Husband-Approved Chili with Vegetables

overhead view of a dutch oven with chili with vegetables using a ladle to serve

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 50

This chili with vegetables is thick, hearty, and loaded with ground beef and veggies instead of beans. It’s an easy, flavor-packed chili recipe that has been a family and reader favorite for years.

5 from 244 votes

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Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, 1 ½ cups diced
2 stalks celery, ½ cup chopped
4 carrots, 1 ½ cups diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
3 medium zucchinis, 4 cups diced small
15 ounce can tomato puree, or crushed tomatoes
15 ounce can diced tomatoes, with liquid

Instructions

Prep

Chop all the veggies and set aside. Measure the seasonings into a small dish and set aside.

Sauté

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or soup pot, brown the beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as you go, for about 7 minutes, until it's cooked. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the ground meat onto a plate. Drain excess fat, if needed.
Add the oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and seasonings to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the veggies have softened a little. They'll finish cooking later. Add the zucchini, stir to combine it with the vegetables, and cook everything in the pot for 2 more minutes.
Add the cooked beef, pureed or crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes to the pot and stir to combine. At first, it'll look like there's not enough liquid, but as the vegetables simmer down and release the liquid, you'll have more. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring.

Cook

When the chili is simmering, reduce the heat to the lowest setting that keeps the simmer, cover, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, stirring the chili occasionally. Towards the end of cooking time, you'll see that the vegetables have released a lot of their liquid and the chili is now thick and hearty. See notes on how to thin it out.

Serve and store

Serve the chili warm, with your favorite toppings.
This chili is the type that tastes better the next day! Once cooled, transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Notes

This chili is thick, and my family and readers have enjoyed it as is. If you add extra veggies and need to thin out the chili, add 1 cup of broth, stock, or water after it has simmered, and mix to combine.

overhead view of cooked chili with vegetables adding broth to thin it out

Swaps:

Carrots for Sweet potatoes, same amount diced.
Zucchini for Butternut squash: fresh or frozen, both work.
Ground beef for ground turkey or chicken: A leaner option, though less fatty and slightly drier.
Sliced mushrooms with the veggies for extra depth of flavor.

Make it spicier:

Add ½ to 1 chopped jalapeño with the veggies or increase the cayenne pepper from ¼ to ½ teaspoon.

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