Emily's Chipotle Chili

My boyfriend and I made this recipe last night and we LOVED IT!!! We made a few variations: we substituted spicy chicken sausage for pork sausage, fiery roasted tomatoes for plain tomatoes, doubled the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (which I thought would be hard to find, but were at a regular grocery store!), left out the coriander because my boyfriend hates cilantro. It was spicy, smokey and wonderful - huge hit and we will make again!

I'm on an obsessed mission to sample as many AR Chili recipes as I can possibly stand (or well, until heartburn catches up to me, or I wipe the bean inventory from my grocery store) and I am So.Very.Glad that I tried this one out tonight! I went heavier on the chipotles, sauteed bell pepper w/ the onion and garlic, and used 2 cans of beans. (What I had on hand ~ Great Northern and Black.) While the end result was a *touch* too thick for my taste-texture (would be perfect over a baked potato or fries though!), I wouldn't change a thing. Really, the chipotles MAKE this chili outstanding and a 5-star keeper in my book! Oh and we ate our's w/ tortilla chips, green onion, and grated cheddar. Already salivating thinking of the leftovers tomorrow ... or tonight if I get a chilitch. e.g. chili itch. Thanks Emily for introducing me to the wonderfulness of using chipotles canned in adobo as a knockout addition to chili!

I adjusted the seasonings to suit our taste (threw in a couple of Knorr tomato and chipotle bouillon cubes), and had to add about a cup of water as it was very very thick. This turned out to be one of the best chilis I have ever made. Served it with jalepeno cornbread. Thanks, emily!

I used the entire can of Adobo Peppers, including the sauce. It added quite the kick, but it tasted fantastic.

We loved this chili. I did however double the amount of chipotle peppers and sauce because we liked a little more spice

I have to 5 star this one although I really only used it as a base because it was the only Slow Cooker chile that sounded good so I didn't follow the recipe exact. I made the following variations.. Meat: 1.5lbs 90% lean beef and 1lb ground turkey (we were looking for healthy chile). Dropped the chipotle peppers and only had about 4 tablespoons of chile powder in the pantry so that's all it got. My wife and I are hot food whimps so that was enough for both of us. I also used pre-minced garlic (in oil) since I didn't feel like buying a whole head for 2 cloves. I also only used half an onion because a "large onion" here is HUGE so 1/2 of one was a good cup of onions. I did use the red kidney beans as well. The final product was AWESOME, the combination didn't need any additional water or anything like others have done, but I did use less meat. I realize I took the chipotle out of the Chipotle Chili, but like I said I was really just looking for a good base crock-pot recipe for chile and this more than qualified.

Tasty. Too much meat in my opinion...and I only used 2 of the 3 pounds. Increasing the chipotles is a good idea if you like things a little spicier. Overall thought this recipe was too acidic. Maybe the ratio of the ingredients needs to be adjusted.

I thought this was great, however next time I will probably omit entirely the 1tsp of salt - I found it to be quite salty, even though I made sure to use low-sodium ingredients where possible. Overall I thought it was great, but not quite spicy enough with mild italian sausage and 2 adobo peppers. The only other changes I made were instead of using two lbs of meat I opted to use an extra can of black beans as I prefer to lean slightly more to the vegetarian side of things.

Loved it. Very good. I added chorizo sausages instead of the Italian and I really like it

I can't give this a 5 star b/c I didn't make it exactly as written. I left out the sausage completely and just used ground beef. Also, we doubled the amount of chipotle peppers, could have possibly even tripled it for our tastes. It was too thick, so I added a can of beef broth. This turned out to be an AWESOME chili recipe. I will use this from now on. I might even try substituting chicken for the beef.

We loved this recipe! I only used one pound of ground beef instead of two. I doubled the amount of kidney beans and made them from scratch. I also didn't add the tomato paste at all, the chili was so thick already I couldn't see adding a thickener. I also cut the spices down a bit - I only put 4 tbsp of chili powder and 1/2 tbsp of cumin. Even so I found it very spicy. My husband and I both thought it was great, I think next time I will only use 1/2 lb of ground beef (but I'll still keep the whole pound of sausage), and i'll completely omit the cumin but increase the chipotle peppers to get more of the smoky flavor without increasing the spice too much. All in all a fabulous chili recipe! Thanks.

This is so easy to make. Every time I've made it, I've had people who have not liked hot stuff to be the one's whose eaten it the most. If you want a hearty chili with a different but bold flavor. You have got to try this one, the chipotle peppers are fantastic in this.

I made this recipe for a work "soup day" that we began...I upped the quantity for 15 people, so it was a bit costly but it was amazing. I added about a Tablespoon more of chipoltes than what the recipe called for. I do not like beans so about 40 mins before serving I added in about 3 cups of Ditalini pasta...so it pretty much was like chili mac...AWESOME! It had a nice slow burn to it, not super spicy and majority of people at worked liked it. I went home with just about enough for my dad and mom to have some for lunch the next day! Putting in my recipe box...it's a keeper

This probably one of the best chili recipes that I ever tried! I made some changes to it though. I tripled the chipolte in abode sauce. I also fire roasted one red bell pepper, then chopped it up and added that to the chili recipe. I also added 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. I got some rave reviews about this chili after it was served to a bunch beer drinking guys. So take my advice, because this will taste like you simmered over an open fire for a whole day. Enjoy

One of the best chili recipes! I substituted the meat with shredded chicken. I will definitely be using this recipe often.

Thank you for the great recipe! I got FIRST Place today at my works chili cook off. Everyone loved it and all said it would have been great on Hot Dogs (Yummy Chili Dogs)...so we are gonna try that with the next batch. I only changed it up a bit: Used 2 15oz cans of kidney bean. Only used 1/2 onion Doubled the Minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce Did not use the pepper or the tomato paste as I did not need to thinken it.

I loved this but my kids found it too spicy.

This is pretty darn good, coming from the "Chili Queen" herself!Used quite a bit more chipotle and adobo sauce than called for, it really did make it for me!

GREAT basic recipe. Made a few changes, which accounts for the rating. Used ground turkey to make it a bit healthier, used a bit less chili powder and subbed out the peppers for chipotle seasoning. Also added just a tad of brown sugar to mellow out the spiciness. My husband went crazy for this chile...and I loved it as well! Great served with brown rice. Yum!

My Girlfriend and I made this chili and it was awesome, we both loved it maybe little less chipotle pepper but very tasty.

Thank you Emily, this was fantastic! It's 9AM and I'm already looking forward to leftovers tonight. This is my new go-to chili recipe.

I am giving this recipe 5 stars but I made a LOT of changes. To start I used hot pork sausage and 1lb lean turkey. I added 1tbsp of cayenne, same of garlic powder and onion powder. I also added some sofrito. Then I used about 1/2 can of the chipotle chilis in adobo. It was also too thick so I added a cup of water. I used dried kidney beans as well (soaked them the night before). It is delicious and spicy just the way me and my hubby love it! The depth of flavor is amazing! I am going to decrease how much tomato paste I use though.

Hubby & I loved this chili!! Being from TX we omitted the beans, but followed recipe exactly. Only down was it could have been used a little more liquid. Think I'll add some tomato juice next time. This is very, very hearty and meaty and the adobo pepper gives a really unusual smoky taste. This will definately be MY chili recipe from now on. Thanks so much.

This chili was awesome!! We actually thought it tasted better before throwing it in the crockpot, however.

This is the best chili that I have ever made! I changed to one pound of beef, but chose to use tenderloin cut into small cubes instead of the ground beef. I used home made hot sausage from our local Brazilian market. I couldn't find the adobo sauce, so I used dried chille chipotle from the Brazilian market. I added the cup of water recommended by my version came out a little runny, so I added a teaspoon of corn meal to thicken it. Emily's recipe is a winner!! I just tweaked it to suite the ingredients that I could buy locally. Can't wait to eat the leftovers! Thank you Emily for the wonderful recipe!

Really awesome recipe! I used about 3/4lb. of ground turkey to keep it heart healthy. I also used organic carribbean style black beans because they added extra seasoning and flavor. I used a little less chili powder and scraped out the seeds from the chipotle peppers because I have a toddler to keep happy. As I was tasting it while it simmered, I felt like it needed a little sugar to balance out the saltiness from the canned beans. I also added two more cloves of garlic because I love garlic. It's so yummy and everything worked fabulously! Thanks, Emily!!!

Alterations to make it even better: Double, triple, or quadruple the chipotles Add 1 cup of corn Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of the Chipotle Tabasco (to taste) I used shredded beef! MMMMMMM mmmmmm Good!

My granddaughter and I entered this in a Chili Contest at our Church last week end, and won Best Taste Award, Hottest taste, but makes you come back for more, and we named it FIRECRACKER CHILI, and won Best Name. Everyone just loved it, it was like a firecracker exploding in your mouth with all the flavors. Best Chili I have ever tasted

I'll give this a 4 bc my hubby and daughter who love spicy things loved this. I didn't care for it as much. So a 5 from them and 3 from me.

This is perfect chili. Not fancy or "unique"... just perfectly delicious chili. It's great by itself or with sweet cornbread. I didn't change anything in the recipe, but I eyeball my spices so who knows.

This is my FAVORITE chili recipe. It's perfect the way it is, but I do like to change it up every now and then. I like to use 1 lb of smoked turkey sausage (cut into tiny pieces) instead of the Italian sausage- that is my effort at making it healthy :) plus, it really does add a little extra texture in there that we enjoy. I use all of the chipotle peppers from a 7 oz can and then add the adobo sauce to the mix. I like to use black beans instead of kidney beans (and I think I usually add 2 cans.) We love garlic so I always add extra cloves. Next time I make it I'm going to add a chopped green pepper. I've used different seasonings each time, but you can do that with this recipe and it's not going to ruin the flavors. I follow the first step by cooking the meat, draining it and adding the spices, onion and garlic, but then I go ahead and put that mixture in the crock pot and add all the other ingredients (except tomato paste) and it works out perfectly. I just don't have the coordination to cleanly pour everything from the Lg. pot to the crock pot. I sometimes cheat and do step 1 the night before and refrigerate the meat mixture so I can get up the next morning and just throw everything together and start cooking it before going to work. This is a wonderful recipe if you aren't looking for standard chili. Thanks, Emily!

Great recipe! But I made it with some modifications: Used ground turkey and added chorizo-flavored turkey sausage. Also added a can of Pato tomato sauce (it's a spicy canned sauce with jalapenos) and I definitely like to use the whole can of chipotles in adobo. Took it to work and it disappeared in a flash -- before the others made with beef!

This was one of my favorite tasting chilli's ever. Loved the adobo chiles in this recipe. I love hot food so I doubled the amount of them. I also used ground turkey instead of beef and used half the amount of meat.

Great recipe, we do ours in the Crock all day.. Great for a change of the normal chili!

I have made this recipe many times. I have made it with ground beef and pork sausage, beef cubes (for stew) and pork sausage and ground turkey and turkey sausage. It ALWAYS turns out great. I tend to add more chipotles and use black beans instead of kidney beans.

I added brown sugar, cinnamon to taste, California peppers, and arbol peppers.

I absolutely LOVE this recipe and have made it several times, always to rave reviews. I have made the recipe as written as well as with all ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken. Regardless of the type of meat used, it's delicious every time!

I did not make this in the slow cooker, just on the stove over about a 2 hour period. We don't care for over tomato-y chili's so for personal preference I omitted one of the cans of diced tomatoes and only used an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and added 3 cups of chicken stock. I upped all the seasoning some but added some cayenne as well for extra heat. Definitely could double the chipotle's as I hardly tasted them. Topped mine with onions, cilantro and Mexican cheese :)

Chipotle sauce instead of peppers

This came out pretty well! I made this recipe with chorizo, ground turkey, and ground beef. I also doubled the chipotle chilis and added some extra adobo sauce. I also added a can of corn, which I think was a great addition! I have a smaller crock pot, so I could not fit all of the chili in my slow cooker. So, I had to cook what couldn't fit in a pot on the stove. I cooked it on low for about 40 minutes. I ate some of it for lunch, and it was delicious! Honestly, I think that the chili that I made on the stove turned out better than the chili I ate 8 hours later from the crock pot! I think some of the chipotle smokiness and the other flavors were too subtle after 8 hours. Next time, I think I will just cook it a little while on the stove. Serve with sharp cheddar, and it's awesome!

I made this chili this past week and it was a big hit !!! Followed the recipe as written except used 1 can black beans & 1 can red kidney beans. Added some chicken stock and didn't need to add the tomato paste as the chili was nice & thick...The only other thing I added was 2 small finely diced carrots to help cut the acidity....We loved it and it made a nice big pot...Had a few bowls then chili dogs and some was left to freeze to enjoy later..thanks for posting the recipe, it was the first time a cooked I in the crockpot instead of the stovetop and it came out GREAT !!!!

Great recipe! modified Using 2 1/2 pounds of ground beef, 4 cloves of garlic, the whole can of chipotle chilis (7oz) and omitted the tomato paste. Talk about low key spice! came out perfect and added this to my cold weather rotation

the Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are the secret to this chilli. my husband loves this and says it is my best recipe. I have to take his word for it, too spicy for me. per his request, I add chuck stew meat to this. I also use the whole can of Chipotle peppers and diced green chillies as well. I had seasoned black beans as well as the kidney beans. the smell is wonderful while it is in the slow cooker.

Love it. It's going into rotation.

Made this in the crockpot. Browned hot breakfast sausage, hamburger then onion in cast iron skillet, used 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, run through a food processor in bottom of crockpot then added meat and onions. Add other ingredients on top. Cooked on high 5hrs. Excellent! Will do it again

I used the entire can of Adobo Peppers, including the sauce. It added quite the kick, but it tasted fantastic.

Yum! I made this tonight. I made just two changes though. I used 1 lb of beef instead of 2, also added more minced chipotle peppers, about a tablespoon in all. It certainly packs a punch! I loved this. Spicy goodness!

I'm glad I found this recipe. It will be my chili of choice from now on.

This is delicious!!! Looking forward to dinner tonight. And tomorrow. And the night after. Like everyone else, I made a few tweaks: used ground turkey as I don't like beef chop meat (one tiny bit of gristle makes me gag) and Italian chicken sausages as I don't like Italian pork sausages (blobs of fat gross me out), doubled the garlic and chipotles in adobo sauce, returned the juices from the browned meat to the slow cooker minus the little bit of fat that was rendered, added a second can of beans (one can no salt added black beans and lowsodium kidney beans). Cooked it for the whole 10 hours on low and it was so yummy, no additional salt was needed. You'll love this recipe!

This is now my go to chili recipe! Hot and spicy, but delicious!!!

This is a Go-To recipe or guide to a very satisfying chili. My only change is to use pinto beans or Ranch Style (brand name) instead of kidney beans. I also use more chipotle peppers because I like that flavor a lot. Really good recipe! Serve with shredded cheese and/or sour cream for people that may want to "cool down" the heat.

We've made this several times, only substituting black beans for the kidney beans. A hit with the whole family!

I actually combined this with the Slow Cooker Chili II recipe, and decided I would rate both. While I didn't add the sausage, it was the addition of the chiptoles in adobo sauce that made my chili perfect. I'm used to bland recipes for homemade chili and this was the complete opposite. Thank you for sharing. I topped with dumplings, because well, why not.

Tainted review. Yes, I admit it. I used some leftover tomatoes/sauce from another recipe. Rather than canned chipotles, I misread & added 2t ground chipotle pepper. Quite smokey, but not spicy. Oops ...

This recipe is the closest thing in the internet I could find to my receipt. It’s a little thick but the cure for that.... add beer. I use New Belgium 1554. You can thank me later .

With a little change, It was great!

I have been making this chili for many years with the following modifications. I only use two pounds of meat, one pound hot sausage and one pound 90/10 ground beef. I double the tomato sauce and coriander. Use a half 7 ounce can of chipotle with adobo sauce. No tomato paste or additional salt. And I split the chili powder to half normal chili powder and half either Chimayo or ancho chili powder. A true family favorite!

Decided to try making this in the Instant Pot since short on time. Did the browning on saute function. Then did under manual pressure for 20 min with quick release. Stirred in some frozen corn. Other than using ground turkey, turkey Italian sausage and package of regular Italian sausage I followed the recipe. Saved a few fat calories. It was delicious! The husband loved it.

I wandered around the internet briefly looking for a chili recipe that used chipotle chilies in adobo as one of the ingredients. I found them in my pantry and thought it might be a nice touch. This recipe found me. And I’m so glad it did. It’s delicious. Thank you for sharing.

Delicious and easy! ??

I am making this for Halloween Trick or Treating! I used ground beef and chuck roast cut into pieces. I did not initially add the tomatoes paste based on other reviews but found that it needed more tomato flavor that came from the paste. It is a hearty meat chili and I love it.

The flavors of this chili are outstanding! Between the Italian sausage and the chipotle peppers a smokiness emerges... So good!

I've made this recipe 8-10 times and it's been fantastic every time but one and that was MY fault (note: do not accidentally use chili-flavored seasoning salt!!!). Over the years I've made a few additions, but the recipe turns out fine without my changes (I always use the kidney beans). Today I'm trying leftover turkey in place of the sausage/beef. Changes I've made: -Add small can green chiles -Add extra chipotles and some chipotle powder -Added a can of corn for color/crunch -Added a can of white beans for color -Once I added bacon (excellent)

Being from TX, I have many chili recipes. I did use the entire can of chipotle chilies & sauce. Also didn't have the canned tomatoes, so used Rotel instead. Thanks for a new family favorite.

I used fire roasted tomatoes and it was delicious. Definitely going to be making this often!

I made the recipe for 2; however, the amount provided enough for 3-4! I used ground pork instead of sausage meat. (I would use the sausage next time.) My chili powder is spicy so i reduced it to one third. However, upon tasting the final product, I added more chili powder, I added the called for amount of cumin and coriander again (essentially doubling what was called for). I tripled the amount of canned chipotle peppers with adobo sauce.

Made as directed, very good and just enough heat. I might have added more chipotle peppers then called for.

This was only OK. I had some leftover chipotles in adobo sauce and was looking for a recipe to use them up. I added extra chipotle and the finished product still wasn't very hot. It's an average chili but nothing special.

This is so good, served it for New Year's Eve dinner with friends along with honey cornbread. I stuck to the recipe with only one exception -- included the whole can of chipotle peppers to give it extra zing based on another recommendation, worked well and was not overly spicy. My only caution is on the nutrition side -- just measured this using the WW app and one serving is 14 points.

Gave it 4 since i didn't follow it exactly because i read other reviews about spicyness and acidic.., but close and didn't slow cook, i used my pressure cooker because i had my 2 slow cookers occupied with soups...so...the changes:...i left out the diced tomatoes & tomato sauce and subbed Ketchup..judged the amount to make it wet..makes it sweeter the way i like..i accidentally used hot Mexican Chili powder instead of regular and i used up the rest of my chipotle peppers which was the point of me trying this recipe...i used about 5 chopped..2 cans of kidney beans, one was undrained and one cup of chicken broth, pressed stew button on my pressure cooker which was 10 minutes. naturally released it and it was awesome but very spicy for those that complained original recipe wasn't spicy enough...cleared my nose, lol...i like a lot of meat in my chili so i loved it..between prep, cooking the meat, and bringing to pressure ,natural release etc..probably about an hour to hour 15 min give or take...i cooked the onions and garlic just a little bit with the meat and spices then threw everything into the pressure cooker..

It is great

I'm giving this four stars because I'm pretty sure it would have been great to many people almost as written, and I should have known what I was getting into from the beginning. You have to love a supermeaty and essentially vegetable free chili. It turns out I don't. Even if you liked a ton of meat, though, it could use some oregano, more chipotle chile, and more liquid. With those changes, some people would probably love it. With so much meat, it seemed super one-dimensional to me. It just wasn't my thing, and it wasn't something I'd put on my table. Luckily, after I added beans, vegetables, and liquid it was pretty good. I had already increased the chipotle chiles significantly. In the future, I'll just add some chipotle peppers to a completely different recipe.

Make this chili! turned out perfectly spicy and delicious. A couple changes: went in a little bit generously on the chipotles, and processed them in a food processor before adding. Also, used 1 pound of ground beef instead of 2, subbing in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of bulgur which made up for the missing meat nicely and made the chili just a little healthier (, or so I want to believe). Left out the kidney beans, and didn't miss them.

I've decided to write this review in case anyone else may find it helpful haha! I used this recipe as my inspiration to make a veggie chipotle chili. I had some leftover "cajun andouille sausage" from a different recipe and I wanted to make some chipotle chili with it. This was delicious! I used the leftover vegan sausage for the sausage and I used a can of jackfruit for the other meat substitute. It's pretty meat (or meat substitute) heavy in my opinion, but it is very good. Other than the meat substitutes, I pretty much completely followed the recipe. I added maybe a cup of vegetable broth because jackfruit will soak up a lot of liquid. I ate it originally with some vegan jalapeno cornbread, and had the leftovers with some toast. Super tasty, definitely recommended!

I've made this chili several times and I think it's my favorite chili recipe. I love the taste of the chipotle peppers and sauce. I only use half the amount of meat and it's still pretty meaty, and I don't like Italian sausage, so I've tried different meats like chorizo. This last time I used a mix of hot pork sausage and turkey and it's great. I also make it in my Instant Pot instead of the Crock Pot and it works great, but it's so thick that it takes a little longer than normal to build up pressure.

I thought this chili was just ok. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. It had a very unusual chili taste and not what I am used to.

It's basically dirty rice with a tomato base. I ate this with some flour shells. I used ground turkey and turkey kielbasa sausage with jalepenos and garlic powder. Delicous!!

Excellent Chili, however the directions could be simplified. Diced Tomatos are optional if you dont like the chunks.

Way too heavy on the tomato flavor for us. Would try again minus the tomato paste

Had made this earlier this week. Just right to bring in the fall season. It was good & hearty. The peppers really did give it a smoky taste. Only suggestion, I may add another pepper next time. Otherwise my family enjoyed this. Will be making this again.

I stopped at 3 table spoons of chili powder and uped the chipotle peppers to 2 Tbl. I will be making this one again.

It was great! I would add a bit more chipotle chilis next time. I used beans in medium chili sauce also. Husband loved it also!