Whole Story

Chili. That's what sounds good to us right now (it's been rainy and cold in Austin lately) and that's what we are focusing on for this edition of "Best Meal of the Week." Some chili recipes simmer away all day on the stove; others can be tossed together quickly on a weeknight. For this post, we're providing links to recipes from our website as well as tips and favorite additions from our team members. What's your best chili made of? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chili Faves

My chili, whether I do a quickie version or an all-day cook, always includes a little bit of ground clove for depth of flavor. I also add some oregano or marjoram, but not too much or it will taste like spaghetti sauce! And I often use beer for some of the liquid. —Susannah Hmmm..chili with braised chunks of grassfed beef, plenty of veggies, like onions, carrots, peppers, rutabaga, and flavored with guajillo and pasilla peppers, soaked, pureed and strained. Add to that, if you must, some sort of huge bean…there used to be one called a Christmas bean…or chestnut beans. Anything huge and not too chalky. Amazing. —Liz I lighten up standard chili by using bison meat instead of ground beef. I also like to use some chipotles in adobo sauce and I add about a tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate shavings at the end for interesting depth. Or I go for White Chili with cubed chicken, cannellini beans, mild green chilies, lots of Monterey jack and cilantro. —Allison I just made chili using pork shoulder and stout that was amazing. It called for coffee too, but I just used Guinness for all of it. Next to my dad's recipe (for a good old fashioned Texas Red, which I can never divulge), it's probably my favorite. —Jaye My favorite veggie chili combines freshly cooked pinto beans with diced then roasted zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, red bell peppers, onion, shallot and corn. I love to serve chili over rice to get some grains in with all that protein. And when I eat a meat-based chili, I load on fresh toppings like cilantro, diced purple cabbage, red onion, red bell pepper, grated carrots or pico de gallo. —Paige

Top-Rated Chili Recipes

Spicy Vegetarian Chili Vegetarian Chipotle Chili Spicy Corn and Chicken Chili White Turkey Chili Colorful Turkey Chili Seafood Chili Blanco Turkey and Pumpkin Chili Tofu Blanco Tempeh and Bell Pepper Chili Buffalo Bill Chili What's your favorite chili?