Beef and Chorizo Chili with Cornbread (One Pot)
This is a big-batch, game-day chili that gets its deep flavor from two meats instead of one — smoky chorizo browned off first to render all that spiced fat, then ground beef to bulk it out. From there it's a one-pot build: layer in the tomato paste and a serious lineup of warm spices, fold in two kinds of beans, then three different tomato products for body. A long, low simmer pulls it all together, and it comes to the table with a square of sweet cornbread, a handful of shredded cheddar, sliced jalapeños, and a cool spoon of sour cream.
This is one of the videos where I kept quiet and let the pot do the talking — the amounts flash up on screen while the music runs — so this page is everything in one place. What I was after was a chili that eats like it simmered all afternoon but fits in about 50 minutes.
The trick worth stealing is the first move: there's no oil in this recipe — the chorizo browns alone until its spiced fat renders out, and that fat is what the ground beef cooks in. And yes, the half teaspoon of nutmeg is on purpose. Make it when a crowd's coming and let everybody top their own bowl.
Watch me make it — video from my YouTube channel
The recipe
Beef and Chorizo Chili with Cornbread (One Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 whole onion, chopped
- red bell pepper, chopped (one big one does it)
- chorizo sausage (Johnsonville shown; no amount given)
- ground beef (a standard package — eyeball it to your pot)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 packet McCormick Original Chili seasoning
- 5 teaspoons chili powder
- 4 to 8 teaspoons cumin (the on-screen amount is hard to read — start with 4 and add to taste)
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 5 teaspoons oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt, to taste
- 15 ounces canned black beans, drained
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth (added in two stages)
- shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
- sliced jalapeños, for topping
- sour cream, for topping
- sweet cornbread, to serve
How to Make It
- Chop the onion and red bell pepper.
- Brown the chorizo in a large pot so its spiced fat and flavor render out.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it apart, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until no longer pink.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add the chili seasoning packet and the chili powder.
- Add the cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sugar, oregano, nutmeg, and salt to taste, and stir to combine.
- Stir in the black beans and the rinsed red kidney beans.
- Add the tomato sauce, chopped tomato, and crushed tomatoes, and stir to combine.
- Pour in 2 cups of the chicken broth and cook on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining 2 cups chicken broth and adjust the salt to taste.
- Reduce to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeños, and sour cream, with sweet cornbread on the side.
Curtis's Tips
- The whole thing comes together in one pot, layered in stages: the meats first, then the seasonings, then the beans and tomatoes, then the broth.
- Brown the chorizo before the beef goes in so its spiced fat and flavor render into the base.
- Three tomato products — sauce, a fresh chopped tomato, and crushed tomatoes — build a deeper, rounder body than a single can would.
- Add the chicken broth in two stages, 2 cups and then 2 more, so the chili loosens as it cooks down.
- Cook in two phases: about 10 minutes on medium-high to get it going, then a 30-minute low simmer to finish.
- Finish each bowl with cheddar, sliced jalapeños, and sour cream, and serve a square of sweet cornbread alongside.
Why this works
Chorizo first is the foundation move: as it browns, its spiced fat renders into the bottom of the pot, and the ground beef then cooks in that fat, picking up flavor before a single spice hits.
- Three tomato products — canned sauce, a fresh chopped tomato, and crushed tomatoes build a deeper, rounder body than one can alone.
- Split broth, two heats — 2 cups on medium-high to get moving, 2 more before the 30-minute low simmer, so the chili loosens and then cooks back down.
FAQ
What chorizo is that in the pot?
Johnsonville chorizo sausage — the package is right there in the video, but the on-screen text never puts a number on it. Brown whatever's in that package first, on its own, so the spiced fat renders out — that fat is what the ground beef cooks in next.
Is it 4 teaspoons of cumin or 8?
Start with 4. The number flashes by fast and is hard to read — that's why the card says 4 to 8 — but with the seasoning packet, chili powder, and paprika in there, 4 is a safe floor. Taste and add.
Mine came out thin — what did I do wrong?
Probably nothing — it's meant to look loose mid-cook. The broth goes in split, and the final 30 minutes on low is where it tightens back up. The video doesn't show a doneness test beyond that simmer, so if yours is still runnier than you like at the end, give it more time on low.
Is the cornbread recipe in the video?
No — it shows up already baked, right at serving. I don't make it on camera, so bake or buy whatever sweet cornbread you like.
Estimated nutrition, per serving (recipe makes about 10 servings): ~387 calories · 20 g protein · 23 g fat · 25 g carbs. Computed from the ingredient list using standard reference values — an estimate, not a lab analysis; your exact brands and portions will vary.
