Lo Cal Chili Con Carne

This is the chili equivalent of a 30-minute meal: combine seven ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for half an hour, and you have dinner. The technique is what keeps it lean. Pre-cooking the ground beef and draining the fat before it goes into the pot is what cuts the fat without sacrificing flavor.

This approach matters more than it sounds. Most chili recipes brown the beef in the pot and let the rendered fat carry into the sauce, which adds calories and richness. By draining first, you keep the meat’s flavor while skipping the grease. The chili powder still gets to bloom in the sauce as it simmers.

Canned tomato sauce (rather than diced or whole tomatoes) gives this a smoother body without needing to break anything down with a spoon. The shorter ingredient list means each one carries more weight, so use a quality chili powder and don’t be tempted to skip the bay leaf. It’s there for a reason.

Thirty minutes covered is enough to marry the flavors and let the beans absorb the spiced sauce. Freezes beautifully in single-serve portions for easy weekday lunches at the office.

Kitchen Tips

• Use 90% lean ground beef or leaner. Higher-fat beef leaves a greasy chili even after draining.
• Bloom the chili powder in a teaspoon of hot water for 10 seconds before adding to the pot. The brief moisture activation deepens the flavor.
• Taste at 25 minutes and add more chili powder, salt, or a dash of cayenne if needed. Powders vary in heat from brand to brand.
• Cool fully before freezing in zip-top bags laid flat, so they thaw and reheat quickly when you need them.

Variations

• Use ground turkey breast instead of beef for an even leaner version with the same simmering time.
• Stir in 1 cup of cooked corn kernels in the last 5 minutes for sweetness and textural contrast.
• Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for tangy creaminess and less fat.