Cheesy Black Bean Chili is the perfect chili recipe! It's full of smoky paprika, chili powder, a little cumin - and best of all? Cheese! See the recipe below to make this dish, I promise you'll love it!
Love chili? Try this Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Soup and this Roasted Red Pepper and Pumpkin Soup!
Cheesy black bean chili
In my household, we make chili almost every other week. It's an easy, meal prep, freezeable meal that comes together quickly and doesn't require any special ingredients. Chili is super simple to make and always delicious. Especially with a little green onions, nachos, and sour cream.
Recently, I began experimenting a little bit with my chili recipe. I went to my pantry and just grabbed all of the things I thought would spruce up my recipe. Set it apart from others! This is what I came up with. It's simple, it's good, it's easy, and it's delicious! This is the perfect chili to make for the Super Bowl too! Speaking of the Super Bowl, check out this 20 Super Bowl Party Recipes Roundup!
Also, be sure to head over this link and check out this California Lamb Chili recipe and this 60 Best Super Bowl Snacks for Delicious Game Day Eats if you need more game day eats!
how do you make cheesy black bean chili?
It's pretty simple. In about an hour and a half, you'll have dinner for the week! I start by cooking the ground beef in a large pot. I added in diced red onions, bell peppers, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Then I added in the remainder of the seasonings - smoked paprika, cinnamon (sounds crazy right? You have to try it, it's SO good), chili powder, onion powder, cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper (for some heat!).
Toss those seasonings around for a little bit and then add the black beans, fire roasted crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Then add the beef broth and a bay leaf and simmer on low for an hour.
Now comes the fun part! Add all of the cheese in (I used Mexican blend) and simmer for an additional 20 minutes!
Then you're done. It's really that simple!
what's the best secret ingredients for cheesy black bean chili?
It's so crazy, but I've been putting cinnamon in my chili for a while now. Not too much though, cinnamon is super strong in flavor and you don't want it to be overpowering. However, it adds a really delicious "je ne sais quoi" to this dish.
A lot of people have some wonky secret chili ingredients. I've seen peanut butter, coffee, and even chocolate. All of those sounds super interesting and maybe one day I'll try it but for now? For me? It's cinnamon. 🙂
is cheesy black bean chili healthy to eat?
Yep! This Cheesy Black Bean Chili recipe is gluten free and contains a lot whole and fresh ingredients like bell peppers, onions, and garlic! If you want to make it super healthy, omit the cheese. It's still just as delicious but has way less calories and fat. I like the cheese because contrary to popular belief, cheese isn't bad for you. It is a good source of protein and calcium. However, it can also be high in saturated fats and sodium.
So, you know what that means right?
Moderation! Everything in moderation. That way, you can enjoy the best of both worlds and get the benefits of all of the deliciousness without being too indulgent. At least that's how I live my life. You can enjoy just about everything, just not too much. 🙂
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Cheesy Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs ground beef (80/20)
- 4 bell pepper, any color (I used 2 orange and 2 red), diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 tbsps smoked paprika
- 2 tbsps chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 16 bag bag of mixed vegetables
- 2 15 oz cans of Black Beans
- 28 oz can Fire Roasted crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz can can Tomato Paste
- 2 cups Beef Broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups (if you aren't able to find this blend, you can use 1 cup sharp cheddar and 1 cup of Monterey jack cheese)
- Olive Oil
Directions
- Drizzle olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef, diced bell peppers, red onion, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the beef to cook until browned.
- Add smoked paprika, chili powder, ground cinnamon, onion powder, cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne. Mix together and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes. Then add mixed vegetables, black beans, fire roasted crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix together and then add beef broth and bay leaf. Cook on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- After an hour, add cheese and cook for an additional 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro, sour cream, green onions, additional cheese - or anything you like!
Hi, Britney, do you drain the black beans before adding? Cant wait to try!
Hi Maria!
Yes, I definitely drain the beans and give them a rinse prior to adding to the chili!
Hi! Is the Bag of mixed vegetables in the ingredient list a mistake? It’s not mentioned in the recipe steps, so thought I’d check
Hi Sophia! Step #2 mentions to add the mixed vegetables, it isn't a mistake. I hope this helps!
Thank you! Made this recipe; so delicious. The veggies and the bell peppers made it especially good 🙂