Beef and Bean Chili (Italian Style)
This hearty beef and bean chili is rich, cozy, and packed with flavor! My Italian-style twist comes from a soffritto of onion, carrot, and celery, tomatoes, Italian herbs, and plenty of freshly grated cheese. It has everything you love about classic chili with a little Italian soul!
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
Chili Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef 80–85% lean
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1-2 tablespoons chili powder to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 4 cups beef broth plus more as needed
- 2 bay leaves
Garnishes for Serving
- whole-milk ricotta cheese
- mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
- fresh basil chopped
- fresh Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 6-8 minutes, breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon, until it's nicely browned. Drain off excess grease if needed, leaving a little in the pot for flavor.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper directly to the beef. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Toasting the tomato paste and spices gives the chili a deeper flavor.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, kidney beans, 4 cups beef broth, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and flavorful. (Add a splash more beef broth if you prefer a thinner chili.)
- Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or chili powder as needed; add some red pepper flakes for spice if desired.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and parsley as desired. Serve with my Italian no-knead bread or sweet cornbread.
Notes
- Don't rush the vegetables. Softening the soffritto first creates a much more flavorful base!
- Toast the tomato paste and spices. This small step makes a noticeable difference.
- Start with 3 cups of broth. You can always add more, but starting with 4 cups could make this more like soup than thick chili.
- Make it ahead. Like most chili, this tastes even better the next day.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 1143mg | Potassium: 738mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4087IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 4mg
