Easy BBQ Beef Chili!

Looking for the ultimate cozy comfort food? This Easy BBQ Beef Chili is a recipe I lovingly developed during the beautiful couple of years I spent living out in Montana. If you’ve ever experienced a true Montana winter, you know you need food that warms you from the inside out! Back when I was living surrounded by those jaw-dropping Big Sky landscapes, I constantly cooked this recipe using fresh, local wild game like venison or elk. My husband is an avid bow hunter and outdoorsman so he always kept our freezer well stocked- a chef’s dream!
The absolute beauty of this dish is its versatility—whether you are using ground beef from the local supermarket or fresh Montana venison, it delivers that same deep, smoky barbecue flavor every single time. It’s a thick, rich, chili that delivers a spectacular explosion of sweet & smoky barbeque flavors, balanced with savory spices. It’s naturally gluten-free so our gluten free son could happily devour it! It tastes like a ‘simmered on the stove for hours’ meal even though it comes together with absolute ease.

This recipe takes me back to our cozy winters living in Montana! We used to do a lot of hiking and outdoor activities in the snow so this was always a nice meal to come home to- warming you from the inside out.

👉Creative Ways To Use Leftover Chili

One of the best things about this quick-cook chili is that the flavors get even deeper the next day. If you have leftovers or make a double batch, the options are endless! Here are my favorite ways to reinvent this chili the next day:
• Chili Pasta: Toss the leftovers with your favorite warm noodles for a quick, comforting pasta dish.
• Chili Sloppy Joes: Scoop the thick chili into a fresh bread roll for an easy, flavor-packed sandwich.
• Chili Tacos: Warm up the leftovers and spoon them straight into crispy taco shells or warm tortillas with fresh toppings.
• Chili Taco Salad: Layer the chili over a bed of crisp greens, crushed tortilla chips, diced tomatoes, and a splash of lime.
• Leftover Chili Nachos: Reheat the chili in a pan to evaporate any excess moisture and reduce the liquid, then pile it high over crunchy tortilla chips!
• Quick Lasagna Soup: Turn your leftover chili into a cozy Italian fusion dish! Simply toss the leftovers into a pot, stir in some chicken or beef broth from your pantry, and drop in a handful of Mafalda noodles (those beautiful mini lasagna noodles with the ruffled edges). Simmer until the pasta is tender, ladle it into a bowl, and top it with plenty of shredded mozzarella cheese for a rich, comforting meal.
• Creamy Baked Chili Mac: Mix your leftover chili with cooked macaroni or any small shape of leftover pasta. Stir in a quarter to a half a block of rich cream cheese until completely creamy, transfer to a baking dish, and top with a generous handful of grated cheese. Bake it in a hot oven until bubbling and golden brown for the ultimate hearty, comforting weeknight dinner!

Our Field-to-Table Roots

Long before our snowy winters in Montana, our field-to-table lifestyle started on our 2.5-acre hobby farm in North Carolina. For over five years, we raised pastured hens, grew massive organic vegetable gardens, and harvested fresh figs and blueberries right out back. My husband has been a bowhunter for well over a decade, and we’ve always butchered and processed our own wild game and made things like sausages right at home. That’s why I love keeping this quick-cook chili base in my back pocket—it is perfectly built to handle traditional lean ground beef from the grocery store or fresh wild venison and elk from a successful hunt. I am a passionate animal lover and if we are going to eat meat, I like to ensure it came from an animal living as nature intended, humanely treated and ethically processed.

To make this meal truly legendary, I always pair it with hot, fresh Brazilian cheese bread! If you haven’t tried them yet, they are frozen Brazilian tapioca cheese bread balls that are naturally gluten-free, crispy on the outside, and incredibly gooey on the inside. They are the absolute perfect vessel for scooping up this chili! Of course, if you can’t find them, a good gluten-free cornbread works beautifully too—but trust me, try the cheese balls if you can!
~Chef Jen ❤️

Easy Beef Chili (or Venison)

Yield: Serves 4 hungry adults

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This chili is the ultimate comfort food!

No Ratings

Print

Ingredients

• 2 Pieces of bacon, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2-3 celery stalks, diced (match the amount of diced carrot)
• Olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Butter
• 1.5lbs ground meat or (I use lean beef or venison)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms (optional)
• 1 x 14.5oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed well & drained
• 1/2 cup of a sweet & smokey type bbq sauce (I used 365 Brand)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
• *Optional Garnishes:
• Cilantro leaves
• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Garlic toast or small sized pasta

Instructions

1. Heat a few Tbsp of olive oil in a pan then sauté bacon, onion, celery & carrot until veggies are tender and bacon fat is rendered. 
2. Add butter, mushrooms and ground meat then season with salt & pepper, cumin, oregano, cayenne, cinnamon, paprika and cook until meat is browned and mushrooms are tender. *Add a splash of olive oil, water or stock if your pan dries out.
3. Add tomato paste & tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes then add beef stock, canned tomatoes, kidney beans & bbq sauce. Cover and cook on medium high for 5mins then remove lid and simmer until veggies are all cooked and the chili has thickened to a thick soup consistency.

Notes

Serve with Brazilian cheese bread or on baked potatoes & your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

**Safe time by chopping your veggies in a food processor!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 bowl (1.5cups)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 344Total Fat: 23.5g

Nutritional values provided are automated estimations only and can vary based on portion precision, preparation techniques, ingredient freshness, and specific commercial brands used. This recipe is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am a home cook and culinary graduate sharing my personal recipes, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist, and this information should not be taken as professional medical or health advice.