Dutch oven Black Bean Chili Con Carne

This is one of those recipes on repeat in our house. This Dutch oven chili con carne is one of my go-to batch cooking recipes, and it freezes perfectly, so hello cozy mid-week dinner. It’s perfect comfort food, the entire family loves it, and it makes a  nice hearty meal after a long day at the store. 

What you need to make this Dutch oven chili recipe

• Lean Ground beef mince – Pork mince or ground turkey mince are also great variations
  
  
  
• Vegetables – Brown onion, garlic cloves. If it’s out of garlic season and the fresh is a little hard to come by, try dehydrated garlic or garlic powder instead. 
  
  
  
• Canned black beans. You can also substitute with your favorite canned beans like red kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, or a mixture. 
  
  
  
• Pantry – beef broth or stock, canned whole or crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, ground cumin, ground coriander, sea salt and black pepper
  
  
  
• Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. Totally obsessed with these and I love to sneak them into dishes. If you are not a huge chili lover like myself, reduce the amount of whole chipotle peppers used. 
  
  
  
• Sweet smoked paprika. THE paprika when you are making something with a smokey, slow-cooked flavor.

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The Nitty Gritty

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
   
   
   
2. In a large Dutch oven pot, sweat off the onions on low heat until translucent.  Add the crushed garlic to the pot and stir through for 30 seconds until fragrant.
   
   
   
3. Add the ground meat and saute until cooked. Crumble the chorizo into the pot and cook off for a couple of minutes to release all that delicious flavor. 
   
   
   
4. Add the dry spices and stir through. Now add all the remaining ingredients (except black beans), stir everything to combine into the tomato sauce, and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Pop on the lid and transfer the pot to the preheated oven. cook for 2 hours.
   
   
   
5. Remove the pot from the oven and add the drained black beans. Give it a good stir, pop the lid back on, and return it to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
   
   
   
6. Grab some corn chips and enjoy!
   

Equipment

A cast iron Dutch oven (or French oven) is a must to make slow-cooked chili con carne. To make a single batch I use a 24cm Le Creuset French oven. To make a double batch of this Dutch oven chili recipe requires a bigger pot, for which I use a 28cm Le Creuset French oven.

So let’s take this homemade chili up a notch. My favorite ways to serve it up are…

As the star of the show in everything Mexican. Think tortilla chips piled with chili and cheese to make nachos, burritos, enchiladas, and the list goes on…

As a Mexican style sloppy joe. Add some homemade coleslaw and you’ve got a cracking game-day dish!

And the BEST way, as a bowl alongside rice and all my favorite toppings. Cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, a chopped salad, green chilies (or Jalapeno peppers) 

Leftovers? Lucky you! Here’s what to do with them.

Any leftover chili (once it’s cooled) can be kept in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Like most slow-cooked dishes, they only get better the next day, so batch-cook this one! To reheat, pop everything back into your French oven and warm up on low heat on top of the stove.

To freeze for later use, once the chili has cooled, transfer it to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to three months.

When reheating on top of the stove, add a little water to increase the sauciness!

Love French / Dutch oven recipes? Try these…

• Persian Lamb Shank and Vegetable Soup
• Rigatoni Bolognese
• Slow-cooked Beef Stroganoff
• Irish Lamb Stew

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