This mild chilli con carne for kids is easy to make and perfect for the whole family. The chilli is subtly spiced and packed full of flavour, but not hot or spicy, so kids can enjoy it too!
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This hearty kid friendly chilli con carne is one of our favourite family dinners, served with rice, tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream.
It's also easy to adapt to cater for all tastes and a great option for batch cooking and freezing!
Looking to eat less meat? Check out my vegetarian Quorn Chilli Con Carne recipe too!
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Easy family dinner.
- Mildly spiced and perfect for kids.
- Great for batch cooking and freezing.
- Can be adapted to suit all tastes.
🥘 Ingredients
Minced Beef - 500g of lean minced beef.
Chorizo - adds a delicious smoky flavour to the chilli.
Onion - 1 onion very finely chopped (I use a mini chopper).
Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled and chopped.
Red Pepper - sliced into strips, or you could cut the pepper into smaller pieces if you prefer.
Chili Powder - I use ½ a teaspoon of mild chilli powder in this recipe but you can leave this out altogether if your kids don't like chili, or increase it to suit your own taste.
Spices and Herbs - Smoked Paprika, Cumin, Ground Coriander, Oregano.
Tomato Soup - a can of cream of tomato soup gives the dish a lovely sweetness which kids seem to like. Alternatively, use smooth passata with a pinch of sugar. You'll need the empty soup can to fill with boiling water and add to the chilli.
Sweet Chilli Sauce - adds another element of sweetness and flavour.
Kidney Beans - if your kids like kidney beans, you could add in another can. If they don't, try using baked beans instead.
Worcestershire Sauce - a dash at the end of cooking helps to give the chilli a delicious, savoury flavour. You could also use a teaspoon of marmite.
Fresh Coriander to serve (optional)
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Fry the chorizo in a shallow casserole or frying pan for a few minutes until it starts releasing its oil.
Two: Add the finely chopped onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften.
Three: Add the red pepper and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring often.
Four: Stir in the chilli powder, smoked paprika, ground coriander, cumin and oregano.
Five: Add the minced beef and turn the heat up so that it browns.
Six: Pour in the tomato soup and fill the empty can with water from a recently boiled kettle. Pour this in too, along with the sweet chilli sauce and drained kidney beans. Give everything a good mix.
Seven: Add the Worcestershire sauce then simmer on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
Eight: Season with salt and pepper and serve!
Top Tips
- Add a square of dark chocolate to the chilli to help balance the flavours.
- Cheat with the spices and buy a packet chilli con carne spice mix.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the mild chilli con carne with rice, tortilla chips, grated cheese, sour cream, and a side of air fryer sweet potato fries for a mexican feast. I always make sure there is a bottle of chilli sauce on the table too, for the adults who like to spice their chilli up a bit.
Leftovers are great on jacket potatoes, or stirred though my cheesy pasta before baking it, to make a chilli cheesy pasta!
📖 Variations
- Use diced beef instead of minced beef for a more authentic chilli.
- Up the veggies by adding in tinned sweetcorn, diced courgette or different colour peppers.
- If your kids don't like kidney beans, use a tin of baked beans instead.
- If you like a bit more heat add 1 chopped red chilli at the same time as the onion.
- Make it vegetarian by using Quorn mince instead of beef mince.
🥡 Storage
The cooked chilli can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave until piping hot!
You'll find the flavour develops over time and the chilli usually tastes best on the second or third day after making it!
🧊 Suitable for freezing?
The mild chilli con carne for kids is a great option for freezing. Why not make a double batch and freeze half for another day? Freeze it in a freezer-safe container and defrost fully in the fridge before reheating.
❓ FAQS
Yes, chilli is a great option for cooking in the slow cooker. Liquid quantities may need to be reduced.
Sweet chilli sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and marmite all provide a tasty flavour boost to chilli con carne.
Dairy products such as yogurt and sour cream are perfect for toning down spicy hot chilli con carne. You could also serve a glass of milk alongside it, which is what I do for my kids.
😋Related recipes
More child friendly dinners to try!
- BBQ Chicken Pasta
- Sweet Potato Chilli
- Bobotie
- Fruity Mango Chutney Chicken Curry
- Sausage Curry
- Garlic Butter Chicken
- Sticky Quorn Sausage Traybake
- Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne
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Recipe
Mild Chilli Con Carne for Kids
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Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 100 g Chorizo cut into 1cm discs
- 1 Onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Red Pepper cut into strips
- 500 g Minced Beef
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
- 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 400g Tin of Cream of Tomato Soup keep the can!
- 2 tablespoon Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 400g Tin of Kidney Beans drained
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt, Pepper and Fresh Coriander to serve
Instructions
- Put a heavy based casserole or frying pan on a medium heat and add in the cured chorizo sausage. Fry for a couple of minutes until it starts releasing it's oils.100 g Chorizo
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften.1 Onion, 2 Garlic Cloves
- Add in the red pepper strips and cook for another 2 minutes.1 Red Pepper
- Stir in the chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander and oregano. Cook for 1 minute.½ teaspoon Chili Powder, 2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin, 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander, 1 teaspoon Oregano
- Put the minced beef in the pan, turn up the heat a little and break up the minced beef with a wooden spoon whilst it's cooking. It should only take a couple of minutes to brown.500 g Minced Beef
- Add the tomato soup, drained kidney beans and sweet chilli sauce and fill the empty soup tin with water from a recently boiled kettle and add this in too. Give everything a good mix.400g Tin of Cream of Tomato Soup, 400g Tin of Kidney Beans, 2 tablespoon Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and simmer on a low- medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.¼ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- Season and serve with chopped fresh coriander.Salt, Pepper and Fresh Coriander to serve
Notes
- Use diced beef instead of minced beef for a more authentic chilli.
- Up the veggies by adding in tinned sweetcorn, diced courgette or different colour peppers.
- If your kids don't like kidney beans, use a tin of baked beans instead.
- If you like a bit more heat add 1 chopped red chilli at the same time as the onion.
- Make it vegetarian by using Quorn mince instead of beef mince.
Michelle
Can't wait to give this a try for my kids! They like flavourful, but milder food, so this fits the bill. 🙂
Alisa Infanti
This was excellent... my family loved it!
Angela
Chorizo is such a great ingredient. I don't know why I never thought to add it to chili! I love the addition of the sweet chili sauce. Great recipe!
Neli Howard
Mmmmm, this is my kind of comfort food! Such a great combo and perfect for the cold spring nights we’re having!
Michelle
Perfectly! Everything is "spicy" to my kids. Sigh. So this is a great recipe with still lots of flavor.
Chloe
Love this! Best chilli I’ve ever had and I make it regularly. I just add in black beans, an extra pepper, extra onion and garlic, dark chocolate, cinnamon and a tin of tomatoes now.
Tamsin
I found the addition of water far too much and probably only needed half the can. I added a beef stock cube too, to improve the flavour.