Bacon makes everything better. Right?! Okay so maybe not everything. I still can’t agree with those that think bacon and chocolate belong together, but in most things bacon does make everything a little better.
This chili recipe I am sharing today is an example of that. Chili is great on its own, but when you add bacon it makes it over the top delicious.
The bacon in it adds not only extra meat, which makes this is a meat lovers chili, it also adds so much flavor. Really this is so good!
I have a problem very few people have, I have a lot of bacon in my freezer. Yes, I know most of you are wishing you had that problem. Too much bacon is a good thing because really you can never have too much bacon.
This recipe though really was born out of the fact that I have a freezer full of bacon and am always finding ways to use it. Yes, my family will just eat bacon for breakfast, lunch, or really anytime of day, but because it adds so much flavor to things, I love coming up with new ways to use it. And what better way to make chili better than to add bacon to it.
For this I basically took one of my favorite chili recipes and added bacon. This chili recipe is so simple, yet so full of flavor. I used a full pound of bacon when I made this, but really I think a half of a pound would be good also, so I wrote the recipe with 1/2 to 1 pound of bacon. I would error on the side of too much bacon. If there is such a thing….
Bacon Chili
Bacon chili takes a basic chili recipe to the next level.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound of uncooked bacon, cut into inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons chili powder combined with 3 tablespoons water (this is spicy chili so use less if you don't like it spicy)
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- In a large pan or dutch oven cook bacon until done, but not crisp. Drain off fat and remove bacon from pan, leaving a couple of tablespoons of grease in the pan. Set bacon aside.
- Add ground beef and onion to pan and cook until beef is done and the onion is tender. (You don't have to use bacon grease when cooking the beef and onions, but it adds a lot of extra flavor.)
- Add salt, chili paste, tomatoes, bacon, and sugar.
- Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for another 1/2 hour.
- Add kidney beans and cook until heated through.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This is a pretty thick chili, but you can add some water when adding the kidney beans if it is thicken than you like your chili to be.
If you are gluten-free be sure to read labels to make sure the ingredients are gluten-free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10 servingsServing Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 379Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 561mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 22g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
I most definitely need to make this chili, Lynn! I think I will make it today using ground venison instead of ground beef. Yum!
Thanks,
Shirley
We love venison in chili! I hope you enjoy it.
Lynn, you guys must like your chili REALLY spicy! I made it, but ended up adding a lot more ingredients to mitigate the spiciness. LOL That’s not a bad thing though as I’ve created a new recipe in the process and Mr. GFE was happy to see that his beloved mushrooms were part of the “fix.” 🙂 Our mouths are on fire, but we’re happy!
Thanks, Lynn!
Shirley
We are guilty as charged. The majority of my family loves spicy. My husband can actually do much hotter than this and be perfectly happy. 🙂 I did just make a note next to the chili powder amount so that others that don’t like hot chili will know to reduce the chili powder. I think hot chili might be a TX/OK thing too. Most chili here is pretty spicy.
Do you add the bacon back into the hamburger mix in step 3?
Also, do you add more onion in step 3 or did you cook all of it in with the hamburger?
This sounds SO good! I can’t wait to get back to the store to get some bacon. 🙂
Sorry about that. The directions did not make sense for that step. I just fixed it. You add all the onion with the hamburger and then add the bacon back in with the tomatoes. Thanks for catching that so I could fix it!
We call bacon “meat candy” in this house. 🙂
at our super bowl party last night, someone made bacon chili. it was so good! i’m sure your version is just as wonderful!
Lynn,
I’m pretty confident I can still figure out this receipe, but you may want to proof it. I don’t think in Step 3 that onions should be included as they have already been cooked with the burger. Also, I believe you mean chili powder – not chili paste – should be added.
I’m pretty excited to try this different chili recipe! My husband LOVES bacon, so this should be right up his alley. Thanks!
My husband made this last weekend. It was SOOOO good!!
I made this for dinner one night this week and it is the BEST chili I have ever made. I have been searching for a long time and have tried many recipes that always were disappointing. We like thick, hearty, slightly sweet chili. This was spot on. It is definitely my go-to recipe now. I simplified it though and threw everything into my crockpot to cook all day long. It was fantastic!
I am glad your family enjoyed it so much! Bacon makes everything better. 🙂 And I love the crock pot idea. I make chili in the crock pot all the time, but have not tried this one in the crock pot so I am glad it know it worked so well for you.
Thus sounds WONderful! My inner BYOC is thinking white chili, using chicken and white beans in place of hamburger and kidney beans. The bacon would really take it over the top! Making a paste of the chili powder is ingenious, making it blend easier. Thanx for the great recipe!