5-Ingredient Chili (Easy One Pot Recipe) + Video
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5 Ingredient Chili is packed with flavor and just enough heat to tickle your tastebuds. This classic chili recipe combines seasoned beef, tomatoes, beans, and chiles for a quick and easy meal. Make it tonight in just 15 minutes!
This is one of those chili recipes that I crave all the time. There’s nothing quite like eating a big bowl of this on a cold night, and I love that it doesn’t take a lot of time to make.
I literally make this a dozen times or more during the cold winter months!
I think that the best way to make chili is to keep it simple. This delicious meal only has 5 ingredients, but you wouldn’t guess that from the flavor!
You can also add more to this recipe or even skip the meat to turn it into vegetarian chili. Sometimes, I’ll toss in an extra can of beans, while other times, I’ll try out other seasonings in this homemade chili recipe.
The recipe card below gives you all the details on how to make this hearty meal. And yes, this soup tastes just as good the next day, too!
Using simple pantry ingredients is what makes this recipe one of my favorites, and I have a feeling you’re going to agree.
Top with some crushed saltine crackers, and enjoy every bite!
Table of Contents
5 Ingredient Chili
Busy days call for lazy evenings with a bowl of delicious comfort food.
With this easy stovetop chili recipe, you can get all of the flavor of a home-cooked meal without spending hours in the kitchen.
If you’re ready for an easy chili recipe, this is a great choice. You can make this an easy dinner for the family or double it to feed a large crowd.
Simple ingredients make the best stove top chili!
Even better, you probably already have everything you need for this recipe right in your pantry!
Use this quick chili on our Chili Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Casserole — it is amazing!
My 7 Can Chili Soup is similar to this 5 ingredient chili but has a thinner consistency, extra veggies, and plenty of cheese. Plus, you don’t need to brown any ground beef.
Or, try my Crockpot White Chicken Chili instead. Tender chicken and white beans are cooked in a spiced broth, it’s ready and waiting for you at the end of a busy day.
Add some homemade sweet cornbread and dinner is ready!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
While every recipe is different, the key components in a classic chili recipe are beans and spices.
Many versions also include some type of cooked meat, including sausage or even shredded chicken.
For this five ingredient chili, everything is easy to find and often already in your pantry!
- Ground beef – Easily swap this out for sausage or a leaner option like ground chicken or turkey.
- Diced tomatoes – I like to use the fire roasted with garlic variety, but any diced tomatoes will do.
- Beans – Chili beans come in a seasoned sauce, which is why this quick chili recipe has so much flavor.
Feel free to use regular pinto beans and add your own spice blend if you prefer. - Chiles – Diced green chiles add just enough heat, but you can use jalapenos instead if you want to make it spicier.
- Crushed red pepper – A little goes a long way, so taste the chili first before adding this ingredient. You can also substitute a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.
Toppings for Five Ingredient Chili
While this stovetop chili is perfectly delicious on its own, you can add plenty more flavor and texture with a variety of your favorite toppings!
- Shredded cheese
- Green onions
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
- Bacon crumbles
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Diced avocado
Storage and Reheating
Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator and use within 3 to 4 days for best results.
You could even freeze 5 ingredient chili if you’d like! Store for up to 6 months and thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
For larger batches, portion it out into smaller containers so you use just what you need.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stove, stirring frequently until it’s completely warmed through.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Stovetop Chili
- Cut your cooking time in half.
Use precooked ground beef instead! I like to make a large amount at one time and freeze it in portions for easy meals.
Then, replace 1 pound of uncooked beef with 12 ounces of cooked beef in your recipes.
- Make it heartier.
Use this five ingredient chili recipe as a starting point to make it your own! Cook some veggies in the pot until softened before combining all of the ingredients.
Onions, bell pepper, celery, and mushrooms would all be tasty!
- Need to feed a crowd?
Easily double or triple this recipe for a large gathering. You could even use it as a topping for a nacho or baked potato bar!
5 Ingredient Chili FAQ
No need to drain or rinse canned chili beans since the liquid adds to the flavor and helps to create the sauce for the chili.
Sure! Brown the meat (or use pre-cooked beef as mentioned in the tips above), then combine it in your slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients.
Cook on High for 2 to 3 hours or on Low for 4 to 5 hours. It won’t be a quick chili, but it’ll be just as tasty!
You can use ground sausage, ground turkey, or a combination of meats to make this great recipe.
Even though I think that this is the best chili recipe as it is written, don’t be afraid to change things up. You can add your favorite types of beans, like black beans or red kidney beans, green chilies, diced red peppers, and even sweet potatoes.
I’ll also add yellow onion, cheddar cheese, and a small amount of chili powder to my own bowl once the soup is done.
A fun way to present new recipes like this is to set up a chili bar! Have this on your radar the next time that you make this chili!
You can let everyone add whatever extra flavor that they want to their bowls. This is a fun way to make this easy 5-ingredient chili recipe in a unique and fun way.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Hearty Soups and Stews
5-Ingredient Chili (Easy One Pot Recipe) + Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste, you can add more to taste at the end
- 29 ounce fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic, 2 (14.5-ounce) cans
- 31 ounce chili beans , 2 (15.5-ounce) cans, I use S&W
- 7 ounce can diced green chiles, or 1/2 can (4-ounce) diced jalapenos
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large (4 quart) saucepan over medium-high heat, add ground beef and salt. Break the beef up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, beans, jalapenos and crushed red pepper flakes (to taste – use less for mild, more for hot). Stir. Simmer 5 minutes.
- Taste for flavor, if it tastes flat consider adding a little more salt (a pinch at a time).
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published February 2015, updated and republished January 2025
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We’re Donna and Chad, the dream team behind The Slow Roasted Italian. Our focus is on taking complicated OUT of the kitchen. Life is busy enough, making meals should be fast and easy, to help make your life as simple as possible. Read More >>
Hope your knee has healed completely!! It is no fun being on the injured list!
I love recipes like this….Quick, Easy and I'm sure Delicious!! Pinned it!!
You had me at "5 ingredients" how can you not love simple recipes! Pinning for later!
I just wish the videos would play. All I get are ads and no videos.
This is a good chili, however, nothing new, my mother made it the same way 70 years.
Then with a quick recipe like this, she had plenty of time to teach you "If you can't say something nice. Say NOTHING at all!".
Are the beans drained and rinsed for this recipe?
No you dont drain or rinse them, it helps with tje flavor.
Great easy recipe when one is in a hurry to get dinner on the table!
Sounds great!! I'll probably add onions, just because we love onions, but will be trying your recipe soon. I love easy recipes. Lol!!
Yes, ONIONS!
Definitely onions 🤣
Onions absolutely. I use onions in most of my meats and vegetables
This is such a quick and easy chilli recipe! Love having a nice meal that doesn’t take forever to make
In place of the green chilies; I used as can of the Mild Ro-Tel……..Undrained along with lots of onion that I grate in order to get bits of onion along with the onion juice. Sometimes I will use part hamburger meat and pork sausage; Jimmy Dean, Owens, or store brand and maybe at times I will use Italian sausage.
Great recipe; make it your way.