Clean Eating 4 Bean Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is homemade chili with beans healthy? ›

Chili can be healthy, with qualifiers. The iconic dish—typically made with ground meat, tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasonings—is packed with protein, fiber (thanks, beans!), and iron. This makes chili relatively healthy, provided you don't get too carried away with high-fat toppings like sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish. Open your cans of beans using a can opener. There may be sharp edges from opening the can.

The best beans for chili are pinto, kidney, and black beans, like in this easy and tasty recipe. This 3-bean chili freezes great for meals later in the week. If you prefer thinner chili, add an extra can of tomato sauce. The green chiles are not hot and add a wonderful flavor, so don't be afraid to use them.

What primarily distinguishes Texas chili from other chili recipes you might find is a lack of beans, but it also doesn't feature any tomatoes. It is, largely, a ground beef dish that's seasoned with a spicy chili paste made of dried peppers.

Kidney beans are, in my opinion, the best for vegetarian chili. Raw beans, however, contain high amounts of phytohemagglutinin, meaning that if you purchase dried kidney beans, you must pre-soak and boil them before consumption. Canned beans, however, are pre-cooked and are perfectly fine to eat.

Green chillies have higher water content and zero calories which makes them a healthy choice for those who are trying to shed some pounds. Green chillies are a rich source of beta–carotene, antioxidants and endorrphins while red chilies consumed in excess can cause internal inflammation which results in peptic ulcers.

Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed." If that sounds a bit uptight, the ICS's Homestyle Chili competition defines chili as: "any kind of meat, or combination of meats, and/or vegetables cooked with beans, chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients.

Chili cooks low and slow, so you need enough liquid to tenderize the meat and keep everything from drying out. That liquid should also add flavor to the chili, so use chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or beer.

Tomato paste is a great way to add bonus tomato flavor, and thickness, to a chili recipe. To get the best flavor it needs to be browned. Add a couple tablespoons (or a whole can if you want a thicker soup base) directly to the pan after cooking the meat and onions.

Sweet Onion

Sweet onions are great for caramelizing due to their higher sugar content. You can cook them into your chili, serve them raw over top, or even elevate your chili with a sophisticated caramelized onion topping! Some of my favorite sweet onions are Walla, Walla, Maui, and Vidalia Onions.

What is chili with beans actually called? ›

Chili with beans could be called chili frijoles or chili con carne con frijoles. I've not seen any other name than “chili with beans.”

The easiest beans to digest (therefore less likely to cause gas), according to Country Life Foods, are lentils, black eyed beans, adzuki beans and mung beans. (Click through to learn more about the amazing health benefits of mung beans.) The harder ones to digest are red kidney, soy, black and lima beans.

Beans in chili? Not if you're from Texas! While some people claim that chili can be made with a variety of ingredients—including beef and bean chili, chipotle chicken chili, or dare we say veggie chili—anyone from the Lone Star State would argue that traditional chili simply does not contain beans.

Chuck wagon cooks on the trail made “a bowl of red” popular. They were given the tougher, cheaper cuts of beef for their provisions, and would chop up this meat and simmer it with lots of hot chiles for a long time, until the meat became tender and was surrounded by a thick, spicy gravy.

But adding corn cobs to your chili is the secret to bringing natural sweetness without adding sugar. Fresh ears of sweet corn are the perfect backdrop for a Roasted Poblano and White Bean Chili. In this recipe, the corn's natural sweetness is amplified by cooking it in two ways: broiled and simmered.

Chili with beans and meat, homemade (1 cup) contains 23.5g total carbs, 16.3g net carbs, 9.1g fat, 18.2g protein, and 242 calories.

Boasting high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants, chillies have been found to help prevent lifestyle diseases including some cancers and stomach ulcers. Meanwhile, their ability to create heat within the body has also linked the peppers to weight loss as well as lowering the risk of type II diabetes.

Classic bean-based chili is not keto-friendly, as beans are high in carbohydrates. Luckily you can still make a keto-friendly chili without the beans. All of the traditional chili spices, such as chili powder, ground cumin and smoked paprika, are great flavor-boosters for keto foods.

The ICS defines Traditional Red Chili as "any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients. Beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice and pasta are not allowed."