Chili con Carne with Dark Chocolate

Chili con carne is Spanish for “chili with meat”: minced beef simmered with tomatoes, fresh chili, cumin and kidney beans. This version finishes with a piece of dark chocolate melted into the pot and is served with Greek yogurt, tortilla chips and lime. It can be mild or very hot – the heat is up to you.

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Last updated 18 September 2026

Recipe

Chili con Carne

Prep

10 mins

Cook

1 hr

Total

1 hr 10 mins

Serves

4 people

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. butter / margarine
• 500 g minced beef
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 ds. peeled tomatoes
• 2½ tbsp. tomato paste or pasta
• 2 tsp. sambal oelek ( or any hot sauce)
• 2 tsp. cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 can kidney beans – if using dried, soak for at least 12 hours, then boil vigorously in fresh water for at least 10 minutes before adding
• 75 g corn kernels
• 40 g dark chocolate – preferably with high cocoa percentage
• 4 tablespoons Greek Yogurt – or other viscous Milk product
• Tabasco sauce
• tortilla Chips
• lime
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Peel onion and garlic, and chop them nicely.
2. Heat oil and butter in a wok or deep pan and season onions and garlic a few minutes
3. Add chopped beef and season until it changes color.
4. Chop the chili pepper, add and let it its flavor overwhelmed the dish for a short while.
5. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sambal oelek, cumin and cayenne pepper and simmer for half an hour. You can easily simmer for a long time so the taste really penetrates the flesh. It's just a plus.
6. Pour the liquid from the kidney beans, rinse them and then let them drip well.
7. Add kidney beans and corn kernels, then allow the dish to boil.
8. Taste with salt and pepper and possibly tabasco sauce.
9. Add the chocolate and let the chili con carne boil until the chocolate is melted.
10. Serve the dish with a spicy Greek yoghurt, tortilla chips and limes. You can optionally serve more tabasco sauce for those who cannot get it strong enough. That sort of thing is always there!

Step by step, in pictures

Six drawings: from chopping the onion to the bowl on the table.

1. Chop the onion and garlic.
2. Soften them in oil and butter.
3. Brown the beef, then add the chili.
4. Add tomatoes, paste and spices; simmer.
5. Add beans and corn, then the chocolate.
6. Serve with yogurt, chips and lime.

The fastest version: beef, beans and chili

At its most basic, chili con carne is meat, beans and chili – fresh, dried or powdered. Brown some minced beef with chopped chili until the meat changes colour, tip in a can of kidney beans (baked beans work too) and heat it through. That is the student version. The recipe above takes it further with onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin and a half-hour simmer.

Why dark chocolate goes in at the end

A piece of dark chocolate stirred in during the last step gives the sauce extra depth. Use one with a high cocoa percentage, and add it only once the beans and corn are hot, letting it melt before you serve. Chocolate is a common addition rather than a quirk of this recipe: Kitchen Sanctuary and Taming Twins both finish theirs with it.

How to set the heat, from mild to very hot

The heat comes from four places, so you can turn each one up or down: the fresh red chili, the sambal oelek (any hot sauce will do instead), the cayenne pepper, and the Tabasco you add at the end. For a mild pot, cut back the cayenne and sambal and leave the Tabasco on the table so everyone can season their own bowl.

Chili vs chili con carne: what is the difference?

Chili con carne means “chili with meat” in Spanish, so meat is the point of it. Meatless versions usually go by another name, such as chili sin carne (“chili without meat”). Where cooks disagree is the rest of the pot: as Wikipedia notes, some purists hold that chili means only the basic dish, without beans and tomatoes. This version keeps both, and adds corn.

Using dried kidney beans instead of canned

The recipe is written for canned kidney beans, which only need draining and rinsing. Dried red kidney beans are different: raw, they contain a natural toxin, phytohaemagglutinin. Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety advises soaking them for at least 12 hours, then boiling them vigorously in fresh water for at least 10 minutes. Do that before they go into the chili – a short simmer in the sauce is not a substitute.

The secret to a better chili: time

Give it longer than the half-hour simmer if you can – the flavour carries further into the meat. And make a big pot: the spices come through more on the second day, which makes chili con carne a good dish to cook a day ahead. Cool it completely before it goes in the fridge.

What to serve with chili con carne

Greek yogurt (or another thick dairy product), tortilla chips and lime wedges, plus extra Tabasco for anyone who wants it hotter. For something more filling, serve it over plain rice, or over cauliflower rice for a low-carb bowl. If you have tortilla chips left over, our nachos use them with melted cheese and pickled jalapeños.