This keto chili has no beans, which is both the low-carb move and, it turns out, the traditional one. It is my mom's spice-heavy Bowl of Red, ground beef simmered low for two hours with almost as many dried spices as meat, at about 8 grams of net carbs a serving.
Ok now we got the wings down, let's get on to the main course for your Super Bowl party. I love chili, but I want to know who said it has to have beans in it? If you skip the beans this is a great Low Carb meal. Now if you remember a month ago I admitted to my obsession of dried spices. Well this is the recipe that spurred my obsession. If you don't own many dried spices, after trying this recipe you will definitely change your mind. This is my mom's recipe for chili and there is almost as many spices in it as meat. I hope you love this recipe as much as my family and friends do at our annual Super Bowl party.
Why no beans is real chili con carne
Skipping the beans is not a keto compromise, it is the original. Chili con carne translates to chili with meat, and the Bowl of Red the San Antonio Chili Queens sold in the 1800s was exactly that: beef, dried chiles, and spices, with no beans in sight. Beans came along later in other parts of the country as a cheap way to stretch the pot. So when you leave them out for carb reasons, you also land closer to the real thing. Texas purists go a step further and skip the tomatoes too; this is a Tex-Mex version that keeps them for body, which is where most of its carbs come from.
Net carbs and the spice load
I will be honest that the tomatoes put this in the mid-range for low carb, around 8 grams of net carbs a serving, higher than a bone-dry Texas red but a fraction of any bean chili. Two things keep it on plan: no beans, and tomato paste plus diced tomatoes instead of a sweetened jarred sauce. The quarter cup of chili powder and the long simmer do the rest, thickening the chili with no flour or masa. Cook the ground beef through to 160 degrees F, the USDA mark for ground meat. Serve it for a crowd alongside my buffalo wings, or spoon it over a taco salad. It is one of the stovetop mains in my low carb comfort food dinners guide.
Sources
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient references for ground beef, tomatoes, and onion; safe ground-meat temperature.
Taste Atlas and Texas chili references, on chili con carne and the Bowl of Red.
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, low-carb chili notes.
