This chili is made with ground beef and smoky poblano peppers… it’s a meal that will truly make your mouth water! Perfect for game day or a cold night!
Hearty, smoky, with just the right amount of heat, this beef and poblano chili is sure to be your new favorite! Double the recipe and freeze the extras to have a bowl of deliciousness ready in just minutes!
So since I already had a turkey chili, and a chicken chili on the blog, I figured that I sure needed a beef one! I’m a huge chili fan, especially October through February (although I still find myself making it in the middle of summer!).
This beef and poblano chili is made on your stovetop, with very little actual “hands on” cooking time, although I’m sure it could be converted to a slow cooker (I just haven’t been able to test it out yet). If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can make this in whatever big pot (with a lid) that you normally make soup or chili in.
Whether or not you like chili with beans is a personal decision, and while this chili doesn’t have any, you could certainly add some if you’d like! I like to save my creativity for the toppings!
Feel free to customize them to your tastes, but the way I’ve done it here is to add sliced avocado, sliced jalapeños, tortilla strips, a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack (pepper jack is also amazing!) cheese, and minced cilantro.
Now all you need is a big slice of this skillet cornbread and you’ll be all set!
I love to serve chili like this beef and poblano version not only as a dinner on a cold night (then have leftovers the next day for lunch!), but it is awesome on game day!!
If you’re having a lot of people over, feel free to double the recipe and keep it on the warm setting in your slow cooker, and it’ll be ready when you are.
Plus, if you set out a bunch of different topping options, you could have a chili bar where your guests can make each bowl exactly as they like it!
But regardless of how you serve this dish up… I know you’ll just LOVE it!!
You could certainly use any ground beef for this chili, but I reallllly love using Certified Angus Beef ® brand ground beef. It’s truly the #bestbeef!
Thank you to the wonderful people at Certified Angus Beef ® Brand for continuing to sponsor The Chunky Chef.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
CHILI:
- 1 1/4 lb. ground beef , 90% lean
- 1 medium yellow onion , diced
- 1-2 poblano peppers , seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic , minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1/2 Tbsp. ancho chile powder
- 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 6 oz. Mexican lager (I used Dos Equis Amber, but any darker beer will work)
- 2 cups low sodium beef stock , divided
- 1 1/4 Tbsp. all purpose flour
- scant 1/4 cup fresh oregano , chopped
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
GARNISH:
- sliced avocado
- sliced jalapeños
- sour cream
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- tortilla strips (or chips)
- minced fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Add drizzle of olive oil to a large dutch oven and heat over MED-HIGH heat. Add beef and brown, about 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon or silicon coated potato masher to break up into crumbles.
- Transfer cooked and crumbled beef to a bowl, and return pan to heat. Add onion and poblano peppers to pan and saute, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds or so.
- Transfer cooked beef back into pan, add seasonings (chili powder, ancho Chile powder, cumin and salt), stirring to combine. Cook about 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste and stir into the meat mixture. Pour in beer, using wooden spoon to scrap the bottom of the pan to bring up any browned bits (big flavor!). Cook about 2 minutes.
- Pour in 1 1/2 cups of beef stock, bringing to a boil. Combine remaining 1/2 cup beef stock and all purpose flour, using a fork or small whisk to combine fully.
- Pour flour mixture into pan, stirring constantly, until full incorporated. Stir in oregano and tomatoes, bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to LOW or MED-LOW (depending on your stove), cover with lid almost all the way (I leave mine cracked about 1/2 inch), and simmer 40-45 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, ladle into bowls, top with desired toppings and enjoy!
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Chef Tips
- Recipe makes approximately 6 cups of chili, and can be frozen
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Jesse says
This is quite good! I did add a 28 oz can of black beans to stretch it a little, and that also worked well. I’ll be doing this one again. Thanks!
Kaitlyn says
I am thinking of making this for a soup-off we have at work, wondering if once it’s made you think it would reheat in a crockpot ok? I would plan to make it the night before and then put in the crockpot in the morning and let it reheat on low until we eat, thoughts?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes that would work well 🙂 Chili is great reheated, and I think it even tastes better on the second day, since all the flavors have had even more time to mesh together.
Isabel says
Haven’t tried this yet, but wondering why you call it “smoky”?
The Chunky Chef says
Both the poblano peppers as well as the ancho chile powder have a smoky flavor.
Mary Luke says
I love this recipe so much! I make it often and switch up ingredients regularly but it’s always bean free and always includes poblano peppers! The usual includes mushrooms and omits the flour & beer. (I love beer in chili but I rarely have any!) So good! Thank you much.
Mike says
I followed the recipe to a tee and the result was pretty good, but I’ll tweak it a bit next time. My main question – what’s the purpose of the flour mixed with the stock? Combining the two turns into a paste and results essentially in dumpling-like pieces in the finished meal. I’d probably skip the flour entirely.
The Chunky Chef says
As mentioned in the recipe, you have to stir the flour/stick mixture into the chili… otherwise, yes, you’ll have clumps. The mixture is a slurry, which is used in a lot of recipes to thicken.
Susan says
I use masa harina flour (corn flour they use to make corn tortillas) and it thickens up chili nicely without using regular flour. I mix it with water first to form a paste then stir it in towards the end.
Russ says
Outstanding! I was looking for a no bean recipe and the poblanos and the small quantity won me over. Very flavorful with a reasonable amount of heat. The only change I made was to substitute a jalapeno for the second poblano. For me, it could use a little more texture, so I’ll use beef cubes next time.
Anne says
This looks awesome! I’d have to make it without beans because I can’t have legumes 🙁 still love chili!
Rob says
I “made” this too (I substituted over half of the ingredients) and it still was delicious!
I added mushrooms, pinapple and beans, and omitted the beer. I also used some chipotle powder, very nice!
One question, why use low sodium beef stock if you are going to add 1/2 tsp (2,8 grams) of salt anyway?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Rob 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the chili! I like to use low sodium stock, so I can control the amount and quality of salt that’s added 🙂
Judy says
I am surprised you didn’t roast poblano peppers first. I think I will just the same. It is so cold around here this just sounds good. I haven’t tried this yet but will for sure.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Judy 🙂 Normally, I do roast poblanos, but since this simmers for a while, I tried to keep the time down to something manageable for a weeknight. There’s certainly no harm in roasting them though, if you have the time 🙂
Callen says
Typo in step four says to “Pour in beef”. Should read “Pour in beer”
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Callen 🙂 Ooops, you’re right, thanks for letting me know! Fixed now 🙂
Julia @ HappyFoods Tube says
Wow! I would eat that bowl of chili right now and I am not a big chili eater at all! 🙂 Love the addition of avocado there.
Carlos At Spoonabilities says
You killed me with this dish. The chili bowl looks so Amazingly good; I just want a big bowl right now. Today is an unusual Cold day in Miami, and it’s the perfect meal.
Nessa says
Any substitute for the beer?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Nessa 🙂 An equal amount of additional beef stock should work just fine.
Nessa says
Amazing, thank you!! 🙂
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
The photos are beautiful! I can’t wait to give this a try. This might be great for dinner this weekend
Sharon @What The Fork says
We love our beef in our house so this recipe is perfect! I love the cornbread to go with it!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
Wow did your chili turn out beautiful! If it tastes as good as it looks, it must be scrumptious! Love those poblanos!
Amy Engberson says
We are huge beef eaters in our family. I’m always looking for new ways to incoporate it into my meals. I know my boys will go crazy for this!
Des @ Life's Ambrosia says
Oh my gahhh this chili looks amazing!
Stephanie says
This is perfect chili weather. Looks so good!!
Erren says
Dinner tonight.? I wish! I love this recipe!