Never cooked dried beans before? No problem. Soaking them the night before makes them cook faster and more evenly, and popping the whole pot in the oven means they stay at a gentle simmer the whole time. Set your timer, queue up a movie, and win Sunday: Netflix and chili.
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What you’ll need
Measuring Spoons
$10 At Bon Appétit Market
Colander
$11 At Amazon
Medium Bowl
$17 At Amazon
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Spider
$10 At Amazon
Can Opener
$14 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 12 cups
Ingredients
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Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 300°. Drain 16 oz. beans and return to bowl used for soaking; set aside.
Step 2
Time to get your knife work out of the way. Without separating or peeling the cloves, cut entire head of garlic in half through the “equator” (it’s fine if some of the cloves become detached). Peel 2 red onions and cut in half through root end. Set aside one half for later (you’re going to finely chop it and use as a topping). Coarsely chop remaining onions.
Step 3
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Cut a slit in each sausage link and remove meat from casings; discard casings. Add sausage to pot and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up into small pieces and stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned all over, 5–8 minutes (it doesn’t have to be completely cooked through).
→ Wait, what is chorizo, anyway?
Step 4
Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a medium bowl, leaving fat in pot. Add garlic and onion to pot and cook, stirring often to dissolve any browned bits on bottom of pot, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Stir in 2 tsp. chili powder and 2 tsp. cumin and cook until spices coat onion bits and start to stick to bottom of pot, about 2 minutes.
Step 6
Break up 28 oz. tomatoes with your hands and add to pot along with their liquid (beware of squirting tomato juice), then stir well to loosen any stuck-on spices.
Step 7
Add drained beans, reserved sausage, 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and 6 cups water and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then transfer pot to oven. Bake chili, peeking in oven and stirring a few times, until beans are creamy and tender, 1½–2 hours. Some beans will split and burst before others are tender, which is fine. Keep baking until all beans are creamy. If water level drops to the point where it no longer covers sausage and beans, add more water just to cover.
Step 8
Remove pot from oven and carefully use back of wooden spoon to mash a few beans against side of pot. This will release their starch and help thicken the chili. Let chili rest about 10 minutes, then taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper, if desired. Fish out and discard papery garlic skin, if desired.
Step 9
Finely chop remaining onion half. Divide chili among bowls, then top with sour cream, cheese, and chopped onion.
Leave a Review
Reviews (21)
Back to TopAdded some leftover pulled chicken and a can of green chiles. So good, already have had to share recipe with 3 people who tried it.
Des Moines, Iowa
10/31/2017
So, the beans were still too firm when I made this. Did I not soak them long enough? Do they need to be in the oven longer? 300 degrees seems like it might be too low? Any feedback is welcome
Shamrocksteady
Raleigh, NC
11/2/2017
I made this for a chili cook-off at my office on Halloween and won. I had to cook it for A LOT longer than instructed, but I believe it's because I didn't cover my beans in enough water. By the morning, they were poking out. Next time, I will make sure to cover them with PLENTY of room to plump up. Otherwise, I can't complain. The recipe was simple, fun to make, and delicious. It won the cook-off, and many people asked for the recipe.
celestebrott0727
Cincinnati
11/9/2017
I really liked this recipe. I used 2 cans of white beans out of pure laziness and just reduced the simmer time and only put 2 cups of water for fear of making the beans mushy and it wasn't a problem. I also used half chorizo and half ground turkey to lighten it. It's pretty spicy which I was pleased with but if you're sensitive to spice I'd halve the chili powder.
Anonymous
Washington, DC
1/13/2018
This recipe was a hit! My boyfriend took one bite and said "please add this to the make again folder!" I made this recipe with slight modifications - I added an extra cup of beans and halved the chorizo - for added fiber and less fat in a weeknight meal. I also used homemade stock in my freezer for added flavor, rather than water.
Taygoldaper
Stamford, CT
1/16/2018
Fresh chorizo is kinda hard to get around here. Could I substitute it with merguez sausages?
Anonymous
Amsterdam
11/12/2018
Overall it is a good recipe. However, it was made with to many complications. 1.) Soad beans in salted water, 1 Tbsp for every quart. 2.) I didn't like the garlic wrappings and skins so removed by microwaving for 20 seconds and slipping garlic out of skins. Tear in the pointed end to make removal easier. 3.) Replace the whole peeled tomatoes with a can of diced tomatoes. 4.) Drain & rinse beans, put in crock pot. Prepare everything else. Cook chorizo sausage in a little oil, remove to crock pot. Add onion & garlic to the oil, cook until transparent. Put into the crockpot, add everything else in the crockpot. Reduce water from 6 to 4 cups. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Serve with sour cream, cheese, and bread.
westevenssr
Vancouver Washington USA
2/5/2019