This Black Bean and Beef Chili is loaded with the perfect combination of chili ingredients, and the Avocado Salsa is the perfect finishing touch. This is a chili recipe I’ve loved for years, and this chili recipe is perfect for game-day food. And there are instructions for making this tasty Chili in the slow cooker if you prefer.

PIN this tasty black bean and beef chili with avocado salsa to try it later!

Before we talk about Black Bean and Beef Chili, let’s just talk about chili in general. Chili is a perfect cold weather dish and on this site I have recipes for slow cooker chili and Instant Pot Chili. But sometimes I just like to make a pot of chili on the stove, and this stovetop recipe for chili with black beans and beef is one I’ve been making for years! But I know some people love using the slow cooker, so check in the recipe for tips if you’d like to make it that way.

It’s partly the combination of beef and black beans that makes me love this recipe so much. And definitely the fresh-squeezed lime juice and chopped cilantro stirred in at the end gets a big thumbs up from me. But what really puts this Chili into over-the-top status for me is the creamy avocado-cilantro-onion salsa, something I can imagine myself adding to all my Chili recipes from now on.

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What ingredients do you need?

What is Chili?

For anyone not familiar with the cuisine of the Southwestern United States, the stew-like dish called Chili may be a bit puzzling. Yes, it does usually contain chiles (small red or green hot peppers) as well as chile powder (powdered dried chiles). But there are lots of other things that define chili. Sometimes Chili has meat, and it could be beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, but Chili can also be a vegetarian dish. There are Chili recipes with or without beans, (and some purists say that true Chili should never have beans!) But for recipes that use beans, many types will work, including red beans, black beans, white beans, pinto beans, and more. Besides chile peppers, meat and possibly beans, most Chili recipes also include include tomatoes and onions.

When should you serve chili?

Chili is a great party food, as well as something that’s nice to have in the freezer for quick dinners. But it’s especially good when the weather is cold outside. And of course Chili is the ultimate game-day food!

What if you prefer a chili without beans?

Check out my round-up of Low-Carb Chili Recipesor Pumpkin Chili with Beef, Peppers, and Olives if you’d prefer a chili without beans.

Want more tasty ideas for chili?

You can check out Healthy Chili Recipes Your Family Will Love or 10 Amazing Low-Carb Chili Recipes for more delicious chili recipes like this one. Also check out The BEST Low-Carb and Keto Instant Pot Chili at my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

How to make Black Bean and Beef Chili:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe including nutritional information.)

1. Start by rinsing the two cans of black beans and letting them drain.  (These photos are from a double batch of Chili I made for my family Superbowl party, so divide by two in your mind.)
2. Puree the third can of black beans with the tomatoes in a food processor (affiliate link) or blender.
3. Brown the ground beef, then remove and add to a heavy soup pot.
4. Heat the oil and saute half the onion until it’s starting to soften; then add the chile powders (and ground chipotle chile pepper if using) and ground cumin and cook a minute or two until the spices are fragrant.
5. By now I realized that the double batch of Chili was not going to fit in the pan I was using so I transferred the meat and onion to this bigger pot, added the beef stock and drained beans, and let the chili start to simmer.  (Remember, this is a double batch!)
6. Dice the avocados and toss it with 1/4 cup lime juice. Then stir in the rest of the chopped onion. Add half the chopped cilantro. You can keep the salsa in the fridge if you don’t think your Chili is done yet.
7. This Chili will cook in about 30 minutes, but I like to simmer it on very, very low heat for a couple of hours. It will thicken a bit and cook down slightly. 
8. Stir in the lime juice and chopped cilantro when the chili is as thick as you’d like it and serve hot, with a generous scoop of salsa on top.

More Chili Recipes You Might Like:

Pumpkin Chili with Ground Beef (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)

Amy’s Amazing White Chicken Chili (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

Beef Chili with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Olives (Stovetop)

Try This Next Keto Short Rib Chili

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Ingredients

• 2 14 ounce cans black beans
• 1 T olive oil (or more, depending on your pan)
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup very finely diced red onion
• 1 T or more regular chile powder (preferably New Mexico chile powder )
• 1 T or more ground Ancho chile pepper (Ancho chile powder adds great flavor, but can use more regular chile powder)
• about 1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile pepper (see notes)
• 2 tsp. ground cumin (or more)
• 2 cups homemade beef stock or 1 can beef broth
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice)
• 1 can black beans (to thicken)
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (to thicken)
• pinch of ground Chipotle chile pepper or one diced chipotle chile from a can (optional)

Salsa Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion (or less)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice)
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 avocados, finely diced
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (I didn’t use any salt)

Instructions

1. Drain 2 cans black beans into colander and rinse well, until no more foam appears.
2. Let beans drain while you use a food processor (affiliate link) to puree the third can of undrained beans and the can of diced tomatoes and liquid, (plus another pinch of Chipotle chile if you really like it hot). Process the beans and tomatoes about 2 minutes, until they are fairly smooth.
3. In bottom of heavy soup pot, heat 1-2 tsp. olive oil and brown beef, using the back of the turner to break it into small pieces.
4. Remove beef to bowl, then add a bit more olive oil and 1 cup red onion.  Lower heat a little and cook onions until they are softened but not starting to brown. Add all the chile powders and cumin (affiliate link) and saute about 30 seconds.
5. Add beef stock, browned ground beef, pureed bean mixture, drained beans from colander and tomato paste and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or longer. (I actually simmered my Chili at very low heat for nearly two hours. Halfway through the cooking time, taste to see if you want additional chile powder. I think chile powder is something you need quite a bit of in a dish like this.)
6. While Chili simmers, dice avocados and place in plastic bowl with 1/4 cup fresh lime juice. (I used Elise’s method to chop the avocado inside the skin, which was easy and not messy.)
7. Rinse and finely chop the cilantro. Mix 1 cup red onion and half the chopped cilantro (about 3/4 cup) into the avocado-lime juice mixture. (This can be kept in the refrigerator while the Chili cooks, but be sure to mix the lime juice with the avocado as soon as you cut it to keep the avocado from turning brown.)
8. Just before serving Chili, stir in the other 3/4 cup chopped cilantro and 1/4 cup lime juice and cook about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper if desired.
9. Serve Chili hot, with a generous scoop of avocado salsa on top of each serving.

To Adapt for the Crockpot:

1. Reduce the beef stock to 1 or 1 1/2 cups (depending on how thick you want the chili.)
2. Use an extra tsp. of regular and ancho chile powder. (I wouldn’t increase the chipotle chile powder; you can add hot sauce at the table if you want more heat.)
3. Cook 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low (depending on how hot your Crockpot cooks.) Turn to low when you add the lime juice and cilantro.

Notes

Chipotles are smoked Jalapenos, and the ground chipotle is very hot so use sparingly.

This recipe was adapted slightly from Fine Cooking Annual 2008.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 412Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4.2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10.9gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 919mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 16gSugar: 5.3gProtein: 29g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Made with low-fat ground beef, this Black Bean and Beef Chili would be a great main dish for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. Dried beans are a limited food for Phase One, but in a dish like this with ground beef, tomatoes, and beef broth you can have a larger serving size than dishes that contain only beans. To make this a lower-carb recipe, double the beef and use less beans, but check out 10 Amazing Low-Carb Chili Recipes for a chili recipe that’s truly low in carbs.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup & Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2008. The photos were updated in 2012 and the recipe was last updated with more information in 2021.

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Keto Short Rib Chili

Bean-free keto chili made with braised beef short ribs. So easy to make and the perfect low carb comfort food. This keto chili recipe is paleo, dairy-free, and Whole 30 approved! And it can be made ahead and frozen so it’s ideal for keto meal planning.

There’s a definite chill in the air. Can you feel it? Well, maybe not in some parts of the country, but here in the Pacific Northwest, autumn is on its way, if not already here.

The best part of fall is the comfort food and there is no food more comforting than this short rib chili. Well, maybe my Shrimp and Bacon Chowder. Or perhaps my keto Cream of Mushroom Soup. And my Buffalo Chicken Soup is also pretty darn spectacular.

But this keto chili recipe definitely makes the short list.

Chili is and always has been one of my favorite foods, because even not very good chili is pretty darn comforting when you’re cold and hungry. How can you go wrong with meat cooked slowly in rich spices and a thick tomato broth? You can’t, that’s all. You can’t go wrong.

And the crazy part is that while I make chili all. the. time, I don’t actually have a good keto chili recipe here on All Day I Dream About Food. Until now, that is.

What makes the best keto chili?

Well, what really makes good chili is a matter of opinion and taste. And probably a few feuds as well. Everyone has their own take on the best way to make chili.

In my experience, a slow simmered chili recipe is best, as it allows the flavors to develop and intensify over time. So don’t be fooled by promises of “fast and easy”. Good chili is usually easy to make but it takes time to cook.

Keto chili should be devoid of any higher carb items like beans, though. That goes almost without saying, because beans are high in carbs and many consider them inflammatory. Onion needs to be kept to a minimum as well, since it’s surprisingly high carb.

Tomato sauce, paste, and puree can also send the carb count up if used too liberally. I like to keep my chili to less than 5g total carbs per serving, so I use a single can of diced tomatoes. Fire roasted tomatoes help bring out the best flavor.

But the focus of a good keto chili recipe should always be the meat and the spices. Use beef with a high percentage of fat for a satisfying meal, and be generous with the chili, cumin, and garlic.

Can you make keto chili ahead of time?

I find myself wanting to answer this question with a smart ass comment like “Is the pope Catholic?”. Because chili is perhaps the best make ahead meal on the planet.

It’s one of those dishes that seems to actually get better when it’s eaten the next day or even a few days later. And one of the benefits of keto chili is that there are no beans to get mushy as they sit and soften. So it’s just as good or better than the day you made it.

So go ahead and make a huge pot of this short rib chili. This particular recipe serves 10 people. Let it cool to room temperature and then split it up however you see fit. You can do individual servings, or portion it out for your family size.

The chili can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. We froze our leftovers back in May and I just fed my family the second portion about a month ago!

Because it contains acidic ingredients like tomatoes, I recommend storing in glass containers if you have them. If not, good BPA-Free tupperware works too.

Tips for making Short Rib Chili

Short ribs are ideal for comfort food dishes like this, because they are fatty and rich, and become incredibly tender with slow braising.

Always brown the ribs first: This step adds 10 minutes or so, but it’s worth it. Browning the meat in lard or oil helps bring out the best flavor, before the liquids are added. Otherwise, you are essentially just eating stewed meat. Transfer the ribs to a plate while making the rest of the chili.

Sweat the onions and other veggies: While I do keep the onion to a minimum, it definitely helps add flavor. So add the onion and green pepper to the pot and sauté in the oils and fats with a little bit of salt. This will help them release their juices and flavor.

Add the spices into the hot oil: Before adding any liquids into the pot, you want to briefly sauté the garlic, jalapeño, and spices in the hot oil. This enhances and intensifies the flavor.

Adjust the heat to your liking: My husband and I like our chili pretty spicy but our kids have more tender palates. So we keep the heat at a medium level. I always add the seeds from the jalapeño but you can leave them out if you want less spice. You can also leave out the cayenne. Or you can add more jalapeño and cayenne too.

Now add the liquids and the meat: Once the spices and garlic are fragrant, stir in the diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer before adding the meat.

Slow braise in the oven: You’re looking at a good two to three hours of cooking, but this time is completely inactive. You can be doing lots of other things during this time. Slow braising makes the meat from the short ribs fall off the bone and shred more easily.

Doesn’t this keto short rib chili sound like the perfect comfort food? 

Check out my Keto Soups & Stews cookbook for more delicious comfort food recipes.

Keto Short Rib Chili

Bean-free keto chili made with braised beef short ribs. So easy to make and the perfect low carb comfort food. This keto chili recipe is paleo, dairy-free, and Whole 30 approved! And it can be made ahead and frozen so it’s ideal for keto meal planning.

Popular Recipe Cream of Asparagus Soup – Dairy Free Keto Recipe

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: keto chili, keto chili recipe, short rib chili

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours 25 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 428kcal

Ingredients

• 3 lb bone in short ribs
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup bacon fat, lard, or other high-heat oil
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 large green pepper chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium jalapeno pepper minced (leave the seeds in for more heat)
• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 15 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
• ⅓ cup beef bone broth

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300F and season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper.

• In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt the bacon fat or lard. Once hot, add half the short ribs and brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and brown the remaining short ribs. Transfer to the plate.

• Add the onion and pepper to the pot, sprinkle with salt, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, and cook another minute, until fragrant.

• Stir in the roasted tomatoes and bone broth and bring to a simmer. Add the short ribs back into the pot, cover and transfer to the oven.

• Cook 2 to 3 hours, until the meat is very tender. Remove the ribs, shred the meat and return the meat to the pot. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Nutrition Facts

Keto Short Rib Chili

Amount Per Serving (1 serving = about 1 cup)

Calories 428
Calories from Fat 319

% Daily Value*

Fat 35.4g54%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 1.2g5%

Protein 22.6g45%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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