Chili recipes - like this Easy Amish Chili - are popular within the Amish community because they are easy, versatile, and feed a crowd. I could utter similar sentiments about casseroles. Chili, though, is easier to make in some ways (stove-top only, purely a one pot meal) and it's soupy warmth just seems to lend itself so well to those chill-to-the-bone autumn and winter nights. This chili is especially easy because it calls for just seven ingredients. I was looking at a non-Amish chili recipe on another website, and it had 31 ingredients! Nope, this Easy Amish Chili recipe proves you can deliver loads of flavor in just seven ingredients. That is why I think this is one of the best chili recipes.
There are as many variations on chili as there are on Amish cooks, from sausage and venison stocked chilis, to sweeter chilis, to spicy chilis, to meatless chilis, to spaghetti chilis and on and on and on....the recipe from an Amish woman in Ohio relies on a couple squirts of mustard to give this chili some zip. It's not overpowering and balances the brown sugar perfectly. So if you are looking for a wonderfully warming chili that is sweet and tangy at once, this is one you want to try!
In an Amish kitchen most of the ingredients would be home-canned. My parents also used canned crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and whole tomatoes instead of tomato juice. I think it turns out OK either way.
You can see the squirt of mustard before it all gets stirred together, now if you are a big mustard fan, feel free to go heavier on it than 2 tablespoons!
Amish and Chili Heat
The mustard and brown sugar combination is what really delivers the flavor on this recipe and allows you to keep it very minimalist. That said, if you want to add more ingredients, you can. I mean, you can go Cincinnati-style and add some shredded cheese (sharp Cheddar cheese is my favorite). You can add more spices, oregano and garlic are two I'd suggest. You can swap out hamburger for chicken if you want and get a mustard-chicken chili. Ground turkey can also be used. You can add a dollop of sour cream before you serve it. I mean, there are a gazillion things you CAN do with this chili but the beauty of it is that if you just sick with the seven ingredients in this recipe, it'll be delicious!
🙋 FAQ
Yes, just follow all the recipe instructions and but make it in a crockpot instead and let it simmer for a couple of hours. Easy!
Beans are a staple of any chili dish but, if you are like my kids and don't like them, leave them out!
Chili Heat and the Amish
Let the chili simmer in a big pot on the stove and the smell will fill the house! As the Amish have gravitated towards more spicy foods, you are seeing more Amish adding heat to their chili: cumin, jalapeno peppers, cayenne pepper, red pepper, chipotle peppers, hot sauce (I love Frank's hot sauce), and loading up on cloves garlic. And if you are going to go the hot route, might as well throw some tortilla chips and lime wedges on to make it a true south-of-the-border chili. These types of chilis are gain popularity among the Amish as more Mennonites move to Mexico and the New Order Amish have been increasingly establishing a presence in Central and South America.
Big bowls of chili are a staple of supper in Amish homes during the autumn.Many Amish will cook chili outside over an open fire in a kettle, or just have a large Dutch oven on the stove letting it simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon, and, ah, the smell permeates the house. A sure sign of autumn.
For this recipe, you can use pinto beans or black beans instead of kidney beans. Cooked pinto beans have slightly more fiber if that is what you are after. No salt is included in this recipe, but if you are not watching your sodium, you can add a half a teaspoon. And if you have leftovers, this chili freezes well, so clear some room in the freezer.
So, enjoy this Amish classic chili recipe!
🥣 Easy Amish Chili
- One pound of ground beef
- 2 tablespoons of mustard
- 1 /2 cup brown sugar
- 1 medium onion
- 1 pint (2 cups) tomato juice
- 2 cans kidney beans
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
📋 Instructions
- Get out a big pot.
- Crumble ground beef into the pot.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the ground beef.
- Chop onions.
- Combine all of these in a big pot and simmer for an hour over medium heat.
🥣 More Amish Chili Recipes
🖨️ Full Recipe
Easy Amish Chili
Ingredients
- One pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 /2 cup brown sugar
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 2 cans kidney beans
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
Instructions
- Get out a big pot.
- Crumble ground beef into the pot.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the ground beef.
- Chop onions.
- Combine all of these in a big pot and simmer for an hour over medium heat.
kevin why do you have the option to like on facebook but it never works. get error message everytime
why do you have the option to like for facebook but it always comes up with error and will not do so >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hi, Brenda, stay tuned, that'll be fixed when the new site rolls out this week!
Kevin,
This chili looks great and I'm going to try it very soon when the weather gets a little cooler. I had to laugh however at what you said about your daughters not liking beans and not adding them. I'd say now that they are true Texans! LOL! It's said true Texans don't like beans in their chili either. Thanks for the recipe.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Interesting, Claudine, I didn't know Texans didn't put beans in their chili, I guess I'm a good fit for the state also!
Kevin, we'll more than welcome you and your family to our state anytime!
Now I'm sneaky, I like pinto beans in my bowl of chili, but not in my hot dog chili and I'm a 6th generation Texan.
Here's a funny story. When my husband was stationed at Fort Knox, KY, we went to the local Dairy Queen and I ordered what I thought to be a chili dog. When it came and I noticed something really strange, at least to my Texas eyes, in the chili. I saw the strange thing was elbow macaroni! I found out later that they or some of the people there put elbow macaroni in their chili. I also found out about chili served over spaghetti. I think it's called 4 Way chili or Cincinnati chili, anyway it is very good.
Stay Safe and God Bless.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Elbow macaroni in chili, THAT sounds good!
Yep, in Texas only tinhorns and Northerners put beans in their chili (and people in a hurry.) AND, when we ask for chili we ask for "a Bowl Red".
interesting, no beans in Texas chili? I didn't know!
Hi Kevin,
First timer commenting. We always had our chili over rice or elbows great way to stretch a meal for 10. I also like sprinkling some ground corn meal on top at the last half hour mark,kinda thickens it up,takes some of the acid from the tomato’s .
Oh wow, Sharon, ground cornmeal, that is an interesting tip! Will have to try!