I realized that though I’ve been making this chili for years I never have set down my version of this old recipe. So, this afternoon before I cooked I documented everything I was going to do, and now I’m sharing it here.

This is based on a recipe that was all just in my grandma’s head as well. My mom one time attempted to transcribe the recipe from her mom’s oral descriptions and shared it with me and Gin when we got married. I’ve tried a bunch of variations over the years but have ended up back at what is basically the original with the addition of some warm spices with the chili powder.

The ironic thing is that I didn’t really like this all that much when my grandma made it when I was a kid. (I had a thing against beans.) I never even tried to make it until long after my Grandma’s death. I make it frequently now because Gin really likes it, I like it, and Mia likes it. (Will doesn’t like it that much, but I guess you can’t win them all. Or maybe he’ll end up improving it again in a couple of decades.)

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 yellow onions
• ~2 tbs oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
• 2-3 lbs ground beef (closer to 2 lbs if lean, 3 if fatty)
• 2 cans (16 oz.) or 1 can (28 oz.) of tomatoes (crushed, diced, stewed, or whole tomatoes)
• 2 cans (16 oz.) or 1 can (28 oz.) of tomato sauce
• 1 lb of dry beans (I usually use pinto beans but small red beans and a lot of others will work as well)
• ~2 tbs apple cider vinegar or other vinegar
• ~2 tbs chili powder
• ~1/2 to 1 tsp of each of the following spices:
  • granulated garlic or garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves fresh garlic minced)
  • ground oregano / mexican oregano
  • cumin
  • paprika (sweet or smoked)
  • allspice
  • cinnamon
  • ground pepper

Steps

1. If cooking beans in a regular pot on the stovetop, they should have soaked overnight before this, and getting the beans cooking should be the first step. Add the rinsed, soaked, and drained beans to a pan with at least an inch of fresh water over the top and simmer, covered, for I believe 60-120 minutes. Check occasionally and add water if necessary. If cooking beans in an instant pot, see step 8, beginning after the chili meat mixture is simmering.
2. Chop up the onions. I usually dice them.
3. Heat a dutch oven, large soup pan, etc. over medium heat
4. Add oil and then add onions. Saute for about 10 minutes (until they start to brown or caramelize or at least become translucent)
5. Add vinegar and spices and mix around, kind of toasting the spices a bit, but they should mix with the oil and vinegar and liquid from the onions
6. Add ground beef - break up and cook with onions and spices until browned - I usually salt the meat a bit when I put it in
7. Add canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer uncovered for up to 2 hours, stirring every 10-15 minutes
8. If NOT cooking beans on the stovetop already: once the onion-meat-tomato mixture has been simmering for a while, rinse the beans and add them to an instant pot with enough water to cover them about an inch deep, and pressure cook for about 30-40 minutes, doing a quick-release (10 minutes?) at the end
9. Add salt to the beans when finished
10. Add beans to the chili mixture, including some or all of the bean liquid
11. continue to simmer for a while altogether until it cooks down a little more, then serve

Serve with

• tortilla chips
• guacamole
• sour cream
• lettuce
• shredded cheese
• limes
• hot sauces (for me because no one else in my family likes it hot - one time I used some different chili powder I got that had more heat and no one else liked that batch, so I froze it in portions and had it all to myself for the next while)
• tomatoes or tomato salsas (gratuitous because the chili has so much tomato in it already)

Having it over cornbread or baked/microwaved potatoes are also good options.

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References and Notes

Source of recipe: my variations and enhancement of a recipe from my Grandma Naoma transcribed by my mom, that I never actually made while she was alive.

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Log

Date Prepared	Context	Preparation Notes or Variations
2026-01-11	nothing special, just cooking on a Sunday afternoon because I got some ground beef at the store for a good price	Did it my standard way; this was my first time finally documenting the recipe

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Original Recipe

Transcribed by my mother and given as a printout in 2008

Ingredients

2 medium onions
3 lbs ground chuck or lean ground beef
2 16 oz. cans stewed or crushed tomatoes
2 16 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 small bag of small red beans
5 tsps vinegar
6 tsps chili powder

Directions

1. Wash and drain beans
2. Boil beans in water and salt with the lid on approximately 2 hours (or until tender)
3. Brown onions in oil
4. Add vinegar and chili power
5. Add ground beef and brown with above ingredients
6. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce
7. Simmer approximately 2 hours
8. Combine beans with sauce mixture and simmer a little while

Servings

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Other Past Notes or Narratives