Does anything smell better in the fall than a spicy pot of chili simmering on the stove? Last year, my friend Shannon brought a huge pot of chili to an event and it was absolutely perfect. I’ve been making chili for years and mine was never bad, but it was also never amazing. I pestered her for the recipe and she was sweet enough to send it to me. I could not believe that our recipes were virtually identical save for one ingredient. THIS chili makes me happy. It makes me grin when I smell it throughout the house and I look forward to dinner all day long.
Tender steak, spicy sausage, five different varieties of beans, tomatoes and chilis all combine to make this a spectacular chili. Don't be fooled by the long list of ingredients, this is a very simple recipe and doesn’t take long at all to throw it together in the morning. I like to let it simmer on low most of the day if possible. I almost always grab a bowl for lunch if I start it early enough. I just can’t resist.
Similar to many other chili recipes I’ve tried, with the exception of one ingredient. That ingredient makes all the difference in the taste. The ingredient is the Ranch Style Beans that are tossed in with all of the other beans. I kid you not. I had never bought them before in my life. I have tried unsuccessfully to recreate the flavor and taste from scratch for the past year and I haven’t even come close. If any of you have found a way to create that taste at home, I would love to hear about it.
(In case you can’t tell at first glance, this is a HUGE recipe. I make the full batch and then freeze it in large and small containers for full family meals and for individual lunches.)
Spicy Five Bean Chili with Steak and Sausage
1.5 lb flank steak (or whatever beef is on sale), cut into steaks and then grilled, broiled or cooked to your liking – I usually season mine with salt, pepper and garlic on each side as it is cooking
1 lb hot sausage, cooked and crumbled
3 (14oz) cans ranch style beans
3 cups pre-cooked black beans, or 2 cans
3 cups pre-cooked great northern beans, or 2 cans
3 cups pre-cooked pinto beans, or 2 cans
3 cups pre-cooked light red kidney beans, or 2 cans
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
2 (14oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
2 (10oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chili
1 cup of roasted, peeled and chopped green chili or equal amount of frozen or canned green chili
1 onion, chopped small
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
1 green bell pepper, chopped small
4 tablespoons taco seasoning, I keep this mixture on hand at all times
Cook your meats as shown above and add them to a very big pot. Add all the other ingredients listed and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally and then reduce heat to low. Simmer (actually, mine doesn’t quite simmer, but I like it best that way on low heat) all day or at least 4-6 hours. I stir mine every couple of hours and try to resist the urge to eat it all day long.
This works very well in the crockpot as well. Just put everything together as listed above and let it cook on low all day. If you are cooking this in a crockpot, definitely reduce the recipe to make less chili.
This is even better the next day, so I often make it ahead of time and then warm it the day I want to serve it. This recipe could easily be reduced to make less chili. I really enjoy having it in my freezer whenever possible though, so I have never made a smaller batch. I figure if I am going to let it simmer most of the day, I might as well get several meals out of it.
Serve topped with cheese and sour cream for the perfect fall meal. Enjoy!
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