Delicious chilli con carne – naturally gluten free!

Chilli - naturally gluten free

We all have our own little take on how we make a chilli and what additional ingredients we pop in there! My signature chilli recipe has changed through the years. Moving on from when we were on a tight budget and needing to use the cheapest mince and adding Heinz baked beans (which tasted good in a different way), to now refusing to make a it unless I can get hold of my local butchers mince (it’s so good!!) and swapping the baked beans for kidney beans and popping in lots of freshly chopped peppers.

I make chilli a lot at home. But even when I’m making it just for me and Neil, I still make a huge pan, far more than we need, so I can portion it up and freeze the extra for when time is short. And it tastes even better the second time around!

Unlike when I make casseroles etc, I don’t brown the mince off before adding the onions and peppers. Missing out this step makes it a much simpler recipe. And I like that!

Ingredients (serves 8)

1kg (2lb) good quality minced beef

2 large onions, chopped

3 mixed peppers, chopped

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 x 400g tins of kidney beans (drained)

2 teaspoons mild *chilli powder (if you prefer a hotter chilli adjust accordingly)

Dessertspoon of Linghams*chilli sauce (my favourite sauce ever!! Available in Tesco, Waitrose and large Sainsbury’s)

Salt and ground *black pepper

Preheated oven 190C/375F/Gas 5/Fan 170C

Method

Place a large pan (suitable to go in the oven) on a moderate heat and add the mince, onions and peppers. Breaking down the mince as it cooks.

Mince, onions and peppers in pan ready to cook.

Once the mince is browned. Add the chilli powder and chilli sauce. Cook out for a further 5 minutes.

Browned mince in a saucepan.

Add the kidney beans, chopped tomatoes and a generous twist of black pepper. Cover the pan with either a lid or tin foil. Pop in a preheated oven and cook for about 1½ hours.

Remove the chilli from the oven and give a good stir. Season to taste. Stand for 10 minutes and serve.

Perfect with boiled *rice and a handful of *tortilla chips on the side. Loving Lidl ‘just free’ gf chorizo tortilla chips right now!

As well as chilli being naturally gluten free, it’s a great, easy meal to prepare and tuck into when you have a larger gathering – and I haven’t come across many people that don’t like it! Serve up with jacket potatoes (cook on a tray, on the top shelf, if using a ‘shared’ oven, to prevent cross contamination) a bowl of grated mature cheddar, a crunchy green salad with chopped spring onions and have a large dish of *tortilla chips for people to grab and jobs a good un!  It’s the ideal dish of warming yumminess to tuck into on a chilly  Halloween or Bonfire night. Perfect too for Boxing Day get-togethers – cook it a few weeks in advance before everything gets a bit crazy and freeze in large dishes that can be popped, once thawed, into the oven to reheat. Defrost overnight in the fridge the day before you need it.

If you choose you can make this into a veg chilli, just switch the meat for lots of different veggies of your choice. Things like chopped butternut squash, sweet potatoes courgettes etc would work really well.

Do let me know if you have a great chilli recipe to share!

Liz x

*Check this product out to ensure no gluten containing ingredients or ‘may contain’ or ‘not suitable’ warnings on the pack. If in doubt leave it out.

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