Julie Clark
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Sweet and Spicy Chili
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Award-winning sweet and spicy chili recipe! Petite tomatoes and small beans keep all of the family happy. This chili recipe has been winning chili cook-offs for over 20 years.
I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to share this recipe with you. This Sweet and Spicy Chili is one of our favorite recipes, and it is especially good during the cool months of fall and winter.
I’ll have to be honest that I’ve not been a huge fan of chili all of my life. I remember my mom making chili when I was young she was gracious enough to leave out the kidney beans which made the soup more tolerable.
This sweet and spicy chili based on our famous hot dog sauce recipe is now one of my favorite meals. This recipe makes a huge pot of chili, so it is a great meal to serve to company, or you can just enjoy the leftovers. I like to cook the sweet chili recipe one day ahead of time, and then on the day we are going to eat it, I let it simmer in the slow cooker all day. It gets all of those flavors nice and blended together.
Sweet Chili that Even the Kids Like
Here’s why this is a great recipe for even kids:
- Petite diced tomatoes. I never even knew they made such a thing until I started making chili. These little tomatoes are a lifesaver. So yes, there are tomatoes in there, but after it cooks all day, the kids never even notice them.
- No kidney beans. Just black beans and navy beans, which are smaller and hide a lot easier than dark red kidney beans.
- This sweet and spicy chili is full of ground beef. My family loves a meaty chili, and this big pot of chili has 4 pounds in it. I told you it would feed a crowd.
- It’s slightly sweet. The kids love how this soup is slightly sweet and the sugar balances the spices. You can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking, or even leave it out altogether. ¾ cup sugar is the perfect sweetness for our family.
Wait…how much chili powder is in chili?
The most common question I get on this recipe is about the chili powder. Readers think that ½ cup must be a typo. It’s not. Yes, we add ½ cup chili powder to this sup recipe. Don’t knock it til you try it. It still ends up with a medium heat flavor thanks to the sugar added.
Add less if you’d like (some add as little as 2 tablespoons chili powder), but ½ cup is the sweet spot for us. Since it has so much, be sure to choose a chili powder that you love! I buy McCormick brand or you can make chili powder at home.
How to Make Sweet and Spicy Chili
This soup is really easy to make in just 2 steps:
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well and simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes. The longer you simmer the soup, the more the flavors deepen.
How to Serve Chili
When we have this sweet and spicy chili, I serve it in bowls with noodles, cheddar cheese, chopped onions and sour cream on the side. This also makes it kid friendly because they can slowly get used to the chili flavor by adding cooked pasta.
You can also serve with a side of saltine crackers, tortilla chips and sour cream cornbread.
Recipe Variations
- Wanting it extra spicy? Add a jalapeno pepper, hot Italian sausage or even a few shakes of cayenne pepper.
- Want to hide more vegetables inside your sweet and spicy chili? I recommend sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, carrots or even zucchini.
Other Recipes to Love
Sweet and Spicy Chili
Award-winning sweet and spicy chili recipe! Petite tomatoes and small beans keep all of the family happy. This chili recipe has been winning chili cook-offs for over 20 years.
Servings 20 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ground beef
- 4 small yellow onions chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 30 ounces beef stock
- 2 cans tomato sauce (15 ounces each)
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
- 2 cans petite diced tomatoes with juice (14.5 ounces each)
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (15.5 ounces)
- 1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained (15.5 ounces)
- 1/2 cup pimentos chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 cup chili powder (plus an additional 2 teaspoons)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar or brown sugar, to taste
- dash oregano
- dash red pepper flakes
Instructions
Stovetop Directions:
- In a large saucepan, brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Drain off any fat. 4 pounds ground beef, 4 small yellow onions, ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well and simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes. The longer you simmer the soup, the more the flavors deepen. 30 ounces beef stock, 2 cans tomato sauce, 1 can tomato sauce, 2 cans petite diced tomatoes with juice, 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained, 1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained, ½ cup pimentos, 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon dried leaf thyme, 4 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, ½ cup chili powder, ¾ cup granulated sugar, dash oregano, dash red pepper flakes
- Discard the bay leaves and serve. Garnish with green onions, shredded cheese and red onions, if desired.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- In a large saucepan, brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Drain.
- Place the browned beef in a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chili on low for 6-8 hours.
Video
Notes
- I like to make our chili the day before, then let it simmer in the crockpot all day on the day we are going to eat it.
- Serve with noodles, cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped onions on the side.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Not cooking for a crowd? You can easily halve this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 296g | Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g
Great comfort food! I made half a recipe. I used just under the 1/4 cup chili powder suggested in the recipe and eliminated the sugar. (I’m not a fan of mixing savory and sweet flavors with meat.) I also used ground turkey instead of beef; trying to cut saturated fat. We served it over whole-grain macaroni noodles with a side salad and cornbread. Eating it again for leftovers did not disappoint!
noticed from the comments that its not the 50 min total time, sonce its recommended to crock pot it a whole day also. theres not enough time left to dinner, so ill just cook ot longer on stovetop. also added a diced hot pepper since we lke things pretty hot.
As a person born in 1963 in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived there for 38 years, pray tell what Ohio chili you think this is?
Yummy 🤤 my first time making this and I really like it