Italian Chili

This chili swaps the Tex-Mex playbook for Italian flavors, and the result is something like a bowl of pizza soup. Ground beef and sliced pepperoni simmer with crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, mushrooms, and Italian seasoning in a thick, tomatoey base.

The pepperoni is what makes this uniquely Italian. As it simmers, the spicy, garlicky fat renders out of each slice and infuses the whole pot with that unmistakable pizza-shop flavor. Combined with Italian seasoning, garlic, and tomato paste, you end up with a chili that tastes like it belongs at a trattoria rather than a cookoff.

Ground beef gets browned with onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic first, building a savory base before everything combines. Thirty minutes of simmering gets you a decent bowl, but two hours is where the flavors really meld and deepen.

Kitchen Tips

• Brown the beef thoroughly and drain the fat before combining with the tomato base. Skipping the drain leaves the chili greasy.
• Cut the pepperoni slices in half so they distribute evenly through the chili. Whole slices clump together.
• The longer simmer (up to two hours) is worth it if you have the time. The flavors build significantly after the first hour.
• A pinch of sugar in the recipe balances the acidity from all that tomato. Don’t skip it.

Variations

• Top with shredded mozzarella instead of cheddar for the full Italian experience.
• Add a can of drained chickpeas alongside the kidney beans for more variety.
• Stir in cooked penne or rotini at the end for an Italian chili mac.