Five Can Chili

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5 Can Campfire Chili
There’s nothing like gathering around a fire at night with a heaping bowl of chili in hand. Especially as the weather starts to cool, there’s something comforting about a meal that can bring the heat in more ways than one. While this classic cowboy stew got its start in the American southwest, it has become a cornerstone of camp cooking all over. Visit any campground in the US and there’ll be at least one person cooking up a pot of chili.

Now, there are a million and one ways to make chili; nearly every “chili enthusiast” has their own unique secret recipe. The truly devoted make their chili using only the freshest ingredients. The truly lazy open a can they buy at the grocery store that says “Chili” on the side of it. We hold nothing against either camp, but this recipe is for everyone in between.

When camping, few people have time to properly cook dry beans – a process that can take the entire afternoon. And if refrigeration is doubtful, using fresh ground beef is out of the question too. Yet we’re not quite willing to surrender control of our chili to the lab coat wearing food scientists at Campbell’s Soups. So, to find a middle ground, we’ve created this Five Can Chili using store-bought cans: Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Diced Tomatoes, chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, and a can a beer. Throw in a handful of common spices and you’ve got yourself a thick, hearty, smokey and spicy stew that will keep you warm throughout the evening.

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Variable Spice: This recipe has got some serious kick. We made this using the entire can of chipotles and the accompanying adobo sauce so that we didn’t have to store any leftovers – but in order to make the spice manageable, we sliced open the chipotles and discarded all the seeds and ribs. For a milder stew, scrape out the seeds and use only one or two chipotles. Or, to eliminate most of the heat but still get that great smokey flavor, just use the adobo sauce and reserve the chipotles for another use. Use your own judgment to determine how many chipotles you’d like to use. You can always add more if you find yourself craving more heat!

5 Can Campfire Chili
5 Can Campfire Chili
5 Can Campfire Chili
5 Can Campfire Chili
5 Can Campfire Chili
5 Can Campfire Chili


5 can chili in a red and white camping bowl next to a Dutch oven.

Five Can Chili

Turns out we have a pretty high tolerance for heat in our chili! We've noted a few variations so that you can make this recipe to suit your spice preference. For a milder chili, just use the adobo sauce that chipotles come in. You can add additional peppers as desired - be sure to scrape out the ribs & seeds before adding them to the pot.
Author: Fresh Off the Grid
4.64 from 60 ratings
Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 14 oz can black beans, drained
  • 14 oz can red kidney beans, drained
  • 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with their juices
  • 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed (see below)
  • 12 oz can beer, preferably lager
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin

Instructions

  • Begin by prepping the chipotles. Most of the heat in the peppers are housed in the seeds and ribs, so we strongly recommend scraping out all of the seeds before adding the peppers to the chili, especially if using the entire can. Using a fork, remove the desired number of peppers from the can. Reserve the adobo sauce. Slice them open, and then using the back of your knife, scrape out and discard the seeds & ribs. Roughly chop the peppers and set them aside.
  • In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and saute until they begin to soften and turn translucent. Add the drained kidney and black beans, tomatoes and their juices, chopped chipotles and the adobo sauce, beer, salt and spices. Stir to combine.
  • Cook the chili until thickened to your liking, about 20 minutes was perfect for us. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings (cheese, avocado, green onions, etc) and cornbread on the side!

Notes

Equipment Needed
Dutch oven
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Can opener
Wooden Spoon
Measuring spoons
Bowls and utensils for serving

Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 655kcal

*Nutrition is an estimate based on information provided by a third-party nutrition calculator

Main Course
American
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5 Can Campfire Chili

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31 Comments

  1. Trying this tonight! Looks delicious! We’re test driving our Element camping set up this weekend for a longer 3 week journey to Banff this summer.

    1. I bet the Element is a perfect car for a longer trip. There is so much room in the back! Enjoy Banff – you’ll get to explore so much with three weeks! We went for a few days (two or three?) last summer and I know there was so much we missed. One thing off the top of my head that I would have loved to check out was the Lake Agnes Tea House & the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House above Lake Louise.

  2. just cooked it up at home for a trial run, sans beer and onion. Came out spicy (probably too many peppers), but good!

  3. Thank you for this wonderful camping recipe. I cooked this and the cornbread and both were delicious. One change that I made was I used dried onions in place of an actual onion. I didn’t notice a difference and it made an already simple recipe, that much easier.

  4. Karen Croskell says:

    We camp a lot and so we are always looking for good recipes.
    We made the 5 can chili last night, delicious!

  5. This looks so cool! ???? I’m almost ready to go camping, as long as I can get back into my own bed every night! That could happen, right? I’ll have to leave out the beer, for anonymous reasons, but maybe I’ll put in a can of seltzer or bottle of kombucha!5 stars

  6. I’ve made a version of this using rabbit and squirrel and store-bought ground turkey. Added some tomatillos all crushed up. My camping crew- all high school teachers, all thought it was chicken chili. All loved it.5 stars

  7. My family isn’t a fan of beer. Plus we have a 3 year old. Does it taste like beer at all?? Or what could I sub instead?

    1. It doesn’t taste like beer at all after it’s cooked. But if you don’t have the beer on hand, then it’s not critical to go out an buy it. You could replace with beef/veggie broth. The condensed packets or bullion.

  8. We loved this. So easy and delicious. We made it a 6 can chili and added corn. Yummmmm!5 stars

  9. Totally awesome!! Did a dry run at home and this was amazing. Using Aldi’s ingredients it was less than $5 (had the beer at home).
    First internet recipe to drop my jaw.
    We smoke our Thanksgiving turkey, this will be an AMAZING use of leftovers.
    Can’t rave enough about this.5 stars

  10. Tried this camping over the weekend and for someone with minimal cooking skills it worked great! I had 9 people to feed so I doubled everything except for the chipotle peppers/sauce because to keep the heat down. We also added some leftover corn we had from a previous dinner which was a great addition.5 stars

    1. Smart move limiting the chipotles. Depending on the batch you get, then vary from not-so-bad to melt-your-face-off hot. Best to taste and check as you go.

  11. Seriously SO GOOD! Used fire-roasted “salsa style” diced tomatoes, beef broth instead of beer, just a tablespoon of the Chipotle peppers (it was still a little too spicy for our itty-bitty ones, but Dad and I thought it was perfect). Used dehydrated onions as per another reviewer, and swapped the cumin with two tablespoons of chili powder. Def will make again sometime soon, esp since we have leftover Chipotle peppers!

    1. Forgot to mention we did the math, and it ended up at $3.75 for the whole meal, including the cheese and sour cream we added on top! Fed our family of 5, plus one more bowl leftover for tomorrow. 😀

    2. This recipe can definitely be a little spicy for kids. Glad they were able to hang. We’ve tried a couple of different brands of chipotles and the heat level different across all of them. So it’s really hard to write the recipe. The best method is – of course – to taste and check.

  12. we made this while camping last week – probably my most favorite chili of all time – so simple, so smokey – we only did 4 peppers (with seeds omitted because i’m a sissy) and all the sauce – that and the beer were the game changers for us. we made with the cornbread, which I shocked also turned out pretty perfect! can’t wait to try more of your recipes on future trips!5 stars

    1. That’s awesome. So glad you enjoyed it. We must be getting whimpier in our old age cause now we can barely handle 2 chipotles.

  13. Came back here to say that I found this recipe several months ago and have made it at least once a month since. It’s super easy, delicious, you get to pour beer into your food, and best of all, meat-eaters don’t even bring up the fact that it’s vegan. (And during the current coronavirus lifestyle changes, it’s an amazing pantry-staple dish) 10/10

  14. I’m gonna tell you, this recipe is the best damn chili I’ve had. I used the whole can of the Chipotle’s and sauce, my fave Louisiana craft beer, and let me tell you, it was fiery, smokey, and by-God delicious. Who knew this taste could be so easy??!! I made this on a trail run in my kitchen at the house. Now I can’t wait to get out there in them woods and share this with my pals! Thank you for an amazing recipe!5 stars

  15. DO remove the seeds like it recommends… I didn’t, it was very hot. I also added a non-meat Chorizo, and it was really good.5 stars

  16. This is delicious – tastes like you have simmered it for hours not a few minutes. Just don’t forget the step where you take the seeds and ribs out of the chillis! We ate a lot of sour cream with it to tone down that mistake!5 stars

    1. So glad you enjoyed this! Glad you were able to add sour cream to tone down the heat. You can also add fewer chiles or just the sauce that comes in the can next time. -M

  17. I’m (sadly) very sensitive to heat, will this still be tasty without the chipotle peppers? Do you have a substitution recommendation for flavor that won’t kill my mouth with spice? Thanks!

    1. Yes, I bet it’ll still be good, even without the chipotles. They add spice and a little smokiness to the flavor profile. So if you wanted to keep that smokiness, but lose the spice, I might suggest adding in a 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika.

  18. Very easy, very tasty, very satisfying. I altered it a little bit by adding hamburger meat, minced garlic, and leaving the seeds in the peppers because I love it spicy.5 stars

  19. George Zsebe says:

    This was missing something for me, I’m not sure what. There wasn’t as much depth of flavor as I was expecting given the use of beer and the rave reviews.

    Decent, but I won’t be making it again. I actually find I prefer your Quinoa Chili.

    Thank you for sharing! ^_^3 stars