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Best All-American Chili

A hearty chili made with ground beef, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and spices.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Best All-American Chili

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the chili

  1. In a large saucepan, cook the beef, onion, and green pepper until the meat is browned.

  2. Stir in all remaining ingredients, except the cheese; bring to a boil.

  3. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve hot, topped with cheese, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

503Calories
36 gProtein
25 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Pepper + oreganotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Beans + oreganotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together453 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).

  5. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lean ground beef
Provides the main meaty body and savory flavor of the chili.
Bush best chili beans
Add texture and bulk, absorbing the sauce as they simmer.
Dried tomatoes
Contribute acidity and body to the sauce.
Tomato paste
Thickens the sauce and deepens its tomato flavor.
Chili powder
Supplies the main chili flavor and warmth.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, beef, pepper, tomato, oregano, sugar, cheddar cheese):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, beef, pepper, tomato, oregano, sugar, cheddar cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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