Call this post counter-programming if you must. But with temperatures plummeting, I needed warm comfort food, not more cookies. While I love traditional beef and bean chili, I hoped for something healthier and easier to make. So I headed to my kitchen with a craving and some parameters, but no fixed recipe. The result was this Lightened Up Chili with Meat.

overhead shot of lightened up chili with spaghetti underneath and grated cheddar on top

It fit the bill perfectly. Just spicy enough and topped with cheese, it managed to taste just like the chili I remember from my old edition (copyright 1961!) of the New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, yet it’s healthier and easier to make. This recipe uses just 1 large pan a 1 large pot. Cleanup is easy and the chili is great frozen into small portions (even single portions just for you.)

There are lots of ways to eat chili too. Cincinnati-style calls for spaghetti (although this version does not have either cinnamon or chocolate, apparently two ingredients typically in Cincinnati chili), other versions call for rice or cornbread, and if you’re avoiding starchy carbs, try it without any of those.

Now before you go criticizing a chili recipe during this holiday season, know that a good friend recently told me of her family’s Christmas Eve tradition – tacos! The story of why her family eats tacos on Christmas Eve is too long for this post. Still, believe me when I say it is marvelous. And although I celebrate Chanukah rather than Christmas, I’m good with any food tradition that brings a family together.

Why This Recipe is Healthier and Easier than the Original

Anyway, back to Lightened Up Chili with Meat. What makes this recipe lightened up is that I mixed ground turkey (you can do chicken) with the ground beef and I lowered the salt. Also I traded olive oil for butter, where Claiborne gives oil only as an option. (I prefer olive oil in this and many other recipes anyway.) Take note, the celery salt in the photo below of the ingredients should have been celery seed – my bad. And I do love celery seed. It’s the secret ingredient in my homemade cole slaw and it adds a “je ne sais quoi” to this chili too. Sorry. Luckily, I realized that I had grabbed the wrong bottle before I actually made the chili. Also, I made a double batch, so in my photos you’ll see twice the amount called for in the recipe.

It is easier than the Craig Claiborne version too because I weighed my onions instead of just describing them as “large.” And I explain such obvious-but not-explained-in-the-original points as how to use only a minimum of cookware.

meat cooking for lightened up chili with rest of ingredients on the side

The Many Variations on Lightened Up Chili with Meat

As with any chili recipe, this one can be spicy or not, depending on whether you use cayenne, and how much, and what type of chili powder you use. I prefer my chili reasonably hot, but my beloved always has a bottle of hot sauce at the ready, just in case it’s not hot enough for his taste.

Can you leave out any of the ingredients or add others? Absolutely.

And as to what goes with it, on top, the bottom, or on the side – your choice absolutely.

Or Choose Another Version Entirely

For a vegetarian chili with lots more ingredients, see this one. For an instant pot, vegan version, I’ve got a pumpkin chili too. I often double my Lightened Up Chili so I can freeze some for another day. But when it comes to large scale chili making, I leave that to my friend Jeff, whose chili for a crowd is simple but hearty and delicious.

Why Make this Lightened Up Chili?

It’s infinitely variable and delicious every which way – make it spicier or less spicy. Put spaghetti or rice underneath, or serve cornbread on the side. Or serve it “as is” – your choice. We (my beloved and I) couldn’t tell the difference between this version and the original. I doubt you will be able to tell it either, particularly in terms of substituting turkey or chicken for beef. I used Rancho Gordo dried beans which I cooked separately (aren’t I fancy:)?), but canned work well here too. By the way, if you’re looking for equivalencies between dried and canned beans, or other important topics like whether you should salt dried beans as they cook, check out the bean-related posts on Serious Eats. I’m a fan of their explanations and I think you might find them useful.
This chili freezes beautifully – I like to keep a few containers in my freezer. Then, when I don’t feel like cooking, I pull it out. Presto! Homemade without effort.
Comfort food to the nth – I can’t think of more comforting food in the winter than chili.

lightened up chili in a bowl with spaghetti underneath and grated cheese on the top

Lightened Up Chili with Meat

This version of traditional American chili is adapted from my old favorite, Craig Claiborne's 1961 Chili Con Carne

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Tex-Mex

Keyword canned tomatoes, chili, ground beef, ground turkey

Servings 4 servings

Author Laura

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped small/diced 1 & 1/2 cups, 16 oz./214 g
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or finely diced
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped small/diced
1 pound ground meat (mix ground beef with turkey or chicken, roughly 50/50) 454 g
2 cups water 474 ml.
14.5 oz canned chopped tomatoes or whole tomatoes chopped by hand 1 -14.5 oz can, 368 g
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (hot red) pepper – powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chili powder (of your choice) approx. .56 oz/16 g
1/8 tsp dried basil leaves
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste
1-2 15 oz cans kidney or similar beans, drained 1 & 1/2 – 3 cups/9-18 ounces/255-510g

Instructions

Heat the oil in a medium-large pan. then saute the chopped onion in the oil stirring occasionally until the onion turns golden brown, then add the garlic for about 30 -45 seconds. Add the bell pepper and continue cooking until the pepper has softened.
Transfer the onion, garlic, and bell pepper to a medium-large pot and brown the meat in the pan, turning it over with a large fork or similar utensil until it is completely cooked. Drain off any water/fat and add it to the pot.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and mix the chili with a large spoon . Bring it to a boil uncovered under medium-high heat, then lower the heat and continue to simmer the mixture until it is the desired thickness, about 3 hours.
Once the chili is ready, taste to determine if the salt and spice level are to your liking. If they are, leave as is. If it needs either salt or more kick from chili powder or cayenne, add it and cook another 10-15 minutes. Then add the beans (either drained from a can or cooked from dried), let the beans heat for a few minutes in the hot chili, and serve it topped with sour cream or grated cheddar cheese. It can top spaghetti or rice, or you can serve it plain or with cornbread on the side.