This quick and easy chili recipe is the perfect cozy winter meal and a budget-friendly way to warm up. Perfect for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or game day, it’s hearty, comforting, and always a crowd-pleaser.
This post is part of our $10 Dinner Ideas series, brought to you by Brigette on our team! Each week, she will be sharing easy, delicious, and affordable family-friendly dinner ideas that cost less than $10 to make, use everyday ingredients, and are super quick meals.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Chili Recipe
This chili is so easy and versatile! It’s been really cold here in South Carolina (and yes, we’re complete wimps compared to the rest of the country, haha), and cooking a big pot of hot chili on the stove is the perfect dinner during the freezing weather. It’s a budget-friendly way to warm up!
You can use whatever ground meat you want (beef, turkey, venison, chicken) — and one pound of meat stretches into a whole lot of servings, thanks to the beans. And, speaking of beans, you can use a mixture of different kinds or stick with straight pinto beans.
There are so many toppings you can add to customize it! Think shredded cheese, crumbled corn chips, sour cream, chopped green onions, cilantro, sliced jalapeños, or chopped avocado. We are currently dealing with some dairy sensitivities at my house, so we skipped the cheese and sour cream — and I didn’t even miss them.
If you have leftovers, this chili is fantastic over baked potatoes the next day.
Chili Dinner Menu:
Easy Chili
Blue Corn Chips
Chopped cilantro, green onions (and whatever other toppings you want to add!)
Ingredients for Chili:
1 large onion (or two small) (Aldi) — $0.30
4 cloves garlic (Aldi — $1.75 for 3-ct pkg) — $0.25
2 Tablespoons olive oil (Aldi — $7.25 for 33T) — $0.44
1 lb ground turkey (or ground meat of your choice) (Food Lion, reduced) — $2.47
one box Texas chili seasoning (Publix) — $0.75*
2 14-oz cans crushed tomatoes (Harris Teeter — $0.50 a can) — $1
1 6-oz can tomato paste (Aldi) — $0.77
1-2 cups chicken broth (Aldi — $1.79 for 25 bouillon cubes. I used 2 cubes and 2 cups water) — $0.14
4 cans pinto beans (I used 3 cans Bush’s sidekicks from Publix last week — $0.25 each after rebate, plus 1 can Aldi organic pinto beans — $0.99) — $1.74
1/2 bag organic blue corn chips (Aldi — $2.19 for 1 bag) — $1.09
chopped cilantro, chopped green onions (Aldi) — $0.35
*Alternatively, you can use 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon each onion and garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.
Total for Dinner: $9.30 (Serves 6+)
How to Make Easy Chili:
1. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the chopped onion and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until tender.
3. Add the ground turkey and continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in all of the seasonings until well-mixed.
5. Add in the beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth and stir well.
6. Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more salt and pepper to your turkey chili if needed.
7. Top with crumbled corn chips and chopped cilantro and green onions.
Easy Chili ($10 Family Dinner)
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Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
You can use whatever ground meat you want (beef, turkey, venison, chicken) — and one pound of meat stretches into a whole lot of servings, thanks to the beans. And, speaking of beans, you can use a mixture of different kinds or stick with straight pinto beans.
There are so many toppings you can add to customize it! Think shredded cheese, crumbled corn chips, sour cream, chopped green onions, cilantro, sliced jalapeños, or chopped avocado.
Nutrition
More Ideas for Family Dinners Under $10:
Chicken Alfredo and Roasted Carrots
Breakfast Sandwiches
Chicken Alfredo Soup and World’s Easiest Biscuits
Lazy Lasagna Casserole
Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup with Easy 30 Minute Dinner Rolls
Meat and Potato Crust Quiche with Flax Muffins
Chicken Fried Rice
Creamy Tortellini Soup and Pumpkin Crescent Rolls
Homemade French Bread Pizza
Three-Bean Chili and Cornbread
Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets
And, be sure to check out all our easy dinner recipes here!
If you make this easy family dinner, we’d love for you to leave a review and let us know how it turned out!
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