Four Bean Chili
Super Bowl is here and so is the stress of feeding a huge crowd of people coming over to your house to watch the game. Who wants to be in the kitchen catering to everyone’s needs when there are so many awesome commercials to watch — oh yeah, of course there’s the football game, too! 
This leads me to the reason you have to make this super easy chili this weekend. Besides the fact that the adults will adore it, your kids will have a ball adorning their chili bowls with tons of accompaniments. Kenya usually covers his with so much shredded cheese you can’t tell there’s chili under the surface, but he devours it all nevertheless. Make this recipe the night before the game or early in the morning, and all you have to do when everyone shows up is hang out and enjoy the fun!
Four Bean Chili (Serves 8-10)
2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil, divided
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Lb Lean Ground Beef
1-15 Oz Can White Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1-28 Oz Can Chopped Tomatoes with Juice
2-15 Oz Cans Tomato Juice
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Salt
Accompaniments: Sour Cream, Yogurt, Grated Cheddar Cheese, Scallions, Hot Sauce (if you want to take it up a notch)
1. In a sauté pan over medium heat place 1 tbsp of oil and sauté onions for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté another minute until the onions start to caramelize, then remove and place in a crock pot.
2. In the same sauté pan, add another tbsp of oil and sauté the ground beef for 5 minutes, breaking down the beef with a wooden spoon until it’s cooked through and most of its juice has evaporated.
3. Add the cooked beef and the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir to combine.
4. Cover and cook the chili on low for 8 hours.
5. Top with desired accompaniments and serve.
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If I don’t have a crock pot, how long would you recommend cooking this on the stove top?
Thanks!
Since the beef and beans are already cooked you really just need to keep it on the stove until it’s warmed through. If I was making it for all day eating though, I would put the burner on the lowest setting and just let it simmer. Check it periodically and give it a quick stir to make sure it’s not sticking or burning.
What is the ratio of one 15oz can to dried beans? We really don’t buy the cans anymore, but I’d love to make this from all the dried bean varieties mentioned! Thank you.
One 15 oz can of beans is about 1 2/3 cups cooked; I round a half cup up when I scoop them from a pot. Websites differ a bit on how many dry beans to cook to make a can’s worth… some say 2/3 cup, others say that 1 c dry beans makes 3 1/2 cups cooked, I make big pots of beans and freeze extras in cottage cheese and yogurt tubs in the freezer in 1 and 2 can equivalents. I would NOT cook all these different beans together, as some will turn mushy before others are done. And always toss the soaking liquid for kidney beans, as they can release toxins.
The recipe looks great, but I hate the reliance on canned foods. We stay away from canned food since the BPA leaches into the food. (Although Eden’s organic canned beans are bpa free, they are pretty expensive.)
I just made this recipe. Very good! My husband isn’t eating meat this month so I did a veggie version with carrots, green bell peppers, zucchini, celery and corn. Didn’t have white beans, so it was 3 bean for us, but it was still great. What kind of tomato juice do you use? Does tomato sauce work? I only had organic pizza sauce, so I just used one can and then added another can of vegetable broth to make it the right consistency (it turned out great! but I usually wouldn’t do it that way).
I do a very similar recipe but I use one big can or two cans of diced tomatoes instead of tomatoe juice… we like tomato chunks
I also try to avoid canned foods most of the time, but sometimes I just don’t have time and this recipe is so great for those days!
Tori,
When soaking dried beans the night before how many cups of dried beans equals a 15 oz can?
Thanks!
Gina
Sorry I didnt’ respond sooner… The best thing about this recipe is that the exact measurements don’t matter. I would just do about a cup of each kind then adjust the liquids in the chili according to the amount of beans you have. I find that different packages even of the same kinds of beans don’t always yield the same amount so I just throw some in and go from what I end up with
In addition to the BPA content, cooking your own helps to control the sodium content and other things added to keep beans from losing color and texture- even many of the organics have things added.
I, for one, will definitely be working this recipe on Super Bowl Sunday! I was also wondering about the substitutability (is that a word?) of the tomato juice. But thanks to filaree way and Tori, I think my question has been answered! I will try this with the cans of tomato sauce I have on hand. Thanks again for the great (and fun) recipes, Catherine!
Made this last night and it was really good. I used chicken breast instead of ground beef because that’s what we had on hand. I also added habanero sauce to my bowl because I like spicy and obviously my 3 and 4 yr olds don’t. But…it was really good and the girls gobbled it up!!!!
This sounds delicious! How would I make this vegetarian? Should I simply omit the beef and keep everything else the same or do I need to adjust the other items proportionally as well?
Thanks!
Just leave the meat out
You won’t need to adjust anything, thats the best part of this recipe! 
You can use morning star brand soy crumbles.
So yummy! I made ours vegetarian simply by omitting the beef and adding veggie crumbles to the crock pot at about the last half our point.
Catherine – if i wanted to make this not spicy and kind of sweet (for the little ones to enjoy too) would i need to modify anything, or is it so as is? Thanks!
The recipe itself is perfect for little ones
you don’t need to change anything but if you like to change it up for parents you can add extra spice and hot sauce if you like 
Hi Catherine
This recipe sounds delicious. I am definitely going to try this for my little one.
One quick question: Can I use ground chicken instead of beef? We do not eat beef, so I was wondering.
Thanks
I also do not like the reliance on canned ingredients. Eden Organics beans were actually on sale today – score! So that helps. Pomi tomatoes come in a box (though are not organic) and you can get organic tomato juice in a bottle, so you can reduce the amount of canned goods (or at least cans with BPA lining) going into this soup. Making this tomorrow before we go to church and can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try the chili fries too!
made this chilli today for our little Super Bowl home party and it is SOO good, SUPER easy and my 3 1/2 year old even liked it. We topped it with cheese and sour cream! mmm..mmm
I was reading the comments on the cans and how they can have BPA , I never knew that, so my question to catherine is, Do you only buy certain brands of canned beans or other stuff like tomato sauce, etc…???
I buy organic canned beans and tomatoes usually from trader joes or any health foods store. You can also make your own beans and tomato sauce if you prefer. One thing I love to do is prepare beans ahead of time and freeze in portions so when it comes to recipes that need canned beans, I have some available that is fresh but frozen. But when I am out, I use the canned ones.
What size crockpot did you cook this in? I have an 8 qt, and was wondering how much it would fill it up.
This was delicious! My 17 month old has pneumonia and this is the first thing he’s eaten in days! I added a half a cup each of purred carrots and broccoli. No one noticed. Can’t wait to try it over mac n cheese tonight.
I must have a really small crock pot. My husband had to run out in the mist of my cooking to borrow my friend’s. Make sure to use one of the largest crock pots out there. Can’t wait to eat this though!
This was my very first attempt at using a crock pot/slow cooker. I made this last week and it was a huge hit with me, my husband, and our 3 y.o. son! We don’t eat meat, so I substituted a package of veggie meat for the beef and just added it right to the crock pot w/o sauteeing. I was also out of black beans, so I substituted garbanzos. Served it with some shredded cheddar on top. It was excellent!
Yummy chili! I used two cans (28oz) of diced tomatoes and omitted the tomato juice. It definitely filled the crockpot up and I love how I have leftovers to freeze or use for another meal this week!
This was delicious! I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Yum! My husband, 20 month old, and I all really enjoyed it. And we have tons of leftovers. Thanks Catherine for another great recipe that everyone enjoyed.
Finally got around to making this, it was awesome!! Even my no bean eating 6 year old tried some because Kenya eats it
watching your videos and reading the site with my boys has been the best way to get them to try new things! I think they think Kenya and Chloe are famous!
I love to try new chili recipes, this one looks very good. I have a ton of dry beans & I buy frozen beans too, so I will have to try it.
What is a serving size. I’m trying to portion out meals for myself and husband and I’m assuming that 1 serving is 1 cup? Am I close?
Thanks!
Yes, serving size is 1 cup
How do you soften hard beans for this recipe?
For those that don’t eat meat, we just leave it out and serve it topped with chopped red or green onion and green pepper. It’s delicious!
[...] Chili cheese fries, fruit [...]
Fantastic recipe!! I made the chili yesterday for dinner, and just had some leftovers for lunch. My husband and I both enjoyed this as much as my 16 month old son.
Thank you!!
Also! As if there were not enough wonderful options on your site for what to do with leftovers….
I found that a bit of chili and some grated cheddar cheese make a lovely quesadilla.
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