Guinness Chili is a hearty, rich, flavorful dish made with beer, beans, tomatoes, and warm spices. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or a super bowl party!
When it comes to warming comfort food chili is practically impossible to beat. If you love Classic Beef Chili, then this delicious spin is sure to be a hit. The Guinness adds a rich flavor with malty undertones to the traditional Dinner Recipe.
Sabrina’s Guinness Chili
This delicious chili is perfect to serve on St. Patrick’s Day, at a super bowl party, chili cook-off, or just as an easy dinner idea. The hearty flavorful chili gets rich flavors and an Irish flare from the Guinness. All the alcohol cooks out of the beer so you’re left with fantastic taste in a perfectly kid-friendly recipe.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 3/4 cup Guinness Beer
- 15 ounces kidney beans , drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces pinto beans , drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
Instructions
- To a large pot on medium-high heat, add the ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often, until beef is cooked through and onions are softened, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, beer, kidney beans, pinto beans, chili powder, cumin, and paprika, and stir well.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on low heat for 1 hour or until chili has thickened.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
This is certainly not the only recipe you can add beer to for some extra flavor. Check out Beer Braised Pot Roast, Easy Beer Cheese Dip, and Cheddar Beer Bread. Adding beer to some classic recipes makes a deeper flavor with a light sweetness and rich earthy undertones that really take the recipe to the next level. If you don’t have Guinness, you can use most dark beers as an easy replacement.
What to Pair with Guinness Chili
One of the many amazing things about chili recipes is the many ways you can serve it. Here are a few ideas to get you started when it’s time to serve it up:
- Cornbread: Serve the easy Chili up with Cornbread for the ultimate comfort food dinner. We have many different types to explore on the blog from Spicy Cornbread to Sweet Cornbread Cake. You’re sure to find one you love.
- Cheese: It’s hard to beat melty shredded cheese as a topping. Try shredded cheddar cheese, white sharp cheddar cheese, Colby Jack, Mozzarella, pepper jack, or parmesan sprinkled over your bowl of chili.
- Sour Cream: To add some extra tang and creaminess, serve warm chili with a dollop of sour cream.
- Chips: For some crunchy texture, add crushed corn chips or Fritos to the top of your chili. You can also top off a plate of chips with your Chili instead, and then sprinkle on some cheese.
How to Store
- Serve: Guinness Chili will be good at room temperature for up to 2 hours. If you want to keep it out longer, keep the chili in the slow cooker set to low to keep warm while serving.
- Store: Let the chili cool to room temperature, then cover or transfer it to an airtight container. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: You can also freeze the chili for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, let it defrost in the fridge overnight, and reheat it on the stovetop.
Alternate Cooking Technique
Slow Cooker
- Brown Ingredients: Add some oil to a large pan. Put in the ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper, and put the pan over medium-high heat. Stir and cook the onion and ground beef until browned.
- Combine: Add the meat and onion mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Mix in crushed tomatoes, beer, kidney beans, pinto beans, chili powder, cumin, and paprika into the slow cooker.
- Cook: Once the Guinness Chili is stirred together well, cover the slow cooker to cook. Set the slow cooker to low heat and cook for 8 hours, then serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chili is cooked for a long time, not only to thicken it, but also to combine and strengthen the flavors of the fantastic ingredients. Guinness Chili is a great dish to make ahead as the ingredients will continue to steep as you refrigerate it overnight and then reheat it over the stove the next day.
When you’re ready to serve your Chili, take a look at the consistency to make sure it is how you like it. If it’s too thick, add a touch of broth or tomato sauce to loosen it up a bit. If your Chili is too thick, you can cook it for a bit longer, watching it as it cooks. You could also add in a thickening agent like tomato paste. If you plan to serve it with oyster crackers, stirring some into each bowl will also soak up some of the juices and thicken the overall texture.
Variations
- Seasonings: For some extra flavor mix in ground cumin, cayenne pepper, or dried parsley. You can also add in some minced garlic. 1-2 minced cloves of garlic will be plenty.
- Meat: To replace the ground beef, use a pound of chuck roast or sirloin steak cut into 1-inch cubes. You could also use ground turkey to make turkey Guinness Chili.
- Sweeteners: For some extra sweetness, mix in brown sugar or maple syrup with the chili mixture.
- Beer Replacements: Instead of beer, you can use beef stock, mushroom stock, apple cider, or root beer.
- Add-ins: For some flavorful add-ins, try chopping some bell peppers. Green peppers, yellow peppers, or red bell peppers would work nicely. You could also mix diced tomatoes, green onion, or chipotle peppers. To add to the crushed tomatoes, you could mix in tomato sauce or use tomato paste for a thicker chili
- Beans: Along with the pinto and red kidney beans you could add in some black beans or navy beans. You can replace or mix and match the beans however you like.
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Recipe looks delicious but I can’t eat tomatoes. Is there anyway to make this recipe without them or to substitute something for them? Thank you.
Hmm, I’ve never tested these alternatives for tomato-free chili but I think I’d like to give it a go!
Roasted peppers, butternut squash or sweet potatoes add a creamy texture to a recipe but I haven’t tested any of these alternatives with this recipe to offer the amounts needed. It certainly would alter the recipe’s texture and taste. If you decide to use an alternative, I’d love to hear what you used and how it turned out!