Here's everything worth knowing about chili beans and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 30 recipes to cook tonight.

What are chili beans?

Chili beans are canned beans packed in a thin, mildly spiced tomato sauce, built specifically to dump into a pot of chili. The bean is usually pinto or red kidney, and the sauce carries chili powder, cumin, garlic, and a little heat.

They are a shortcut, plain and simple. Instead of cooking dried beans and seasoning a chili from scratch, you open a can and most of the flavor work is already done.

Do not confuse them with plain canned beans. Chili beans come pre-sauced, so they bring their own liquid and spice to the pot, which changes how you season everything else.

Cooking With Chili Beans

The whole point of chili beans is speed. Brown your meat, add tomatoes and aromatics, then stir in chili beans sauce and all. The bean liquid is not a throwaway here; it thickens the pot and seasons it as it goes.

That is why they show up in fast, crowd-pleasing chili like a Mexican Chili or a Beef & Sausage Chili. They also slide straight into casseroles and skillet dinners such as a Crockpot Tijuana Pie.

Taste before you add more. It is easy to over-spice a pot when half the seasoning came out of the can.

For nachos or a quick dip, chili beans need almost nothing. Warm them up and spoon them over chips, the way a plate of Nachos Schulz does, then pile on cheese.

Pairings and Common Mistakes

Chili beans belong with everything in a chili bowl. Think ground beef, sausage, onions, bell peppers, corn, melted cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, and a handful of cilantro on top.

The most common mistake is double-seasoning. Cooks reach for chili powder and salt out of habit, forgetting the can already brought both, and the result tastes harsh and over-salty. Add your spices at the end, by taste.

The second mistake is rinsing them. With chili beans, the liquid is the seasoning, so tip in the whole can.

Watch the heat level on the label. A can marked hot will sneak up on a dish meant for a crowd.

Substitutes

Plain canned pinto or kidney beans are the obvious stand-in, and they put you in control. Drain them, add them to the pot, then season with chili powder, cumin, and salt to make up for the missing sauce.

For a closer match, stir plain beans into a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce with chili seasoning before they go in. That mimics the canned product without the guesswork on heat.

A can of seasoned ranch-style beans also works almost identically. It is the same idea under a different name.

Buying and Storing

Chili beans live in the canned-bean aisle near the plain pintos and kidneys, usually labeled by heat level. Buy a heat level that suits the eaters at your table.

Check whether the can is pinto or kidney. Kidney beans hold their shape in a long simmer, while pintos go softer and help thicken the pot, so pick by the texture you want.

An unopened can lasts for years.

It keeps well past the printed date as long as the can is sound. Toss any can that is bulging or rusted, or that hisses when you open it.

Once opened, move leftovers to a covered container in the fridge and use within three to four days. They also freeze in the sauce for up to three months.

Quick facts

In Chinese

辣椒豆

British (UK) term

Chili beans

en français

grains de piment

en español

los frijoles

Recipes using chili beans

There are 30 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 30 recipes