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Easy Three Bean Chili: A Cheap and Cheerful Party Favorite

    3 Beans for chili, anasazi beans, pinto beans and turtle beans

    Easy Three Bean Chili: A Cheap and Cheerful Party Favorite

    This three-bean chili is easy to make, but has a long cooking time. The same simple ingredients are added multiple times to achieve a complex flavor profile that has had dedicated meat-eaters convinced they tasted beef. Part of the secret is the long (24 hours) cooking time, part of the secret is the relatively large amount of olive oil that substitutes for the missing beef fat.
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 12 hours
    Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Servings: 12

    Ingredients  

    Stage One Ingredients

    • 1 Lb Red Beans
    • 1 Lb Turtle Beans
    • 1 Lb Pink Beans
    • 2 Cloves Garlic Peeled
    • 1 Large Onion Chopped
    • 2 Dried Chilies
    • Salt To taste

    Stage Two & Three Ingredients

    • 2 Sprigs Dried Oregano
    • 1/2 Bundle Coriander Finely Chopped
    • 1 Bulb Garlic Peeled and Minced
    • 1-2 Large Vidalia Onion Chopped
    • 3-4 Fresh Chilies Various types, choose from: Banana, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Jalapeno and Mulatos
    • 3/4 Cup Olive Oil
    • 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds Crushed
    • 2 26oz Tinned Whole Tomatoes Roughly chopped (put a knife into the jar and stir it a bit)

    Instructions 

    Stage One

    • Assemble all of the first ingredient group in a roasting pan, cover and cook overnight.

    Stage Two

    • Heat a heavy large frying pan with half the oil.
    • Cook half of the onion, peppers and garlic with the cumin, until the onions and garlic are fragrant.
    • Add this mixture to the beans along with half of the tomatoes, cover, and cook for 4-6 hours.
    • One hour before serving the chili, put the second half of the oil, onion, peppers and garlic.into a large frying pan and again, cook until they are fragrant.
    • Add this mixture to the chili with the rest of the tomatoes.
    • Cover and cook for the final hour.
    • Serve, or cool and freeze in small portions for later use.
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