Our Smoked Chili recipe is simple, delicious, and perfect for sweater weather. Top it with classics like sour cream, cheese, and green onions, and you’ve got yourself a bowl of delicious, smokey chili.
The Best Smoked Chili
We love finding creative ways to use our smoker, and this smoked chili recipe is our new favorite! The smokiness adds a lovely depth of flavor to the classic chili flavors that you already know and love. Serve it up with a side of our smoked cornbread and you’ve got yourself a match made in smoker heaven.
Looking for More Chili Recipes?
Then definitely try out our bison chili that uses ground bison, our best turkey chili recipe, or our classic chili recipe.
What You Will Need
- extra virgin olive oil – Just a bit for cooking up the veggies.
- garlic & onion – Good ‘ol savory chili veggies.
- ground beef – Absorbs all those smokey flavors from the smoker.
- whole tomatoes & tomato paste – Some acid to balance out all the other flavors.
- red kidney beans – Adds protein and fiber. You could swap these for black beans, but they’ll be a bit softer, which will change the chili texture.
- bay leaf – A subtle but important ingredient that adds a touch of mint.
- chili powder – The classic chili seasoning. What’s chili without it?!
- cumin, garlic powder, onion powder – Some classics to amp up the flavor.
- ground black pepper & kosher salt – The OG seasonings.
- beef broth & water – Helps to spread all those yummy flavors throughout the chili
- optional toppings – Cheddar cheese, green onions
How To Make Smoked Chili
Start by preheating the smoker to 225 degrees F. Then break apart the ground beef and spread it over a parchment lined baking sheet along with the chopped onions. Let the meat and onions smoke for about one hour.
Meanwhile, bring a large dutch oven or a large pot to medium-high heat and swirl the olive oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan. Then add the garlic and move it around until it’s fragrant. Lastly, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, broth or water. Stir to combine cover, and bring to a simmer.
Once the ground meat and onions have smoked, carefully add them to the rest of the chili ingredients and break the meat up into small pieces. Then give it all a good stir to combine all those yummy flavors. Then cover the pot and let it all simmer for another 30 minutes.
How Long To Smoke Chili
Place the whole pot of chili on the wire rack of your smoker at 190 degrees F for 1-3 hours, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Feel free to add additional splashes of beef broth or water if you notice the liquid is evaporating during the smoking process.
Carefully remove the pot of chili from the smoker, divide into bowls, and add your favorite toppings! Ours are sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, and some slices of jalapeño for some kick. If you’re feeling really inspired, make a batch of our smoked cornbread for the ultimate meal.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- What gives chili a smokey flavor: There are lots of different ways to add that yummy smokey flavor. If you’re not using a smoker, liquid smoke can add a nice smoke flavor. But we relied on our trusty Traeger Pellet Grill to get a delicious smoky flavor infused in this chili recipe.
- Storage: Store leftover smoked chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 5 months. So make a double batch now and your future self will thank you!
- Is smoked chili healthy: Scroll down to the recipe card where we have all the nutritional info available for you to decide for yourself.
Made this hearty bowl of chili and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Other Smoker Recipes You Might Like
Smoked Chili Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Smoker + Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our delicious Smoked Chili Recipe is full of smokey flavor and is perfect for a chilly game day afternoon or cozy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (sub avocado oil)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- (1) 28oz can whole tomatoes (don’t drain)
- (1) 6oz tomato paste
- (1) 15oz can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2–3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup beef broth or water
- optional toppings: chopped green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado
Instructions
- Prep Smoker: Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Meat + Onions: Break apart the ground beef and place on a foil-lined baking sheet with the chopped onions. Place the entire pan on the smoker for 1 hour.
- Make Chili Base: Meanwhile, bring a large dutch oven to a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Swirl to coat bottom of the pan. Add garlic and move around until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, broth or water. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer, covered.
- Add Meat: Carefully remove the meat and onions from the smoker and transfer into the chili pot. Break up into smaller pieces. Stir to combine, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Final Smoke: Place the entire pot on the smoker and let it smoke at 190 degrees F for 1-3 hours – uncovered, stirring occasionally. Option to add more beef broth or water, if the amount of liquid is going down as it smokes.
- Serve: Enjoy a bowl of chili with your desired toppings and a slice of Smoked Cornbread and some Seven Layer Salad!
Notes
- Smoker: we used our Traeger Pellet Grill to make this smoked chili!
- Storage: leftover chili can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Nutritional Info doesn’t include any of the optional toppings, since they will vary depending on your personal taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 158
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 306.8 mg
- Fat: 3.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.2 g
- Protein: 17.1 g
- Cholesterol: 33.9 mg
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