Slow Cooker

Chrissy's Best Chili Ever with Coffee

January 31, 2012
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 10-12
Author Notes

With flavors of coffee, dark chocolate, Guinness, and chipotle peppers, this chili is indeed the best chili ever! —MyFareFoodie

Test Kitchen Notes

This stuff is delicious and spicy hot which I love. If you’re not sure about the heat, cut back on the cayenne and add more to taste with salt and pepper at the end. You might want to do the same with the chipotle but I think its smokiness is what makes this chili so delicious. This makes about 7 quarts of chili once fully cooked and just barely fit into my 8 quart pot before reduced so make sure to start with a pot beg enough to hold all this deliciousness. Freezes well. —Angela @ the well-worn apron

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 2.5 pounds ground meat (either buffalo, beef, chicken, turkey, or mixture)
  • 2 cups diced onion
  • 2 cups diced bell peppers (red or yellow)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons diced chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce
  • 2 29-ounce cans tomato sauce
  • 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 19-ounce can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 11-12 ounces dark beer (I use Guinness)
  • 2-3 dried bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cayenne red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate (I use 70% cocoa)
  • 2 tablespoons instant coffee grounds
  • Chopped cilantro
Directions
  1. In a large pot over medium high heat, sauté the ground meat in olive oil until cooked. Drain the meat and set aside.
  2. In the same pot, sauté the onions and peppers until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and chipotle peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, except the chopped cilantro. Add the meat to the mixture.
  3. Loosely cover the pot with a lid and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue to cook for another hour. Allow it to simmer a bit longer if you'd like the sauce thicker. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaves. Serve with grated cheese and chopped cilantro and enjoy!
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

10 Reviews

Eli J. September 15, 2022
I have made this recipe dozens of times. A word of advice - I have reduced the recipe by one 28 oz. can of tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes/diced tomatoes. Five 28 oz. cans makes it overly soupy which makes it overflow one 8 quart stockpot. Four 28 oz. cans fit perfectly in a stock pot and the consistency is excellent. I agree with those below who mix beef and pork. It's a great combination and the fat in the pork makes the beef stick together and not granulate.

Also I would not sauté the red peppers with the onions - add them about 30 to 40 minutes before you stop cooking the chili. They just get too mushy and dissolve into the chili broth if you cook them two hours. I also use a mixture of green, red and yellow peppers. Ditto with the beans - I would up the beans to two cans or more and add them about 35 minutes before it's done. The beans are already cooked and just need to heat through. I also mix it up with pinto, black beans and chili beans - often a mixture. It makes the chili colorful and fun. I also would reduced the cooking time by a half hour and simmer without a lid.
Pam November 20, 2016
Great recipe! I like a thicker texture so I used about half of the tomato sauce, and substituted ancho chile powder for the regular stuff. Used a combo of bison and beef and topped it off with shredded cheddar. It was a big hit!
Mike C. January 30, 2016
Way too much tomato sauce. I was excited to try this recipe but was very disappointed in the outcome.
Jae January 25, 2016
Way too Tomato-ey and not spicy enough to be called chili (imo)
juliunruly May 19, 2014
Tasty! Very spicy – I would definitely cut the cayenne down next time. Good meat-to-bean ratio.
chef L. December 2, 2013
I've made this twice now, both times with great results. This is a rich and densely flavored chili. Because we like spiced up foods, I used an entire 7 oz. can of La Morena Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, and, because I like thicker chills, tomato puree instead of tomato sauce. Simply put, no matter how you arrange or rearrange this, it's a lush dish with a world of flavors.
Caitlin T. May 28, 2013
Oh...my...god. This really is the best chili ever. I was skeptical about the coffee but it's actually really, really, good. I won't be making any other chili ever again. Thanks!
jess J. January 6, 2013
Wonderful chili. I modified the recipe to make it vegetarian: substituted the meet with about one cup of quinoa, a bit of bulgur wheat, and four cups of beans. I also added carrots, celery, and mushrooms. delicious and quite spicy! oh, and this makes a ton of chili.
Cecil M. February 18, 2012
This chile had such depth of wonderful flavor. I did not add the cayenne. The chipotle in adobo added the heat we like. We used half ground turkey and half ground sirloin.
Angela @. February 17, 2012
I really enjoyed testing your chili because when I was in high school our blind Spanish Teacher (Señor Baca) made a humongous batch of chili that we sold at a football game to make money for the Spanish club and it was the. best. chili. ever … until now. For years I’ve thought about Señor Baca and his secret recipe chili. One bite of your Chrissy’s Best Chili Ever and I was transported back in time to a chilly Friday night under the stadium lights eating a fiery cup of smoky hot chili. THANKS!

I do have one suggestion for you to consider editing into your recipe -- Olive oil is used in the recipe but not listed in the ingredients and I think it would be helpful to add it right under the meat. I used “2 tablespoons, divided”: 1 tablespoon for browning the meat and 1 tablespoon for sautéing the vegetables.

Again, thanks MyFareFoodie for this tasty recipe. I WILL make it again. And congratulations on being on a Communiyt’s Pick recipe.