Okay, for any of you who have been reading for awhile, you’ll know that I have uber-picky eaters at my house, namely my husband and my son. So imagine my surprise when I made this chili for the first time last year and both of them ate it up. Willingly. And then they had more. And then my husband told me that this was THE chili recipe he’d been longing for the whole time we’d been married. So imagine his surprise when I told him that this was no ordinary chili–there’s a rather unusual ingredient that you’d think would be gross, but it adds a depth and complexity to the flavor of the chili that makes it taste as though it’s been simmering all day. Luckily for you, it’s more like 30-40 minutes. Which is totally doable. The super-secret ingredient? Unsweetened chocolate. Wait! Come back! Have we led you astray yet? I didn’t think so. Hear me out…
Heat some olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through. Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, tomatoes, beans, and beef broth. Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (I like it about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies. Add 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
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I am soooo trying this! We have a chili cook off next week for our ward Halloween party, and I’ve been looking for a good recipe that’s original, and I think I just found it!!! Thanks! Ü
That looks way yummy. I’m always on the lookout for new chili recipes! My family loves chili. Thanks again for another “recipe to try” added to my list!
Love that secret ingredient! I’m going to try making some of this in my slow cooker.
I am definitely going to try this. I already have my chili recipe for this year’s cook off, so maybe this will be my secret weapon next year!
I am with Erika, I am going to be using this for our wards Chili cook off. And we are having it on Halloween!
Am I the only one not having a chili cook-off?! Maybe I need to host one at my house, lol.
Chili is sounding very yummy today- and I agree that chocolate adds the perfect flavor (hello- what does chocolate NOT add the perfect flavor to?)
CHOCOLATE!!!
Sara – I really can’t think of a better “secret ingredient”.
mmmmmmm. . . looks delicious!
I tried this last night and it was a hit with my family. I reviewed it over on my blog:
http://thegoodshiplollipop.blogspot.com/
Thanks!!
I just made this for dinner tonight, along with the naughty corn muffins (cake :)) My suggestion would be to only use half a can of the chipotle sauce if you want your younger kids to eat it. It was very spicy, but good nonetheless.
We just had this for dinner with the naughty cornbread. YUM! Even my picky 3 year old ate it. Well, after I pureed it. Baby steps. I’m a huge wuss for spice, though, so I only put a tiny bit of chipotle sauce. Just the chili powder gave it plenty of kick for my weak tastebuds! Thanks for another great one!
Just made this tonight and it was really good! My husband said it’s a keeper. It will definitely have to replace my usual chili recipe. Thanks!
This is the chili I have been waiting for too. I love chipotle stuff and everyone loved it. THanks!
I went looking for the Chipotle salsa you pictured here and only could find Chipotle peppers in Adobo. I'm guessing this is not the same thing. What aisle are you finding your sauce on? I looked in the Mexican Food section.
Vanessa–I normally can't find that brand, either–I just got lucky that time! The peppers in adobo sauce works great, you just want the sauce that's surrounding the peppers.
Can this recipe be made in the crock pot? If so, what adaptions do I need to make? I want to make it tonight for dinner, but won't actually have time at dinner time!
mckay.harris@gmail.com
Thanks!
So i made this halloween night for dinner and i so dont know what i did wrong but mine came out way spicy hot. our mouths were on fire. any suggestions? also the only change i made is switchin out the ground turkey for ground beef instead. and i also was only able to get the chipotles in adobo. (do you think that did it?) Thanks!!
Oh My Gosh!! Delicious! I would definitely make this for a cook off. I used ground beef (because that's what I had on hand.) I also couldn't find same chipotle salsa showed in photo. I used chipotle in adobe sauce. It was pretty thick but I got as much sauce as I could to come out. Everyone loved it. I served it in bread bowls and a green salad on the side! My only complaint is that I didn't make a double batch!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! for this site.
I'll admit, I was skeptical…Chocolate? Chipotle?And I was proven wrong. This recipe was so amazing, I don't know what else to say, other than YES! YES! Perfect. Can't wait to have the one and only cup of leftover chili for lunch tomorrow!
Yes, I also could not find Chipotle Chilis and didn't know that you could use the sauce from chipotle peppers until I came home and read the comments to this recipe. I live in Utah and went to FIVE stores before I found a small can of chipotle sauce (at Smiths). I am excited to make this tonight!!
can you use chipotle powder or do you need the salsa/sauce?
Made this last night (minus the chipotle sauce) and ohhmygoodness!!! I normally stay away from ANYTHING with ANY kind of bean… but this was absolutely incredible!!! Best comfort food ever!!
Does anyone know how big a can of diced tomatoes to use? I only have giant cans in my grocery store, but the pic doesn't look that big.
Hi, Kim! You can either use 2 15-oz. cans or 1 28-oz. can. Hope that helps!
Do you think this would freeze ok?
kristennw–Yep, very freezer-friendly! Most soups are, just be careful of the cream-based ones or ones with bread/dumplings/noodles in them.
Since it was a cooking Light recipe, do you have the nutrition info for this recipe?
Jamie, I tweaked it so much that I don’t think the original CL nutritional info will be relevant at all. There are lots of sites that calculate nutrtional info, though–try googling spark people recipes.
I decided to try this chili a couple of weeks ago and I thought it came out great. But the best compliment I got on it was just when my sister — who normally hates chili — told me she kept thinking about how good it was and asked if I would make it again!
This is Cincinnati Style Chili! I live in Cincinnati, so I can get it on every corner – i’m sure it’s slightly different than what you’ve made here but here you either love Skyline or Goldstar – one has chocolate, the other has cinnamon! DEE-LISH!!
This was delicious and easy to make! Haven’t tried a recipe I didn’t like! You guys are ah-maze-ing!
Made this last night to use up some chipotles I had opened. My husband was incredibly skeptical when I told him I was using a “new” chili recipe because he regularly requests my “regular” chili. As soon as he took a couple of bites he said this should be my new “regular” chili recipe. Delish & thanks!
I actually looked on here for a chili recipe, as this is my first time making homemade chili. Then when I saw the title of it, I closed the page. Didn’t even read it. Then I thought about it and remembered that you girls have NEVER steered me wrong on a recipe. I decided to give it a shot. The only things I’m doing differently is 1, it’s in the crockpot, 2, I used chipotle flavored tabasco instead of chipotle sauce since I didn’t have any, 3, instead of ground turkey I am using some left over steak from steak fajitas Sunday night. Holy cow, it’s Deeeelicious!
Do you have to make any adjustments to the recipe in order to make it in a crock pot?
Nope, no adjustments! :) Just brown the ground beef/onions/garlic first and then simmer it all day on low.
Sorry. This was NOT a winner for me at all. I am a huge fan of your blog. I own your cookbook. I love all of your other recipes. It wasn’t even the chocolate in it – I have a BBQ chicken casserole recipe that has chocolate in it and I LOVE it. This was over-the-top spicy, and I even reduced the amount of spicy. It was really sweet too.
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This was fantastic! My husband said it was the best chili he has ever had. I agree =)
I was looking for a chocolate chili recipe and would love to try yours. I have everything I need to make it except the can of Chipotle Chilies. What I do have is some Chipotle Chile pepper powder. Could I use this instead? I could go on the hunt for the can….but would rather not if I don’t have to. THANKS!
Yep, that totally works; just add it to taste!
I just won a chili cook-off this weekend with this recipe! It was even my first time making it. I absolutely love it, but I have to admit it was a little too spicy for my younger kids.
Just had to drop in and say I won our ward’s Chili Cook-Off last night with this recipe! Yay! Thanks for all the great recipes! :)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this since I discovered your blog 9 months ago. When we first started dating, my husband tried to woo me over with his chili recipe. He always claimed it was so awesome and that chili was HIS dish to make. And so it was for years. Until I made this. His chili just quietly fell by the wayside after the first time we tasted this recipe, never to be mentioned again. And now he’s even learned how to make it himself!