Best Steak Chili
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This steak chili is the best beef chili recipe ever. That’s a big statement, but it’s true. It has a rich flavor, and the tender chunks of slow-cooked chuck steak are dreamy. We use fewer beans, but you can omit them or add more as you like. You’ll want to keep this steak chili recipe in your back pocket so you can pull it out every weekend.
We’ve been eating a lot of chili around here lately while taking new photos for all the chili recipes on the site—which means I’ve been taste-testing chili almost daily. After all that chili, this is the one I keep coming back to. It’s hands down my favorite.
This steak chili is everything I want in a beef chili. The flavor is rich and deep, almost like a slow-cooked pot roast in chili form. Those big, tender chunks of chuck steak are the real star, swimming in a bold tomato sauce with just a few beans to keep things classic. It’s simple, hearty, and completely irresistible.
What kind of steak should I use for chili?
We prefer using chuck steak, which has a rich beefy flavor. But any cut of beef that is marked as ‘stewing beef’ or ‘beef roast’ will work well in this recipe. You want a tough cut of beef that will soften and become tender and tasty after a long cook.
Avoid any lean cuts intended for a plate. Rib-eye, sirloin, and porterhouse are examples of steaks NOT to use. You’ll know which ones they are as they’ll be the most expensive. They will dry out when simmered for hours, and you’ll end up with tough bits of meat in your chili. We don’t want this!
Instead, look for the cheapest cuts of steak. Inexpensive cuts improve the longer they are cooked.
Also, try our delicious pulled pork chili!
Toppings for steak chili
Normally, we’re all about adding some cheddar cheese and sour cream on top of our chili. But this steak chili is so unbelievably rich that we found that our go-to chili toppings distracted from the chili rather than added to it. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t test that yourself, but that’s what we found.
The toppings we liked the best on this steak chili are:
- Nacho chips. Specifically, these crunchy Beanfields Nacho Chips, but I’m sure that others are great, too.
- Minced red onion.
- Or pickled red onion. I use this recipe from David Lebovitz and had some on hand from a batch of carnitas I recently made and they go AMAZING with steak chili.
- Cilantro. We love the flavor.
Steak Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb stewing beef (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 1 large onion (minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 stalks celery (minced)
- 5.5 ounce can tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chili powder (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon EACH: oregano and cumin
- 3 cups beef bone broth (see notes)
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 14 ounce can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
Instructions
- Dry the beef well with paper towels then sprinkle the salt and pepper over the top.2 lb stewing beef, 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef and brown well on 2 sides. Remove it from the pan and repeat with the remaining beef, adding more oil as needed. Remove the second batch of browned beef from the pot.2 tablespoons oil
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook until it is soft and starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and celery and cook for 2 minutes.1 large onion, 4 cloves garlic , 2 stalks celery
- Push the veggies to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it becomes sweet smelling. Add the chili powder, oregano, and cumin to the pot and mix.5.5 ounce can tomato paste, 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon EACH: oregano and cumin
- Pour the beef broth into the pot and use your mixing spoon to scrape the bottom, removing any dark bits that are stuck to the bottom. Add the crushed tomatoes, honey, and browned beef and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Very gently simmer the steak chili for 2 hours – see notes. Just before serving, add the beans and let them warm. Season to taste with salt.3 cups beef bone broth, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoons honey, 14 ounce can kidney beans
Equipment
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Really tasty recipe
Thanks, Andy!
Best Chili ever! I started making this recipe at 8 a.m. this morning and now I’ve eaten it for breakfast and I’ll prob have it for lunch and dinner too! With rice and French bread….so good!
Haha I love that! Chili for breakfast – so perfect!!
Really blown away by this recipe. My family loved it especially my picky two year old. Went with only one tablespoon of chili powder and added some carrots and yellow bell peppers. So good!!
That is so wonderful to hear!
I made this per instructions. To the letter. I’m simmering it right now, my home smells delicious, and the wee tastes here and there are very good. It reminded me of my father’s chili when I was young. Thank you for those memories
You’re so welcome, Wendy!!
I tweaked the recipe for our family’s tastes but this was a great base recipe to start from. I like the addition of honey but I may have added too much it was a bit too noticeable, should have measured it for sure. Maybe start with 1 tbsp and then add more to taste. Also simmered with lid off to let it get thicker. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Jalapenos! I’m surprised they aren’t included in your recipe! At the very least they should be available as a topping! I also cut some corn tortillas into strips and baked until crunchy to offer as an additional toping. I did not try them myself, but others found them to be a good addition. Overall, I liked this recipe very much. I did add 3 jalapenos, 3 serranoes and 1 green pepper to the overall mixture at the time I prepared the celery. This amped up the heat and over all flavor while providing some veg. Honey was an interesting choice in the recipe that I’ve never used before, but found it made a noticeable impact to the overall layers of flavor. You didn’t indicate type of onion, so I used a white onion. I served it with a Mexican fruit side salad which offset the heat of the chili. Thank you for your continued flow of recipes and suggestions for altering each to meet individual dietary, taste or spice preferences! I haven’t tried one I didn’t like yet!
Jalapeños are always a good idea!
Did the receipe call for 2 stalks of celery or 2 ribs. Seems excessive for celery.
We use commonly used American terms when writing our recipes, which can occasionally be confusing. In this case, 2 stalks refers to 2 pieces/sticks/ribs of celery and not 2 whole bunches.
I used left over smoked ribeye roast for this recipe and it turned out AhMazing! Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is super annoying. You try to print it and it doesn’t allow you to do so. It jumps back to the top of the recipe in an annoying loop but won’t let you print it.
That will happen if you have pop ups blocked as the printable version opens in a new window. 🙂
I cook a lot of dishes and this is my boyfriend’s favorite! Probably the best chili I’ve had. I add some cayenne pepper and smoked paprika but making as is, is good too.
This is our favorite chili recipe. Beef stew meat is my favorite, but hamburger works just as well. Sometimes, we’ll even add a little more broth. This is the best. You can even throw it all in the crockpot and it still comes out amazing. Thank you!
“Not bad!” I have altered this a little. Sliced my stew beef to about 1/2 inch pieces. I Browned some thick bacon first (3 pieces), cooked some minced garlic cloves with the onion. Ommited the cellary, added some three cheese tomato sauce with oregano and used less broth. Added a few more beans as well and simmered the last half hour with the lid off to thicken. Topped with a little sour cream and fresh scallions. This is a great recipe that you can easily alter to your own preference. Like other have commented, Chilli is always better the next day! The flavors seem to really meld in the fridge over night…
Sounds delicious but essentially a different recipe;)
I made this last night and it was delicious. I made a few alterations, I omitted the celery because I don’t love celery and having it in chili seemed odd to me. I also added a lot more cumin and chili powder because those two seasonings really represent to me what chili is supposed to taste like! Lastly, I substituted black beans and used two cans instead of one. Another comment mentioned theirs wasn’t as brown as the photos and I’d agree with that – I did let the paste brown in the pan but that didn’t seem to make a difference. It was still really delicious! Next time I’d make it at day ahead of time because it was better the next night and the beef was more tender a day later. I served it with cheese, some sour cream and tortilla chips! Thank you so much for sharing, I’ll make this again!
This was very tasty! I added some bell peppers and a jalepeno for a little extra kick.
Made this yesterday for dinner it was delicious
I’m a chef and a busy business owner, was looking for a great but simple recipe knowing my grandkids were coming over ages 2 and 4 (so nothing spicy). This recipe did not disappoint!! It has some very nice subtle flavors, nothing that is bold or exotic, just a beautiful bowl of steak chili. I’ve never seen my picky eater grandson eat so much, going back for 2nds and 3rds! Way to go, a home run!!
Can I substitute molasses for the honey?
I think molasses would be a nice addition. After you add it, give the chili a taste. If the acidity from the tomatoes is still a little too much, you can always add a little sugar or another sweetener to balance it.