This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BUSH’S slow-simmered chili beans and Hunt’s vine ripened tomatoes.
Is chili a soup or a stew? Or is chili in a class of its own? Classic chili, white chili, no- bean chili, hot chili, vegetarian chili, chili mac… the list goes on with chili variations.
Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili is a chili cook-off winning recipe! A robust stew loaded with beef, sausage, bacon and tons of vegetables.
In my world there are two ingredients that no chili should ever be without: Hunt’s vine ripened tomatoes and BUSH’S slow-simmered chili beans.
Regardless of what type of chili you make, everyone claims that their chili is the best. And even though my Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili is, ahem, the best… I still like seeing other chili variations.
Mush like grandma’s sauce, every family has their own secret ingredient or technique.
Hop of over to their website and use the chili name generator to name your unique creations. Mine was: “Your love is like a bowl of chili,” chili. If it didn’t already have the title of the BEST CHILI EVER, I’d totally use this one!
What makes my Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili so fantastic and unique? This recipe started as a variation from Boilermaker Chili, served at college football tailgates, but has since morphed into my own concoction.
Using three types of meat, ground beef, ground sausage and bacon, gives it layers of sophistication. The base, instead of being purely tomato, is also rich and robust with beefy flavors.
Lastly, onions, bell peppers, jalapeno and celery are added raw instead of letting them sweat down first. This adds texture and color to the mix. And while it isn’t unique, per say, my chili always uses Hunt’s vine ripened tomatoes and BUSH’S slow-simmered chili beans.
I serve my Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili with Dill Oyster Crackers. They help tone down the heat while adding a crunchy texture.
Like any chili recipe, this chili tastes even better the second day after the flavors have time to marry. It is also meant to feed a large crowd, so either cut it in half, feed the neighborhood or plan to freeze some.
If you like my Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili, then you’ll also love my other chili variations:
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili
Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Crock Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe
Blue Ribbon Award Winning Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 pounds ground beef 80/20
- 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed if links)
- 15 ounces BUSH’S® Kidney Beans in a Mild Chili Sauce
- 15 ounces BUSH’S® Pinto Beans in a Mild Chili Sauce
- 2 (28 ounce) cans Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes with juice
- 1 (6 ounce) can Hunt’s Tomato Paste
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 stalks celery , chopped
- 1 green bell pepper , seeded and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeño , seeded and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 5 strips bacon , cooked and finely chopped
- 4 cubes beef bouillon
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Garnish:
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a very large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and Italian sausage, breaking apart as it cooks. Drain excess liquids and grease, return to pot.
- Add all remaining ingredients except garnishes.
- Simmer over very low heat for 1-5 hours, or until chili is thick and becomes a rich burgundy color.
- Serve with cheddar cheese, Garlic Dill Oyster Crackers and sour cream.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Notes
Nutrition
Tell me about your CHILI PRIDE, what do you put into your special chili?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BUSH’S slow-simmered chili beans and Hunt’s vine ripened tomatoes.
Easy to make and the sausage and bacon added was an awesome choice. Delicious! Thanks
Hi! Making this now. Do you simmer covered, or uncovered?
Uncovered to reduce- we will update.
I won 2nd place in a chili cook off at our church. I am making this again today to serve with hot dogs for our Wednesday night service. This will be my go to anytime I make chili from now on! 😊
Woohoo!!!! Love to hear that and I hope you won something good 🙂
This recipe lives up to its name. I made this for our church chili cook off and guess what… I came in first!!
WOOHOO!!!! Congratulations!!!!
Delicious chili! One added thing I did was instead of using veggie oil to sauté the veggies in, I cooked the sausage then bacon. I reserved 1 tablespoon of the drippings & sautéed in that, I also didn’t cook the bacon all of the way, but cut it up in the veggies to finish cooking – just extra layers of flavor! I used all of the seasonings & spices listed & adjusted the amount according to my family’s taste. I just made a batch this morning to enter in our church’s annual chili cook-off tomorrow – high hopes for a Blue Ribbon win !!
I don’t often see chili recipes that call for bacon, but it’s a terrific add-in. I can see why this chili wins the blue ribbon!
This was delicious! I loved the added veggies.