Clean Eating Chilli Con Carne {Perfect Mid Week Meal}

This Clean Eating Chilli Con Carne is a classic homemade meal. It's so easy to put together, perfect if you have to feed a crowd on those cold nights when you need something bubbling on the cooker top, this is one of the meals you definitely want on rotation!

It's also a good budget meal: Make two batches at the same time and freeze one. Then you always have a decent home cooked Clean eating meal waiting for those nights when time runs away from you :)

Clean Eating Chilli Con Carne

Minus the ground beef, Chilli Con Carne is a good mix of fresh and store cupboard ingredients. And let's be honest, who doesn't have some ground beef in the freezer. The packets bought with good intentions and recipe ideas that never quite made it to the table and ended up in the freezer. Just me? Good. In that case you've got a classic, healthy, Real food dinner waiting for you!

*If you're using ground beef from the freezer, you can't re-freeze this recipe!

Chilli Con Carne feels like a Winter meal. It's warming, filling and when it's really cold outside (and where I live we spend quite a lot of time in the cold!) this really hits the spot.

If your kids are a little fussy about spices and heat in a meal, simply turn the heat down. I'll give you the spice mixes I use, and show you where you can adjust the spiciness. I like a spicy Chilli but two of my kids do not, and so I make this with the minimum heat I can get away with and then add chilli flakes to those of us who prefer it hotter. The sacrifices we make as parents, huh!! :)

Anyway, this is probably one of the most popular ways I know of to use ground beef. Not that there's a shortage of very kid friendly ground beef recipes.

Ingredients

Although this is a simple classic recipe, it's not short on flavor. Tinned tomatoes and kidney beans - both canned, both pantry staples and both super good for you. Whilst the majority if our weekly meals are made worth fresh foods there's a whole load of pantry canned foods that are full of goodness, whilst happening to have a long shelf life. So it's a win win :)

Ground Beef

Ground beef is an old favorite and most of us are familar with it. You can buy good quality minced beef at reasonable prices and this makes it a good option if you're watching your budget.

I keep ground beef in the freezer for those last minute throw together meals, although remember If you're using ground beef from the freezer, you can't re-freeze this recipe!

Kidney Beans

We love a can of tinned beans in this house and kidney beans feature heavily! Kidney beans are one of the healthiest types of beans to use as a protein source, and have a little less saturated fat than other varieties of bean but with comparable amounts of fibre and protein. However, we love all beans here!

Tinned Tomatoes

Tinned tomatoes are the foundation of many of our pantries and I certainly buy them in bulk. I tend to buy the Organic tins when they're on offer. Organic tomatoes in tins can be about 50% more expensive than non-organic which is why I buy them in bulk and store them. It's worth stocking up if you see them.

Herbs & Spices

The herb and spice mix in this Clean eating Chilli Con Carne make the whole recipe. But...you can play around with this mix and make it hotter or milder etc...

I use dried herbs and spices. These often sit around in my kitchen for an unspecified amount of time (we're talking years in some cases!). If you're the same, check the dates before you use them as they can lose their flavor.

Make Ahead For A Crowd

If you have to make a meal for a crowd, this is it. Really. Not only is it easy, the prep is minimal and the quantity of the chilli you can cook in one go is limited only the the size of your biggest cooker top pot! Being a classic kinda meal I've not come across many people who don't love a good chilli, and so if we've got people over, a chilli's often the way I go.

One thing you can do is bulk this out for very little extra cost. A really good idea if you're budget conscious and want this to stretch to two (or three) meals is to add more kidney beans. You don't need to add extra ground beef to make a double batch of this and if you're trying to cut back but not cut out meat, bulking out with beans is a great way to do it.

Storing

So, if you've used fresh ground beef to make this recipe you can freeze it and keep it in the freezer for up to 4 weeks after cooking. I like to divide it into batches and freeze it in smaller 'lots' so I can defrost only what I need and not waste any. To defrost this recipe take it out of the freezer the night before you're going to reheat it and leave it to defrost on a plate in the fridge. Once it's defrosted, reheat it in a pan on the cooker top until it's piping hot throughout.

If you've used defrosted ground beef to make this you can save any leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days. To reheat, out it into a pan and reheat until it's piping hot throughout.

What To Serve With A Chilli

We have this chilli con carne with wholemeal rice. We also add to that sometimes:

• Wholemeal garlic bread
• Sour cream
• Clean eating charred corn

More Ground Beef Recipes

• Clean eating ground beef curry
• Sweet and sticky Teriyaki meatballs
• One pan Spaghetti Bolognese
• Clean eating family sized meatloaf
• Baked meatballs in tomato sauce

How To Make Clean Eating Chilli Con Carne

Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground beef Fresh or defrosted if frozen
• 15 oz Tinned chopped tomatoes Organic
• 1½ Cups Tinned kidney beans Drained and rinsed
• 1 Onion Peeled and diced
• 1 Medium Red pepper Diced
• 2 Cup Beef stock Using organic stock cubes
• 4 tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2-4 tbsp Sour cream For garnishing, optional
• Chilli Con Carne Spice Mix
• 1 tsp Chilli powder Strength to suit you
• 1 tsp Sweet paprika
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano
• ½ tbsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Garlic powder

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the onion and red pepper until browned and soft. Transfer to a bowl and put to one side
• In the same pan, add the ground beef, spread it out and then leave it for 4-5 minutes to brown. Then move it around the pan and brown the rest of the beef
• Add the spice mix. As the spice mix sizzles, mix it into the meat well and then add the onions and red pepper back in and combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes so the spices cook
• Add in the tomato paste and combine
• Add the chopped tomatoes and beef stock and combine. Add the drained kidney beans. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45-50 minutes
• Serve with sour cream on top (optional)

Clean Eating Chilli Con Carne Recipe