Skillet Baked Chili

This skillet baked chili is the epitome of comfort food! It’s a thicker chili loaded with meat, beans and all the flavors you need. The whole meal comes together in about 30 minutes, making it an easy go to meal for all occasions.

I really love cooking in a cast iron skillet because I think it just adds an extra element to the dish that you can’t get with a regular pan. They are also extremely resilient and can handle high temperatures like a champ. The particular pan I used to make this recipe was actually my Meemaw’s. These things are built strong, y’all! I use my cast iron literally every single day. If you haven’t tried cast iron yet, ya need to!

Now onto the recipe… During recipe testing, I ran out of black beans and ended up using pinto beans instead. These worked great! They just needed a little extra cooking time, about 5 minutes extra. But feel free to switch up the beans any way you like. I’ve rotated between kidney beans, black beans, and the pinto beans with no problems and they all taste wonderful. Make sure to get unseasoned though!

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. chili powder
8 oz. can tomato sauce
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. can black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add your hamburger and onion. Once hamburger has browned, drain excess grease and return to heat. Add your garlic, salt, pepper, and chili powder and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. (Note* this chili is very thick. If you prefer a more soup like chili, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water now). Transfer your skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly then serve!

We love having corn bread or tortilla chips on the side and I always top my chili with sour cream. Cheese is a great extra topping as well! Enjoy!