Cheap chilli con carne recipe

Follow this easy chilli recipe for a great wholesome meal that won't break the bank. It's ideal to make as a filling evening dinner or even as a cheap and tasty dish for a dinner party.

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We love chilli con carne. It's a fail-safe tasty meal that you can cook in one pot (so less washing up!) and freeze in individual portions to have throughout the week, or whenever it takes your fancy really.

Chilli also works great as dinner party food. You can add extras like guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, tortillas and nachos to turn it into a real Mexican feast. It's also a great option for vegetarians, as the beef can be replaced with a veggie alternative without losing any of the magic.

Don't forget you can also wrap it up in a tortilla with some rice and take it to uni in some foil as a homemade burrito. The options are endless...

Chilli con carne recipe (also suitable for vegetarians)

Ingredients

Serves: 4 | Costs: around £3.86* (£0.97 per serving) | Time taken: 30–40 mins

• 1 brown onion, diced (£0.12)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed (£0.05)
• 500g beef mince, or Quorn mince if you're veggie (£2.49)
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes (£0.35)
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree (£0.05)
• 1 red pepper (£0.21)
• 400g tin of kidney beans (£0.33)
• 1 beef or vegetable stock cube (optional) (£0.07)
• A smidge of chilli powder (depending on how hot you like it)
• 360g rice (£0.19).

Method

1. Add some oil to a wok or a large pan over a medium heat. Brown the mince (in other words, fry until there's almost no pink).
2. Once the mince is browned, add the onions and garlic.
3. Boil the kettle to make half a litre of beef/vegetable stock (follow instructions on the pack to make this).
4. Once the onions have gone translucent, add the chopped tomatoes, the chopped red pepper and the tomato puree. Stir and add some seasoning.
5. Pour in the beef/vegetable stock. Stir again.
6. Add as much chilli powder as you can bear (we'd suggest about half a teaspoon, as the boiling process can make your chilli pretty hot! Remember you can always add more later, but you can't take it out). Leave the chilli to simmer for around 20 mins.
7. Once the liquid has reduced, cook your rice. Boil-in-the-bag options are good for portion control, but it's up to you.
8. While the rice is cooking, add in the kidney beans.
9. Once the rice is cooked, divide it between plates or bowls and serve with a large helping of chilli on top.

Serve this with some grated cheese on top, as well as some sour cream or natural yoghurt on the side if it's spicy. You might also want to make some fruity cocktails to get into the party mood.

Big fan of one-pot dinners? Check out this great sausage and bean casserole recipe next.

* Prices were correct at the time of writing (using Tesco.com, Sainsburys.co.uk and Asda.com prices as guidelines).