Quick and Easy Creamy Chili
Quick and Easy Creamy Chili
I recently ate Quick and Easy Creamy Chili for the first time at a potluck and it was so amazing! I found out my friend had made it and promptly asked her for the recipe. I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my cooking style and our family’s tastes, and now it has become one of our family’s favorite meals.
You’ll notice two unusual ingredients in this chili recipe. Don’t be tempted to skip them even if you think they sound weird. Believe me, they are the secret to taking this recipe from blasé to extraordinary.
This chili can be whipped together in 30 minutes or less and served right away, but I find that chili, creamy or otherwise, is one of those magic foods that only improves with time, so I like to make a batch the day before I plan to serve it and then reheat it in my slow cooker or on the stovetop, depending on the day’s schedule.
I don’t give specific instructions for how to season the ground beef in this recipe, because I normally cook up a big batch of ground beef (5-6 lbs.) at a time and have it in the freezer in meal-sized portions, ready to pop into whatever recipe I’m making at the time. But if you are frying up the ground beef just for this recipe, simply add a little salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning blend if you like (I put Italian seasoning blend in almost every savory dish I cook!)
Here’s What You’ll Need to make Quick and Easy Creamy Chili:
2 lbs. lean ground beef, fried and seasoned to taste
4 cups cooked beans (see my recipe for No-Fail Instant Pot Beans here)
2 10.75 oz cans tomato soup
1 4 oz can mild green chilies
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
¼ cup brown sugar
1 TBLS chili powder
2 TBLS ground cumin
1 16 oz bag frozen corn, thawed
2 cups whole milk
Fresh cilantro (optional, but delicious!)
Directions:
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, stir all the ingredients, except the milk, together and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring often. Once the chili has begun to simmer, stir in the milk. Heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste if you prefer more heat. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate to reheat the following day.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese. Enjoy! Serves 8-10.
—-> Here’s another recipe you’ll love: Tortellini, Kale, and Meatball Soup
Quick and Easy Creamy Chili
Equipment
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef, browned and seasoned to taste
- 4 cups cooked pinto or kidney beans (see note)
- 2 10.75 oz cans tomato soup
- 1 4 oz can mild green chilies
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 TBLS chili powder
- 2 TBLS ground cumin
- 1 16 oz bag frozen corn, thawed
- 2 cups whole milk
- Fresh Cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, stir all the ingredients, except the milk, together and bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring often.
- Once the chili has begun to simmer, stir in the milk. Stir constantly, just until heated through.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to taste if you prefer more heat. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate to reheat the following day.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of cheese, and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use canned beans or your own fully cooked beans (see this recipe for No-Fail Instant Pot Beans ). If you are using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the chili.
- An easy hack for making meal prep extra simple is to cook up several meals worth of meat at one time, freeze it, and then it is ready to use in whatever recipe you plan to make. I typically cook up 5-6 pounds of lean ground beef in my slow cooker at a time, season it as it cooks, and then divide it into meal-sized portions before putting it in the freezer for future meals.
- This chili is delicious eaten right away, but it will be even better the next day. If I can, I like to cook it up the day before and then simply reheat it the next day for a fast meal.
