Chilli con carne
Chilli con carne sits in our dinner collection for weeknight dinners when you still want something proper. We keep the voice practical — what to buy, what heat to use, and how to tell when it is done. Plan on 40 min from starting prep to plating for 5–6. Prep is about 10 min; the active cook or oven time is closer to 30 min. Read the whole method once before you turn on the heat. Key building blocks: olive oil, garlic cloves and onion. If you need a substitute, change one thing at a time and expect the texture notes below to matter more than the timer. One practical flag before you start: Start with less cayenne and add heat at the end. The Notes section expands shopping, heat, texture, and leftovers so the page stays useful beyond a bare ingredient dump. Everything on this page is metric-first for Australia. If you are converting from cups on an old card, weigh flour, sugar, and butter whenever the ingredient line shows grams.
Ingredients
Method
- Cook garlic and onion in oil 1 minute; add capsicum 2 minutes. Add beef on high; brown.
- Add spice mix; cook until beef is browned all over.
- Add remaining ingredients with ½ cup water for quick cook (or 1½ cups for slow). Simmer gently 20–40 minutes uncovered (or 1½–2 hours covered on low).
- Adjust salt. Serve over rice or with corn chips and toppings.
Tip: Start with less cayenne and add heat at the end. Even better next day.
Notes
- Putting it together for Chilli con carne: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.
- Serving ideas without fluff: serve straight from the pan with a simple salad or mash. Keep accompaniments simple so the dish stays the hero — a green salad, steamed veg, rice, mash, or crusty bread depending on the style. Metric measures stay consistent across Scoops & Dishes, so once you trust the cups and scales here, the rest of the site cooks the same way.
- Make-ahead and leftovers: feeds a small table as written; bump quantities if you are feeding a crew. Leftovers of Chilli con carne usually keep 2–3 days in a sealed fridge container; reheat until steaming hot in the centre. Label freezer bags with the dish name and date. Allergens sit in the ingredient list — always double-check if cooking for guests.
- Shopping and mise en place: read the full ingredient list once before you start. For Chilli con carne, olive oil and garlic cloves are the items that decide whether the dish tastes flat or properly seasoned. Weigh where grams are given — volume cups are fine for liquids and some dry goods, but baking ratios are tighter if you use scales. Australian cups are 250 ml; a tablespoon is 20 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml.