Classic Beef Chili

The formula

Every ingredient resolved to grams, expressed against the recipe's own base — next to the median of all 32.

	this recipe	typical
liquid	31%	33%
fat	2%	1%
aromatics	16%	16%
acid	0%	0%
salt	1%	0%
vegetables and beans	60%	65%

Where it stands out

• #3 of 32 for tenderness

Adapts cleanly: egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free (documented swaps, applied on the dish page)

Ingredients

Weights computed by us.

27 g	2 tablespoons olive oil
150 g	1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
9 g	3 cloves garlic, minced
49 g	3 tablespoons tomato paste
907 g	2 pounds ground beef, preferably 80 to 85% lean
12 g	2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 g	1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
16 g	2 tablespoons chili powder
7 g	1 tablespoon ground cumin
5 g	1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 g	2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 g	1 teaspoon paprika
1 g	1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
425 g	2 (about 15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
794 g	1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
411 g	1 (14.5-ounce) can low-sodium beef or chicken broth (scant 2 cups)
5 g	1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
	Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
	Shredded cheddar cheese
	Thinly sliced scallions
	Diced avocado
	Fresh cilantro
	Tortilla chips

Method: 5 steps, published by www.thekitchn.com — open the original ↗ or use bake mode for a follow-along with a screen that stays on.

“I'm giving this 5 stars, even though I adapted it to what I had, and bc I was cooking for some1 who can't handle any heat.Here's what I did:I finely chopped 1 large onion, along with 1/4 of a 5in long jalapeño, minus seeds & white parts. I used” — a cook, 5.0★

“I find that I often have to adjust the ratio of meat, seasonings and spices so I've learned to cook in layers and take it easy. As a result, for this recipe I did sauté the onions and then added the tomato paste and garlic to finish separately from the mea” — a cook, 5.0★