35 Classic And Creative Chili Recipes To Warm You Up All Winter Long

During the chilly months, we're constantly craving warm, comforting meals to warm us up when the weather turns cold. Step aside salads—we're turning to warming winter dinners like casseroles, soups, stews, and of course, chilis. Hearty and versatile, we love switching up this staple dish depending on what we're craving and what we have on hand. Feeling chilly? From classic recipes to creative variations, our 35 best chili recipes will have you cozying up to this hearty dish all winter long.

At its most basic, chili is a type of stew usually made out of beans, ground meat, spices, and tomatoes, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. Our beef chili is our most classic, but you can always change things up. You can make it with other ground meat, like in our white bean chicken chili, our pulled pork chili, our spicy turkey chili, or our braised short rib sweet potato chili. Alternatively, skip the meat and bulk it out with extra beans or veggies, like in our vegan, vegetarian, or pumpkin chilis. Not so into beans? Try our Texas chili or our chili con carne instead. Though chili is often made on the stove, it can be a long process—make it easier on yourself by making it in your slow-cooker or Instant Pot. Our recipes will make it taste like it’s been cooking for hours, but only take about 40 minutes.

Now you’ve got your chili recipes down, it’s time to mix them up with other comfort food classics. Macaroni & cheese is a perfect match, so we’ve included a number of variations on it here, like our one-pot vegetarian chili mac, our slow cooker chili mac & cheese, and our mac & chili stew. Chili dogs are another fantastic option—check out our chili cheese dog casserole, our vegan chili dogs, our chili cheese dog sliders, or our chili cheese dog bread for variations on the theme.

Want more fall and winter recipes? Check out our top fall dinners, our best slow-cooker recipes, and our favorite Dutch oven recipes too.