Wintertime is my favorite time for chili and my Four Bean Beef and Beer Chili is comfort food at its best, especially for the men in your house.
There are a lot of different ways to make chili and if we’re talking about Texas chili, you won’t a bean in the mix. Beans were always served separately. But most chili’s have evolved to include beans in the mix and I like a variety of beans in my chili!
What do I need to make four bean beef and beer chili?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients to make this hearty beef and beer chili. In chef speak, we call that the mise en place or everything in its place.
Do I have to use all the ingredients in the recipe to make Chili?
Remember that recipes are guidelines in most cases and if there is an ingredient you don’t like, leave it out or exchange it for an ingredient you’d rather use.
- If you don’t like beer, use your favorite cola, rootbeer, ginger beer or Dr. Pepper.
- If you don’t eat beef switch out the beef for ground turkey or ground chicken.
- If you’re not a fan of one of the types of beans, leave them out and use the kind of beans you like.
- Not a fan of beans at all? Use potatoes, carrots, hominy, corn and root vegetables in place of the beans.
- If you don’t like hot and spicy foods, cut back on the amount of chili powder you use and leave out the cayenne!
- If you like your chili like molten lave, kick it up with any brand of hot sauce or spice that you like!
This is going to be your dinner so make it the way you’re going to enjoy eating it.
The first step after gathering the ingredients is sauteing the onions and garlic in olive oil allowing them to cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the ground beef and cook till almost done. If the beef clumps up a stiff wire whisk will break up the meat easily.
After the beef has cooked add the seasonings to the pan and mix well. Continue to cook the seasoned beef for 2-3 minutes.
The final step is adding the beer to meat, followed by the beans and tomatoes. Place the pan back on medium-high heat and allow to come back to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let the beef and beer chili simmer for 1-2 hours.
As the chili cools it will thicken up a bit. I like to let my chili sit for a day or two before using it allowing the flavors to build.
Can I freeze chili?
Yes, you can. In fact, I’m the only chili eater in the house and I always make a large batch so I can freeze some for another time.
If you enjoyed this recipe you might like these:
- Three Bean Bourbon Chicken Chili
- Spicy Loaded Tater Tot Nachos
- Spaghetti Sauce Three Bean Chili
- Chicken Meatballs
Four Bean Beef and Beer Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 12 ounces dark beer or your favorite beer, root beer or Dr. Pepper
- 2 pounds ground chuck or ground sirloin if you prefer a leaner beef
- 15 ounces kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces chili pinto beans drained and rinsed (regular pinto beans can be used instead)
- 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 24 ounces heavy crushed tomato
- 2 tablespoons corn masa or fine cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- cayenne can be added for extra heat use with caution
Instructions
- in a large skillet or pot add the chopped onions, garlic and olive oil. Saute for a few minutes until the onions are lightly cooked.
- Add ground meat and begin the browning process. You may need to add additional olive oil.
- Brown all the meat continuously stirring to break up the meat. ( you may find a heavy wire whisk helpful in breaking up the chunks)
- When the meat is browned begin adding in your seasonings including brown sugar( remember you can always add more after its cooked for awhile).
- Add crushed tomatoes, beans and beer combining all of the ingredients.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 1 – 2 hours, stirring so the chili won't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- If the chili begins to get too thick you can add chicken stock or water to get it to the consistency you like.
- Taste and re-season to your taste.
Uma S
Bean chili is an all-time favorite food during cold days… This will never fail even if you add more or omit any spices and ingredients.
Veena Azmanov
Best combination and best recipe for a Happy Dinner too. Looks delicious and presentation yum.
Ben
Aww yeah. I love chili, and I love beer. This seems like a match made in Heaven for me. Great recipe.
Rosemary
This looks delicious. In the winter, chili is truly warming to the bones. I’ll probably replace beef with turkey or chicken and skip the beer. Great timely recipe!
Catalina
My family loves chili a lot and I am sure they will love this recipe! Definitely a must try one!
Swathi
Delicious Chili, I need to try it, cold is still linguring here. Good bowl of chili is perfect. I like the seasoning as well as the beer you used.
Melanie
I also like beans in my chili. I haven’t tried adding beer to the recipe though. This sounds like the perfect dish for the rainy days ahead of us next week.
Amy H
Oh my gosh! This looks so good! We typically only use one type of beans in ours. I also make a large batch as well. That way we can have left overs and I can freeze some for another night.
Lizzie Lau
This recipe looks delicious exactly as you’ve made it. I love that you make suggestions for alternate ingredients though. I always make a vegetarian batch as well.
Lynndee
We love preparing chili in the wintertime, but the recipe that we have don’t have beer in it. This must be good. Will try your recipe ASAP.
Ruth I
I love this recipe I would maybe give it a try. My husband loves to eat spicy foods. This really looks delicious.
Theresa
I usually just put kidney and chili beans in my pot, but I definitely want to try your 4 bean recipe. It looks so comforting during these cold winter nights!
Sara LaFountain
This chili was amazing! It snowed here last night so I needed a good chili for the family. This one was perfect and all the beans made it really healthy.
Kristine Nicole Alessandra
I will have to try this recipe. However, my husband does not like beans, but maybe he’d change his mind if I tell him I cooked the chili with beer. Haha.
Amber Myers
I love chili, so I’m excited to try this! It’s especially perfect in the winter when it’s cold out.