~1268 cal · 122g protein · 8g carbs · 78g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Dark red bowl of chunky beef chili topped with onion
🇺🇸 Texas
Texas chili descends from the chili queens of San Antonio’s plazas, who sold "bowls o’ red" by lantern light. State law (of the cultural kind) forbids beans; the depth comes entirely from toasted dried chiles ground into the braise.
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Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 5 —
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3 lbs beef chuck, large cubes
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4 dried ancho
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4 guajillo
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2 árbol chiles
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4 cups beef or vegetable stock
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1 onion
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6 cloves garlic
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1 tbsp cumin
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2 tsp Mexican oregano
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2 tbsp masa harina (to thicken)
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1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
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3 tbsp neutral oil
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on the side chopped onion + saltines or cornbread, to serve
Instructions
1
Toast the dried chiles in a dry pan until pliable and fragrant; soak in hot stock 20 minutes, then blend smooth with the onion and garlic.
2
Sear the beef (or portobellos) hard in batches.
3
Return everything with the chile purée, cumin, oregano, and remaining stock. Simmer low, partly covered, 2.5 hours (45 minutes for the plant version).
4
Whisk the masa with a ladle of liquid and stir in for the final 15 minutes — it thickens and perfumes.
5
Finish with vinegar and salt. Serve with raw onion on top. Offer beans to a Texan only from a safe distance.
San Antonio chili-queen lineage.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Texas. Where chili has no beans and strong opinions.
🗺️
United States. Regional cooking shaped by migration and the land.
🌍
North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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