Slim Jim Chili

Our Slim Jim Chili is a vintage chili recipe that started making the rounds in the 1970s. This hearty chili is full of beef, tomatoes, peppers, kidney beans, and celery.

The beef in this chili gives it a rich flavor and texture, while the tomatoes add a hint of sweetness. The peppers, kidney beans, and celery give the chili a nice crunch and texture.

This chili is easy to make and can be cooked in one pot. It's also great for meal prepping and can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also make a double batch so you can freeze some for later. Another easy chili recipe that is great to freeze for later is our Cincinnati Chili. This classic chili recipe, which is a staple in Cincinnati, has been around for decades. 

Serve our Slim Jim Chili with your favorite toppings such as cheese, oyster crackers, sour cream, saltine crackers, or diced onion. 

This was one of the first recipes I ever received from my Mother-in-law. I have only tweaked the recipe as far as adding a bit more chili powder, but besides that, this recipe has stayed the same.

If you are looking for another retro chili recipe, check out our Old-Fashioned Chili Recipe.

🥘Ingredients

You will find the complete information about the ingredients in the recipe card below.

• Ground beef
• Celery
• Kosher salt
• Bay leaf
• Diced tomatoes
• Onion
• Green pepper
• Chili powder
• Ground black pepper
• Kidney beans

🔪Instructions

You will find the complete instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

After browning the hamburger, cook the veggies.

Add all of the ingredients into the Dutch oven.

📋Substitutions

• Beef - I used an 80/20 mix, however, feel free to use whatever mixture you prefer.
• Diced tomatoes - You can use fresh tomatoes if you'd rather. For simplicity, I just use canned.
• Celery - If you happen to not have any in the fridge, use 1 teaspoon of celery salt to give you the flavor of the celery. You can adjust this amount more or less.

🧾Variations

• Vegetarian - Omit the beef to make this a vegetarian chili.
• Deluxe - You can add in some bacon, beer, or ground sausage into this recipe too.
• Coney dogs - This chili makes an amazing coney dog sauce too!
• Chili Mac - If you are looking for an idea to use up the leftover chili, cook some pasta and add it together with the chili and you have homemade Chili Mac! Top with some shredded cheese and dinner is done.
• Nachos - You can also use leftover chili to make nachos. Just drain the sauce off of the chili and add the chili to the top of your tortilla chips, add some cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes. And you have piping hot and cheesy nachos!
• Chili Cornbread Salad - Another way to use up leftover chili and cornbread is to make Chili Cornbread Salad.

If you are looking for more chili recipes, make sure to check out our post that's all about Chili Recipes that use Ground Beef.

🍽Equipment

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you can make it all in one pot if you prefer. However, I like to use my cast iron skillet from Lodge when browning my ground beef as I think I get a better sear on the beef.

Also, I invested in these food containers I found on Amazon so I can freeze the soup when I make double batches and they work fantastic. They remind me of the containers you get when you order carry out.

🥫Storage

This chili will store in the fridge for up to five days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it for up to three months.

⭐FAQ

📖 Recipe

Slim Jim Chili

Our Slim Jim Chili is a vintage chili recipe that started making the rounds in the 1970s. This hearty chili is full of beef, tomatoes, peppers, kidney beans, and celery.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 29 minutes mins

Total Time 39 minutes mins

Course Chili, Dinner, Main Dishes, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Equipment

• Dutch oven
• Knife
• cutting board
• soup ladle

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 4 stalks celery diced
• 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 28 ounce diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• Pinch ground black pepper
• 15 ounces kidney beans undrained

Instructions

 

• Wash, dry, and chop the celery and the green pepper and set aside.
• Dice the onion and add to the pepper and celery mixture.
• In a large skillet, brown the hamburger. When the hamburger is cooked, drain and place in the Dutch oven. Use the skillet that you cooked the ground beef in and add the celery, peppers, and onions and cook until they start to become soft.
• Add the celery, onions, and green peppers into the Dutch oven then add in the remaining ingredients. Cook on medium-low for 30 minutes so the flavors can marry together. Then serve.

Notes

Storage: This chili will store in the fridge for up to five days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it for up to three months.

 

Variations

 

• Vegetarian - Omit the beef to make this a vegetarian chili.
• Deluxe - You can add in some bacon, beer, or ground sausage into this recipe too.
• Coney dogs - This chili makes an amazing coney dog sauce too!
• Chili Mac - If you are looking for an idea to use up the leftover chili, cook some pasta and add it together with the chili and you have homemade Chili Mac! Top with some shredded cheese and dinner is done.
• Nachos - You can also use leftover chili to make nachos. Just drain the sauce off of the chili and add the chili to the top of your tortilla chips, add some cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes. And you have piping hot and cheesy nachos!
• Chili Cornbread Salad - Another way to use up leftover chili and cornbread is to make Chili Cornbread Salad.

Keyword Chili, Slim Jim Chili

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