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One-Pot Hearty Beef and Vegetable Chili

By Sara Mayer

Published on September 11, 2020

Time

3¼ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

One-Pot Hearty Beef and Vegetable Chili

Ingredients

3½ pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch piecesSalt and pepper 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (3½ cups)3 garlic cloves, minced1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 1½ cups beer 2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces4 scallions, sliced thin

Before You Begin

Light-bodied American lagers, such as Budweiser, work best in this recipe. Serve with lime wedges, sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, sour cream, and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add half of beef and brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to large bowl. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.
  2.  Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty pot and heat until shimmering. Add onion and ¾ cup sweet potatoes and cook until just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, chipotle, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and their juice, beer, beans, and browned beef and any accumulated juices, scraping up any browned bits.
  3.  Bring chili to simmer. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are broken down and beef is just tender, about 1 hour 40 minutes.
  4.  Stir in remaining sweet potatoes and bell pepper and continue to cook until meat and sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
  5.  Remove pot from oven, uncover, and let chili stand until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. (Chili can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; add additional broth as needed to loosen sauce when reheating.) Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with scallions before serving.
One-Pot Hearty Beef and Vegetable Chili
Photography by Keller + Keller. Styling by marie Piraino.

One-Pot Hearty Beef and Vegetable Chili

Headshot of Sara Mayer
By Sara Mayer
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Time

3¼ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

3½ pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1½ cups beer
2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
4 scallions, sliced thin

Ingredients

3½ pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1½ cups beer
2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
4 scallions, sliced thin

Ingredients

3½ pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1½ cups beer
2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
4 scallions, sliced thin

Why This Recipe Works

We started with well-marbled, inexpensive beef chuck-eye for its ability to become meltingly tender. We browned it for rich flavor and then stewed it long enough to make it fork-tender. An aromatic base of garlic, cumin, chipotle, and chili powder gave our stew real depth of flavor and some heat. The heat balanced out the sweetness of our sweet potatoes and bell pepper, and mild beer added further complexity. We added a quarter of the potatoes in the beginning, knowing that they would break down to thicken our stew, and we stirred in the beans with the tomatoes so that they cooked enough to absorb flavor but not so much that they fell apart. Once our meat was tender, we added the rest of our potatoes and bell pepper, cooking them just long enough to have toothsome chunks in our stew.

Before You Begin

Light-bodied American lagers, such as Budweiser, work best in this recipe. Serve with lime wedges, sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, sour cream, and shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese.

Instructions

  1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add half of beef and brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to large bowl. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.
  2.  Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty pot and heat until shimmering. Add onion and ¾ cup sweet potatoes and cook until just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, chipotle, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and their juice, beer, beans, and browned beef and any accumulated juices, scraping up any browned bits.
  3.  Bring chili to simmer. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are broken down and beef is just tender, about 1 hour 40 minutes.
  4.  Stir in remaining sweet potatoes and bell pepper and continue to cook until meat and sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
  5.  Remove pot from oven, uncover, and let chili stand until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. (Chili can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; add additional broth as needed to loosen sauce when reheating.) Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with scallions before serving.

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