Bob's Chocolate Chili

Chocolate in chili isn’t a gimmick. It’s an old-school trick that adds a deep, earthy richness without a trace of sweetness.

This beanless beef chili leans hard into bold flavors: five tablespoons of chili powder, three of cumin, three of cocoa, and a generous hit of cinnamon that gives the whole pot a warm, almost mole-like complexity.

Ground beef and a mountain of onions simmer in tomato juice until everything melds into a thick, spoonable bowl of heat.

Masa harina stirred in at the end thickens things up and adds that unmistakable corn tortilla flavor.

Chef Tips

• Use unsweetened cocoa powder only. Dutch-process or natural both work, but sweetened cocoa will throw the balance off.
• The masa harina does double duty: it thickens the chili and adds a subtle corn flavor that ties everything to its Mexican roots.
• Let this chili sit overnight in the fridge if you can. Like all good chili, it’s better the next day when the spices have had time to settle in.
• Five onions is not a typo. They melt down and become the body of the sauce.