This chili is so quick because of a special secret ingredient. You’re not going to believe how delicious it gets in only 14 minutes.
Chili is an ultimate comfort food, but it often takes a long time to cook and I don’t always want to simmer it on the stove for ages. If you feel the same, you’re going to appreciate my quick chili recipe that uses salsa for delicious flavor in way less time. I think it’s the best chili recipe because it’s easy enough for any night.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Secret Ingredient For Quick Chili
I came up with this quick chili recipe because I wanted all the comfort of homemade chili without having to wait all day. Some recipes use fire-roasted tomatoes to make quicker chili, and you can use those here too, but I think my special ingredient works even better.
The secret to this recipe is a simple jar of salsa. You can use hot or mild, whatever you want. When you add a jar of salsa to a mixture of diced tomatoes, beans, chili powder, and other seasonings something magical happens. All the slow-simmered flavors in the salsa fuse with the other ingredients and make it seem like the whole pot’s been simmering all day.
What Kind Of Beans?
Some people have strong opinions on what kinds of beans belong in chili. I went with red kidney beans for mine, but pinto beans or black beans are other good choices. You need two cans of beans for this recipe, so you could even use a couple different kinds.
How To Make Easy Weeknight Chili
To make this quickly, you’ll want to have a skillet and a pot on the stove going.
You’re cooking some seasoned ground beef (or ground chicken or ground turkey, your choice) in the pan, making sure to crumble it well as it cooks. It usually takes 5-7 minutes.
Over in the pot, you combine the salsa, diced tomatoes, beans, and some more chili powder. You want to get all that heated through and bubbling.
Then once the ground meat is cooked, add it to the pot and give everything a good stir. You’re ready to enjoy your quick and easy chili.
Feel free to top your bowls of chili with some shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream, or serve with cornbread or tortilla chips. So delicious!
More Cozy Soup Recipes
If you love this easy chili recipe, browse my full collection of soup recipes or try one of the favorites below.
Podcast Episode: Making Chili Quickly
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this quick chili, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Quickest Chili Recipe
- Prep Time: 6 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This chili is so quick because of a special secret ingredient. You’re not going to believe how delicious it gets in only 14 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 2 lbs. ground meat (chicken or beef)
- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder, divided
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 cups salsa (that’s a 16 oz. jar full)
- 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 2 (15 oz.) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the ground meat, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of the chili powder, and the salt.
- Stir often to crumble up the meat until cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
- While the meat cooks, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of chili powder, the salsa, diced tomatoes and kidney beans in a Dutch oven or soup pot set on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and bubbling, 6-8 minutes.
- Add the cooked crumbled meat to the tomatoes. Stir. Serve.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post originally appeared in January 2014. It was revised and republished in August 2024.
What a genius idea! I love the idea of using a jar of salsa! Jon is a big fan of chili. I’ll have to give this recipe a try the next time he request chili!
I love that it does’ t have a long cooking time!