Lolly’s Blue Ribbon Chili

Blue ribbon chili is the ultimate bowl of hearty chili beans—everything you’d want in a good, comforting chili. My sister Lolly is a total whiz in the kitchen, so whenever I need a recipe, she’s my go-to. I can’t wait for you to try her classic blue ribbon chili!

Ingredients for Blue Ribbon Chili

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup of salsa
• 4 tbsp Chili seasoning mix (use your own or see below)
• 2 – 15 oz cans kidney beans

Ingredients for Chili Seasoning Mix

• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

• Mix the chili seasoning in a small bowl and set it aside.
• Brown the ground beef with the diced onions, then drain.
• Add black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, and salsa then stir.
• Add chili seasoning mix and stir.
• Rinse kidney beans then add them to your pot and stir.
• Cover with a lid and simmer on low heat for at least an hour.

Step One: Prep Spices for Chili Seasoning Mix

If you’ve got a go-to chili seasoning mix, feel free to use that. Or, you can easily make your own—just measure out your spices, mix them in a bowl, and set it aside.

Step Two: Chop Onions

I use this chopper every day—it’s such a time saver! I sliced up the half onion the recipe calls for, tossed a few slices in at a time, and bam! Perfectly diced onions in no time.

Step Three: Brown Ground Beef and Cook Onions

I set my burner to medium heat, then added two pounds of ground beef to my pan and threw in the diced onions. Make sure to break up the beef and stir everything around while the meat browns and the onions turn nice and translucent.

Step Four: Add Other Ingredients

After draining the grease off of the meat/onion mix it’s time to add the other ingredients starting with the black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, and salsa. Give that all a good stir.

Next, I stirred in the chili seasoning mix that I made first and set aside.

And last, I rinsed off the two cans of kidney beans and then poured them into the pan.

Step Five: Simmer on the Stove

After giving everything a good stir, I covered my blue ribbon chili with a lid, turned the heat down to low, and let it just simmer away for at least an hour. While it cooks, the flavors are going to get richer, and the liquid will reduce and the chili will thicken up nicely.

Once your classic blue ribbon chili is done, it’s going to smell amazing. This is a thick and hearty bowl of chili beans that would be perfect for dinner on a cold night, or make a big pot with some cornbread for when you are hosting company. This blue ribbon chili would also be a perfect addition to a baked potato bar. So many possibilities.

You can top with cheese, sour cream, green onions, diced red onions, tortilla chips, corn chips… let your imagination go wild.

Looking for more yummy chili recipes? I recently set out to find the best chili recipe. I made three different kinds all in one day and had a panel of my husband and some of his friends be the official taste testers. I made Lolly’s Blue Ribbon Chili, a creamy White Chicken Chili, and Lolly’s Brisket Chili too! Which one do you think came out on top?

I have those recipes and more all listed in the recipe section of my blog. Check it out for some dinner inspiration!