(One Pot!) Beans & Beef Chili with Shells

Looking for an easy ground beef recipe? You got it!

Try out this one pot dinner, beans and beef chili with shells. It’s simple, hearty, and full of southwestern inspired flavor. Best part is, it can be (and should be!) made ahead, making it perfect for meal preppers.

For this recipe, I used 100% grass fed, pasture raised, ground beef from All Grass Farms. Owners, Anna and Cliff, have raising animals down to a science. I trust them whole heartedly and bubble over with thanksgiving whenever I sit down to a meal made with an animal they raised.

I highly recommend stocking up on ground beef. It can be pulled in so many directions. It’s the little black dress of food. All Grass Farms ground beef is 90% lean, making it a good choice if you’re looking for a low-fat meal.

How to make chili.

This is the perfect dish to make ahead. I highly recommend letting the flavors mingle and strengthen overnight in the fridge. If you want to split up the work, chili can even be made one day and the shells the next.

This is close to being a dump-and-go kind of recipe. After the ground beef is browned with an onion, all ingredients are added besides the shells and cheese. The chili ingredients are simmered for around 3 hours, until very thick. Here are the ingredients broken down:

Once the beef is browned with an onion add the following:

Garlic. Warm and aromatic.

Spices. A blend of warm, bold and smokey spices are a must! Salt, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika

Nutritional yeast. Adds a salty, cheesy flavor.

Pickled jalapenos. Fresh works too. I find pickled to bring extra heat with a good dose of acid to brighten the flavors. Add more pickling liquid if you really like the heat.

Red pepper. Chopped. I leave the skin on.

Canned tomatoes. Garden fresh is best! Diced or crushed. I do not strain any liquid.

Canned beans. Do NOT rinse or strain. The liquid will add great texture and flavor. No broth is needed for this recipe because of the liquid from the canned ingredients. I used black and pinto beans.

Juice of a lime. To brighten the flavors.

After the chili thickens up, you can either:

Let it cool and transfer to the fridge. Finish it up tomorrow.

Option two, add cooked shell pasta noodles to the chili, mix well. Then, dump cheddar cheese on top and bake it in the oven until golden and melty.

Tips and variations.

I like to use medium size shells for this recipe but elbow macaroni would be a great substitute.

If you want to ditch the shells all together, I love eating the chili with roasted sweet potatoes, kale and a fried egg on top.

I would skip brown rice noodles because they tend to turn to mush if not eaten right away.

Ground turkey or chicken would work well in replace of the ground beef. You could omit the ground beef all together and made an awesome bean stew.

Storage

Like I mentioned, I really recommend letting this one sit overnight in the fridge.

Keep in a covered dish in the fridge up to three days.

Reheat in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until warmed through. If warming in oven, add about 1/4 cup broth so it doesn’t dry out.