My Award-Winning Southern Soul Chili recipe starts with beef and beans in a rich sauce loaded with amazing flavor! That’s perfect for tailgating, game day, or when you’re feeding a crowd. Simmered for hours, it is comfort food at its BEST.
Make a meal that everyone will love when you serve chili Southern style with Creamed Corn Cornbread Muffins, and a fresh Chopped Salad.
In This Post
Last weekend, I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride! I had chopped, cooked, and tasted chili for several days. The reason? I’d entered a Chili Challenge sponsored by our local Farmers Market. It’s a great event that brings together vendors with community partners and all money raised benefits the market. And had two great partners, Charles Sheppard from Sir Charles Gourmet BBQ Sauces and Tommy Neese from Neese’s Country Sausage so I was feeling pretty good about going up against some formidable competitors.
During my prep week, I’d made several different batches of chili and called on a few special taste testers to weigh in on my recipe, and thank goodness, they knew what they were doing! The days were flying by and then, finally, on Thursday night, everything came together and I had the recipe perfected. Friends…all that hard work paid off – we WON!
I am thrilled to share this award-winning recipe with you! It might look complicated but I can assure you it’s not.
Ingredients For The Best Southern Chili Recipe
- Ground Beef
- Hot Breakfast Sausage
- Chili Powder
- Poblano Pepper
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
- Concentrated Tomato Paste
- Crushed Tomatoes
- BBQ Sauce
- Spicy (Hot) BBQ Sauce
- Beer
- Beef Stock
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Honey
- Dark Red Kidney Beans
- Black Beans
5-Star Reader Comments
“I made your chili last Saturday and WON THE CHILI COOK OFF in our mountain village of Northern California! Best chili ever!”
Leslie
“Oh my. Where do I start. This is the most outrageous chili I know that I have ever made much less tasted. All the flavors just work magic together. Truly a great recipe Donya!!!!”
Janet
Don’t Forget The Toppings!
This hearty chili is excellent with all kinds of extra toppings. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Shredded Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Fresh or Pickled Japapeños
- Hot Sauce
- Chopped Green Onions
- Tortilla Strips
- Chopped Red Onion
Can You Freeze This Chili?
You sure can! Like my Creamy White Chicken Chili, this recipe is easy to freeze. After making the chili, let it cool then place it in a freezer-safe container with a lid. You can also put it in freezer-safe bags. Fill the bag, seal, and lay flat on a baking sheet. Once the chili freezes in the bag, it can be stored upright to save space in the freezer.
What To Serve With Award-Winning Southern Soul Chili
- Sour Cream Corn Bread
- Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits
- Garlic Knots
- Quick And Easy Beer Bread
- Cheese Grits Casserole
- Instant Pot Garlic Herb Rice
If you tried this Award Winning Southern Soul Chili Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb hot sausage
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- ½ poblano pepper – chopped
- 2 stalks celery – chopped
- 1 medium onion – minced
- 2 tablespoons garlic – minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 oz tomato paste – canned or from tube
- 1 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup your favorite BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup your favorite Hot/Spicy BBQ sauce
- 12 oz lager Beer
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 2 cans (15oz) dark red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
Instructions
- In an extra-large stockpot or cast iron skillet, brown ground beef and sausage.
- Add chopped vegetables, except garlic, and cook until meats are cooked through and vegetables are tender.
- Lower heat to medium.
- Add chili powder, tomatoes, tomato paste, and BBQ sauces to the pot, mixing well. Scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes stirring often.
- Stir in beer, beef broth, minced garlic, Worcestershire, vinegar, and honey. Stir to blend ingredients.
- Simmer for about 1.5 hours stirring frequently allowing chili flavors to marry. If sauce gets too thick, add water in ¼ cup amounts.
- Add beans and cook another 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste for seasoning and adjust.
- Serve with garnishes and extras – sour cream, scallions, grated cheese, hot sauce, jalapeños, hot cornbread.
Notes
- This recipe can be finished in the crock pot. Make chili sauce and put mixture in crock pot . Add beans and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Chili freezes well. Allow to cool, put in zip lock bags and lay flat in freezer for storage.
- You may purchase Sir Charles Gourmet BBQ Sauce from The Extra Ingredient in Greensboro, NC by calling toll free ~ 800-528-3618.
Nutrition
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Joe
Can you tell me which “favorite” BBQ sauces you have used (Regular and Hot/Spicy) that you have found work best in this recipe? Same with which lager? Thank you!
Sweet Baby Rays or whatever is on sale.
Janet Hall
Oh my. Where do I start. This is the most outrageous chili I know that I have ever made much less tasted. All the flavors just work magic together. Truly a great recipe Donya!!!!
Aubrey
Also received an award using this recipe! Thank you!
Aaron
What are the muffins pictured in the Southern Soul Chili? In addition to the chili, they look delicious!
https://www.asouthernsoul.com/creamed-corn-cornbread-muffins/
Gary Carswell
Excellent!
Greg Wauson
This chili is awesome! I just made this recipe for the first time yesterday afternoon and it won the chili cookoff contest last night! Its spicy and sweet flavor pops!
Daryl
Made it for annual hatchet throwing, pallet burning bonfire with enough chili for 40. Everyone loved the sweet start and the spicy finish.
Melissa
I just won my neighborhood chili cook off! I used this recipe for a base but made some changes. My changes: I did not use beans, added 1.5 lbs of stew meat, omitted the regular BBQ sauce and just used 1.5 c of spicy BBQ Sauce (Devils Spit), 1 whole poblano, 4 heaping tbsp chili powder, 1 heaping tbsp cumin, 1 heaping tbsp paprika, 1 heaping tsp cayenne pepper. It was sweet and spicy! The judges were unanimous and one told me I won by a landslide!
Jeff d
If I changed the recipe that much I wouldn’t had the nerve to say I won a chili contest with it because you didn’t.You can’t rate your own recipe here,I don’t think you should’ve.
I made it today using all all the ingredients mentioned,exactly as mentioned ,and myself,my wife and daughter loved it.
Jeffd
I used Sweet Baby’s regular BB sauce and I used Stubbs for the hot and spicy
Alyssa
I want to double this recipe for a cook off, can I double the exact recipe twice ? Thank you!
Sure.
Steve Brian
I won 1st place with this recipe at the annual chili competition at work in 2022 and I am going for it this year! It is delicious!! It beats my “usual” chili, which I developed over 30 years or trial/error and experimentation.!
Awesome, congratulations!
~Donya