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Chocolate Chili | ![]() |
Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Weight Watchers Friendly. Whole30 Friendly. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. High Protein.
COMPLIMENTS!
- "The chili was excellent!" ~Megan
- "Holy cow! Was that chili good!!!" ~Sally
- "... it was so good ..." ~BabyAlan
- "The spices and flavor were exquisite." ~Laurie
- Chocolate Chili Was 2002's Single "Most Useful Recipe"!
- Kitchen Parade’s Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes, just one per year since 2002
At Last, "My" Chili Recipe
It took the longest time to find "my" perfect recipe for chili. I experimented with one recipe after another, finding many "good" chilis but not yet the right combination to claim as my own.
My first chili experiment was borrowed from a great cook from Texas. It called for – get this – two cups (cups!) of beef suet and one-half cup (cup!) of chili powder. Whew – greasy AND spicy and definitely NOT to my taste!
I even entered a chili contest once – I thought it was pretty good chili but the judges were unimpressed to learn my entry included a can of tomato soup!
And then finally, my search brought me to Chocolate Chili, the source, sadly is long lost.
Chocolate Chili is a must when the yen for “real” chili hits, when the weather turns brisk, when the snow piles high, when somehow, nothing, nothing at all, will do for Sunday supper. If you're like me, you'll be charmed by the spice-chocolate combination – it softens and deepens the warmth from the chili powder and Tabasco.
While many chilis are somewhat sweet or worse sometimes way too spicy-hot, Chocolate Chili recipe falls into the not-sweet camp even with slightly "sweet" spices.
What's In Chocolate Chili? Pantry Ingredients!
In all my recipes and most well-written recipes, every ingredient serves a purpose. Each one matters. Each one contributes to the overall dish. It's not that an ingredient can't be substituted by something else but when choosing the substitute, it's important to understand why the original ingredient was present in the first place.
- Beef Ground beef works but leave it clumpy instead of breaking it down to fine bits. With this advice, no wonder then that I also love to make Chocolate Chili with chunks of stew meat. Do let the stew meat get really brown, almost crispy.
- Onion Chop it small if you want the onion to disappear texture-wise or in big chunks if you want the pieces to be obvious. Want to add a little more? A poblano works great.
- Tomato Canned diced tomatoes provide bulk and texture, tomato paste adds flavor depth and a certain "umami," that deep, savory deliciousness we strive for.
- Water I use water for this chili. Could you use stock? Sure, if you've got good homemade beef stock, that would be great. But I don't recommend a commercial beef stock, too salty and too much flavor to compete with the spices.
- Chocolate! Yep, Chocolate Chili calls for chocolate, specifically unsweetened cocoa powder but if you don't have any, sure, throw in some chocolate chips instead. They'll melt and meld in with everything else.
- Spices Warm spices! This is not a "hot and spicy" chili, nobody will be wiping sweat off their brow. But it is full of spices, cinnamon, cumin, marjoram and coriander plus chili powder, itself a blend of spice but tending more "hot" than spiced. Like so many of my recipes, call it "spiced" versus "spicy".
- Vinegar Ahhh, vinegar, it shows up in what might seem like the oddest spots. But vinegar is one of those magic ingredients. If a savory dish ever seems like it's missing something? Try a splash of vinegar or another acidic ingredient like lemon juice. That tiny bit of acidity somehow brightens the pot. Try it! And ... once it's added, you can taste for salt and often, need none at all.
- No Beans But if you need to stretch the chili further, sure, throw in a can or two of beans, I'd suggest black beans.
Why Put Chocolate in Chili?
One of the things we love about chili is that basically, we can throw anything we d-a-m-n want into the pot and the pot will take it. So why chocolate?
But chili and chocolate are no accident.
Chili and chocolate are a happy flavor combination in Mexican cuisine, especially in the traditional moles (that's mo-lays not underground creatures) that produce deep, rich flavors. Chocolate moderates the heat in chiles (that is, the poblanos, jalapeños and other spicy peppers) and enriches the spices in chili (that is, the chili powder, cumin and other warm spices).
CHOCOLATE CHILI
Total preparation time: 2 hours
Makes 12 cups
- 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1-1/2 cups diced onion
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 4 cups water (or less for a thicker chili)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco
- 1 – 3 tablespoons chili powder (start with 1 tablespoon, add to taste)
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Cook ground beef and onion until meat is cooked. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water. In a bowl, mix the vinegar, Tabasco, spices, salt and cocoa powder; stir into the chili. Cover and bring to a boil.
FINISH ON THE STOVETOP Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
~or~ FINISH IN THE OVEN Let cook for 2 hours in a 250F/120C oven.
Serve with oyster crackers or "Alanna-style" with a baked potato, mashed potatoes or mac 'n' cheese.










"SPICE FORWARD" CHOCOLATE CHILI Since 2013, I've played with this recipe, one of my oldest. To my taste, this chili keeps getting better and better! Here are the changes I make now:
- Stew meat instead of ground meat, browned really well in an iron skillet, really caramelizing the meat.
- Use double the tomatoes but half the water.
- Leave out the chili powder, I know, heresy!
- Double the vinegar and spices.
- Do NOT double the Tabasco.
- Increase the cocoa powder to a full tablespoon.





Take Off the Cold-Weather Chill with Chili
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Chili with chocolate -- now you are speaking my language! It wasn't until I traveled in Mexico and had really good mole that I discovered how beautifully cocoa enhances the earthy flavor of beans.
ReplyDeleteI love a good chocolate chili; Moosewood has a good vegetarian version that can be googled. I also love the idea of a plop of cheesy mashed potatoes in the middle of the bowl. That's awesome.
ReplyDeleteQuess whats for dinner this weekend. Your chocolate chili!
ReplyDeleteSounds so good and were having our worst storm in years. Perfect timing!!!
So you must be of the "chili as a gravy" camp as opposed to the "chili as a soup" one? I'm in the later group myself so I'd just add more water. I think the spices listed here sound beautiful together. I'll have to give this a try. Thanks Alanna!
ReplyDeleteLydia ~ I've yet to have a beautiful mole but am quite confident that when I first discovered this recipe, I had no earthly idea that chocolate with chili was anything except a novelty.
ReplyDeleteSally ~ Mashed potatoes with chili are just the best!
Megan ~ Stay warm! Let me know how the chili (and cornbread!) work out!
Sally ~ Funny. I thought the chili camps were "beans and no beans". This chili is meaty but still quite thin on the first day. It definitely thickens up over a couple of days, though, so that's when I start adding water.
Wow...this sounds and looks delicious!! This is going on the "to try" list....thanks!
ReplyDeleteDarling, we are surfing the same wavelength! I made a chocolate stew this week; and I am blogging it this weekend. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteI like your ground beef chili version- with all those yummy flavors co-mingling, how can you go wrong? ;)
chili is one of the things on my must-make-this-year list :)
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you and the family hon.
I learned earlier this year that the secret to silky coq au vin was cocoa. I'm making chili today - thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought to put cocoa powder into chili---I'm excited to try it, thanks!
ReplyDelete--steph
You are spot-on, Alanna. Finding a good chili recipe is like shopping for that perfect pair of jeans. I baked a batch of red chili brownies last year and was pleasantly surprised. Too hot for all tastes, but the flavor combo was that all-elusive "perfect." Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet put chocolate into our chili but we have made fantastic chocolate/morita chicken enchiladas (based on a recipe for 'rabbit enchiladas with red mole' in SAVEUR Nov 2006). It is one of our favourites now with corn tortillas.
ReplyDeleteSince that time, we've often added a little cocoa powder to chicken gravy. It's wonderful how it enhances the other flavours without announcing its presence as chocolate.
-Elizabeth
P.S. When I make chili, the first thing I do is blacken a couple of whole dried cayenne chillies before browning the meat. I can't recommend this method enough. The chilis take on a toasty flavour. (And yes, I also add chili powder) Next time, I will HAVE to add a bit of cocoa.
The chili was excellent! My family said this was there new favorite chili! I loved it!
ReplyDeleteMorning Alanna - Holy cow! Was that chili good!!! I had to twist DH's arm to even try it, but he wants me to make it again! LOL (I should have never told him the name.) Thanks so much for the recipe. I can't wait until our next chili cook-off. This should be a winner for sure!
ReplyDeleteChocolate is one of my favorite food substances, but in chili? I don't see why not really, but only 1/2t of cocoa powder? I would be tempted to use more like 1/2 cup! Does the flavor of chocolate actually show up? Interesting for sure, I'll have to add some cocoa powder to my next chili batch.
ReplyDelete- The Peanut Butter Boy
Hi Alanna,
ReplyDeleteWould this work with balsamic vinegar instead of the white kind? I used the last of the later to clean my humidifiers! :) Thanks!
~M - of course! The vinegar adds an astringency that helps balance the flavors.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm making this for a church gathering tomorrow but i don't have any coriander, Is there anything I can substitute in its place?
ReplyDeleteAlan here my spouse made this and it was so good and because it was just the two of us it lasted a long time.
ReplyDeletejust bought all the ingredients, and i'm trying it right now - can't wait to see/taste the results!!!!
ReplyDeleteI made the chocolate chili with ground venison. The spices and flavor were exquisite. A small squeeze of lime added a nice taste mate. New favorite winter soup!
ReplyDeleteYummy. I'm making this today but using your most recent version with the stew meat, etc. I KNOW I'll love this. Thanks, Alanna.
ReplyDelete