Halftime Chili (Easy Beer Chili!) | Valerie's Kitchen (2024)

This hearty Halftime Chili is deliciously seasoned and chock full of beef, beans, and beer! Get all the work done in advance so you don’t miss a minute of the next big game.

Serve this chili with Cheese Beer Bread warm from the oven!

We are BIG on chili in this house. I’ve made so many versions that I have fine-tuned my recipes to suit different occasions.

This Halftime Chili is precisely what is in order on a cold day when you’ve got the game on and lots of people to feed. The prep is super easy and then it needs time to sit and simmer on the stove which means that you get to sit and simmer, until halftime. Then it’s time to eat!

It is THE perfect football food. It makes a good amount and the leftovers will reheat or freeze beautifully for another meal on another day. Always a bonus in my book!

Ingredient Notes

• Three kinds of beans bulk up this tasty chili. Black beans, kidney beans, and chili beans, like Bush’s Chili Beans in Chili Sauce. Chili beans come in different varieties and I like to use pinto beans for a nice mix in this chili. The chili sauce adds nice flavor to the chili so you don’t want to drain the chili beans.
• We have lots of dried seasonings in our pantry so why not use them? A wonderful blend of seasonings including chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper add great depth of flavor to this chili.

The Best Beer for Chili

I most frequently go with a stout, like Guinness, when I make a beer chili. Stouts are deep, dark and add great flavor to chili. If you prefer a lighter style of beer I don’t think it is necessary to run out and buy a stout. I love this chili with a Mexican beer like Modelo or Dos Equis which are pilsner-style lagers. I’ve also done this Halftime Chili with an ale like Newcastle or Sierra Nevada as well. I would not recommend using a lower quality or light beer.

How to Make Halftime Chili

1. Grab a great big pot or Dutch oven, place it over medium high heat and pour in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the chopped onion and garlic for several minutes until softened. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break it up with a spoon until it is thoroughly cooked. Drain the grease and return the pot to the stove.
2. Add all the wonderful seasonings and cook and stir them into the ground beef for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.

1. Add the kidney beans.
2. Add the black beans.
3. And, finally, the chili beans with their sauce and the beer. Combine it well and then bring the chili to a low boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for an hour.

Pull yourself up off the couch just long enough to remove the lid and then let it continue to simmer, uncovered, for another 30 minutes to thicken up a bit.

Set out your toppings of choice and let everyone have at it. We love grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. Of course an cold beer is a natural accompaniment for this easy beer chili.

How to Store Chili

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Cooked chili keeps well for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. For longer storage, transfer the completely cooled chili to zippered gallon-size plastic storage bags. Push out the excess air, close the bags, lay them flat and freeze them solid. Once frozen, the bags can be stacked to save space.

To reheat, safely thaw the bags of chili in the refrigerator, then warm it on the stove or in the microwave.

More Amazing Chili Recipes

• My Three Bean Turkey Chili is on regular rotation on my menu.
• Try my White Chicken Chili for a delicious change from beef.
• Skip the meat altogether and cook up a batch of this amazing Very Veggie Chili. SO good!
• Check out my archives for all of my tasty chili recipes.

Inspired by Bon Appetit and Valerie’s Kitchen

This post was originally published on December 1, 2013. It has been updated with new text and images.