This Easy Chili Soup Recipe has all the hearty, bold flavors of classic chili without a long ingredient list or spending hours in the kitchen. It’s very easy to make and it’s the perfect meal for the fall and winter months!
Super Easy Chili Soup Recipe
It’s hard to beat a steaming bowl of homemade chili soup on a cold evening.
Traditional Mennonite cuisine really consists of all sorts of hearty comfort foods. Like soup. Mennonites that we are, we love a good soup. A couple of our favorites are Cheeseburger Soup, Taco Soup, Chicken Chili, Chicken Tortilla… the list goes on. See all of our soup recipes right this way! –>
The great thing about Chili Soup (or any soup:)
It’s budget friendly. You can make a large pot of soup without a large grocery bill.
Soup is healthy. What food do you think of making when someone in the house is sick? For me, it’s Chicken Corn Noodle Soup. You can pack a lot of veggies and protein (and more good nutrients) into a soup.
It’s super customizable. If you have some produce or leftover meat that needs to go, make soup. 🙂 Sometimes I have fun adding random herbs and spices to things too, while I’m cooking.
Supplies You’ll Need (and what we used!)
- Soup pot – like usual, I’m using my Made-In 6-quart soup pot today.
- Meat chopper – one like this works great to chop meat while it’s cooking.
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board and kitchen knife – to chop the onion. And actually, I usually use my Vegetable Chopper for this step!
- Can opener (unless your cans have those little handles on top!)
- Strainer – to drain and rinse the beans.
- Stirring spoon – most times I reach for my wooden utensils for stirring.
The Simple Ingredients for Chili Soup
- Ground beef – we have 70/30 currently, but any will work.
- Onion & garlic – I prefer using real onions and garlic, but garlic powder and onion powder will be fine too, if that’s what you have on hand.
- Tomato juice – I use my home-canned juice, but it’s also available at grocery stores.
- Diced tomatoes – a can of diced tomatoes
- Chili beans & black beans – actually I think chili beans might be just pinto beans in chili sauce, so yeah. Kidney beans are also great for chili. You can use any of your favorite beans, it doesn’t need to be chili and black. These are just my personal favorites for chili 🙂
- Chili powder
- Salt & black pepper
- Brown sugar – just a touch of sweetness helps balance out the acid from the tomatoes.
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How to make our Easy Chili Soup
Dice the onion, then cook the ground beef with the onion and minced garlic in a large soup pot.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chili and black beans.
Once the ground beef is fully cooked, add the remaining ingredients – tomato juice, diced tomatoes, chili beans, black beans, chili powder, brown sugar, and salt and pepper – and stir. Simmer for about 30 minutes or so.
Serve and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Chili
Store any leftover chili soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Chili freezes ok too, so you can store in the freezer for a few months.
How to Reheat Chili Soup
When ready to re-heat, put the soup in a pot and heat on the stove top, stirring frequently, until the soup is nice and hot.
Or, zap it in the microwave for a minute or two at a time, stirring in between, until the soup is hot.
Ways to Serve Chili Soup
Here are a few fun ways to serve chili soup this season:
- With toppings. (My favorite way:) Add a generous dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and maybe a few crushed tortilla or corn chips to each soup bowl. Serve with garlic knots for the ultimate cozy dinner.
- With cornbread and cheese sauce. Make a “stack” with a piece of cornbread on the bottom, followed by a scoop of chili and a drizzle of homemade cheese sauce.
- As a baked potato topper. Make regular baked potatoes, then add chili soup, cheese sauce, lettuce, sour cream, any of your favorite toppings for baked potatoes.
Tips, Tricks + Notes
- We like this simple and easy chili soup recipe just like it is, but there are always more things you can add for extra flavor! Optional add-ins: seasoned salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, mustard, oregano, diced peppers or celery, brewed coffee, Worcestershire sauce, etc.
- You can drain the excess grease off after cooking the ground beef, but I like to leave at least a little in there since it adds fat to balance the acidic tomato flavor.
- Don’t forget to taste test! You may want to add more salt and sugar, maybe even butter or tomato paste to make it taste just right.
Share this Easy Classic Chili Recipe
More delicious soup recipes:
Chili Soup
This Easy Chili Soup Recipe has all the hearty, bold flavors of classic chili without a long ingredient list or spending hours in the kitchen. It's very easy to make and it's the perfect hearty meal for the fall and winter months!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 quart tomato juice
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can chili beans, drained
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Instructions
- Dice the onion, then cook the ground beef with the onion and minced garlic in a large soup pot.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chili and black beans.
- Once the ground beef is fully cooked, add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, chili beans, black beans, chili powder, brown sugar, and salt and pepper and stir. Simmer for about 30 minutes or so.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Store any leftover chili soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. When ready to re-heat, put the soup in a pot and heat on the stove, stirring frequently, until it's nice and hot. Or, zap it in the microwave.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 10gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 953mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 8gProtein: 35g
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
As always…
Thanks for visiting our small town! We’re delighted to have you and you’re more than welcome to stay awhile and explore!
’til next time,
We love you and we’ll be praying for you,
Julie
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