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. I turn to it in late winter because it’s warming, simple and healthy.
What I don’t love about chili is that it takes a long time to cook. Good chili simmers on the stovetop for hours. It’s worth it, but I don’t usually have the time.
Secret To Great Chili In No Time
I came up with this quick chili recipe because I wanted all the comfort of homemade chili without having to wait all day.
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, kidney beans, chili powder, and 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.
While the diced tomato and salsa mixture is heating, you’re cooking some ground beef or ground chicken, making sure to crumble it well as it cooks. Add the meat to the tomatoes and you’re done. 14 minutes, start to finish.
Now for the best chili recipe you’ll ever eat!
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.
PrintQuickest 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.
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This post originally appeared in January 2014. It was revised and republished in January 2019.