Slow Cooked Black Bean Chili Con Carne (Dutch Oven)

This is one of those recipes on repeat in our house. This slow-cooked 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. 

Here’s why you’ll love this Dutch oven chili recipe

You’re Dutch oven is going to do all the hard work with this one! Once it’s popped away into the oven, you’re job is nearly done. Sit back and let the Dutch oven do its thing!

It’s a recipe the whole family will love. Yes, you may need to adjust the chili level depending on your little ones, but let’s face facets, who doesn’t love Mexican two days in a row? Burrito bowls one day, nachos the next?!

It freezes like a dream. Batch cook and make your life easier on those busy days when dinner is the last thing on your mind.

What you need to get started

• Lean Ground beef mince – Pork mince or ground turkey mince are also great variations.
  
  
  
• Chorizo Sausage. I love this stuff. Make sure you peel the skin off the chorizo before crumbling and adding the pot, otherwise, the skin can become chewy when slow-cooking. To do this, run a sharp knife down the length of the chorizo. It will then be really easy to pull away the skin.
  
  
  
• 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. The same goes for fresh onions, onion powder can also be used as a substitute.
  
  
  
• 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 me, reduce the amount of whole chipotle peppers used. 
  
  
  
• Sweet smoked paprika. THE paprika when you are making something with a smoky, slow-cooked flavor.

How-to

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
   
   
   
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 minced beef 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.

And the BEST way, serve up your pot of chili as a bowl alongside white rice and all my favorite toppings. Cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, a chopped salad, finely chopped red onions, green chilies (or Jalapeno peppers) 

Leftovers? Lucky you! Here’s how to store them.

Any leftover chili (once it’s cooled) can be kept in the fridge in an airtight 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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