of 5-quarts or more. The half recipe will fit in a 3-quart.
- This is a relatively easy recipe to cut in half. See the recipe post for instructions.
- Use the beans and ground meat of your choice.
- Please do not use packaged taco seasoning.
- This is 6/10 on the heat-o-meter with the jalapeno and the 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- If you want less heat, cut back the cayenne pepper and/or eliminate the jalapeno pepper. You will still have great taste without the heat.
- When browning the meat, when you get it all broken up and starting to brown, drain and add the spices. This will lock the flavor in the meat and not drain off with the fat.
- You can cook for a shorter period of time since everything is safe, but it is better if cooked for full time so the flavors come together.
- The optional ranch dressing powder adds an interesting taste of cool vs. spicy heat. Recommended if you have elected higher heat with the jalapeno and max cayenne pepper.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
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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Publishing Note: Originally Published: January 13, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Darr
Reading the post and came across the two dogs at the bottom....Okay.
Make this to go and wrap them up, will do a pick up as soon as possible...
How absolutely beautiful can you get? Love, love them and thank you for sharing them with us....
Darr
Vickie
Thank you. Appreciate the quantity breakdown information, good to know for the future.
GREAT suggestion on the lemon bars. Looks easy!
Vickie
Vickie
Want to make this for a "girls" weekend, " ", meaning we are way past that age designation, but what the heck, you are only as young as you feel.
Just want to make sure this recipe really does feed, more than 2-4. There will be 5 of us, and if it's as good as it sounds, I'm sure there will be seconds, all round!
Have a great celery, fennel, and green apple salad with a walnut Dijon vinaigrette that I think would make a great accompaniment to this soup.
Looking for a light lemon-y desert, any ideas?
DrDan
The total volume is 12-14 cups. So a bowl of soup is considered 1 1/2 cups so 8 plus bowls. Also look at the lemon bars. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/yummy-lemon-bars/
Have a good weekend.
Dan
Karen
We love, love, love this recipe! Thanks for republishing; reminds me that I haven't made it in awhile.
DrDan
Hi Karen,
I couldn't do a soup week without it. You will notice a slight change in technique. I drain the meat just as it is barely browned before the spices. I found that I was doing it that way. I wanted to get rid of the fat but not drain any spice. Before, I wasn't draining.
Thanks for the note and enjoy the soup.
Dan
Jim Comer
I am a big chili lover and love to try different recipes. Will try this for sure in a crock pot for 6 hours. Correct. Jimmy C.
DrDan
Hi Jimmy, 6 hours on low is fine. You can do 8 like most other chili recipes but not really needed.
Dan
marms
This looks great although I have no idea what "Kick tail" means. Must be an Americanism.. I'm making a version of this today, with what I have. or as a friend of mine says "what you got". I virtually never make a recipe the same as what I see, or the same way twice, because "what I got' varies. I do have cayenne pepper, chipotle hot pepper powder, Anjou fresh peppers and chipotle peppers in adobe sauce. Yee haw. What will mine be called? Canuck Woman's What You Got Chili.
Other substitutions here: Bison, and because it's so lean I add lots -- 1/4 cup at least, olive oil, and I will use half the amount of beans, or maybe none and more vegetables. ZUcchini for sure, I see one looking forlorn in my vegetable bin.
Thanks again for another superb recipe.
DrDan
All chili should be to use what you got just like soups. But I remember reading some Mark Bittman recipes that say just use what you have. I was more inexperienced then and it gave too little guidance to the beginners who are the majority of my readers. You have been around cooking enough to feel comfortable adding and subtracting. All recipes are just guidelines anyway.
Kick Tail is an old Americanism meaning excellent or great. I suspect it is too old of a phrase to use here and I may change the recipe name.
Dan
Mishele
Looking forward to trying this recipe ... Garlic powder is on the recipe twice, is this a typo or does it in fact call for 2 tsp of powder?
Thanks,
DrDan
Garlic Powder only once so 1 teaspoon only. Fixed and thanks for the proof read.
Dan
Chris
Wow, a 6? That's high praise and it looks wonderful. The ranch dressing is an interesting spin, I hadn't tried that before.