🌧️🍲💕 On these chilly, rain-soaked days, nothing warms my heart and tummy like a big bowl of Lane’s Hot Chili. Bursting with colorful peppers, sweet onions, ripe tomatoes, a blend of beans and spiced sausage. The secret to its soul-soothing magic is probably the sprinkle of special ingredients (I don’t ask) and a whole lot of love stirred in.
Our favorite way to enjoy this masterpiece is over crispy corn chips and topped with a melting mountain of cheese – it’s like a cozy blanket for my taste buds! And let’s just say, the chef behind this delight is as charming as the dish is delicious – stealing a kiss from the cook is always on my menu! 😘
PrintLane’s Tennessee Chili
Colorful peppers, sweet onions, ripe tomatoes, three kinds of beans, and spiced sausage, with a bottle of beer stirred in for depth. Served over crispy corn chips with a mountain of cheese.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: about 10 servings
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 pounds spiced ground sausage
- 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, your preferred kind
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 to 3 bell peppers, chopped (a mix of colors)
- 1 (28 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
- 1 packet chili seasoning
- 2 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin, or to taste
- Salt, pepper, and other spices to your liking
- For serving: corn chips, shredded cheese, sour cream
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in a large pot.
- Once browned, pour in the beer and let it simmer a few minutes to reduce.
- Add the chopped onions and peppers and cook until tender.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, and kidney beans along with the chili seasoning.
- Season with chili powder, cumin, and other spices to your liking.
- Let everything simmer together for about an hour.
- Serve over crunchy corn chips, garnished with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
The beer infuses a delicious depth into the chili’s flavor. The real secret is probably the sprinkle of special ingredients Lane adds, and I do not ask.
So, farm friends, what’s your rainy day comfort go-to? Do you have a special dish that makes the rain seem a little less grey? Share your stories and recipes!
Yummmm! Now that’s BombDiggity!
For a lighter bowl, our white chicken chili is the one I make. And the pan that always goes with chili around here is Grandmother Atkins mac and cheese.
Written by
Lane and Jules Morris
Authors and University of Tennessee faculty writing from our farm in East Tennessee about gardening, the farm kitchen, faith and designing a flourishing life at any age. More about us
