The 10-Minute, 4-Ingredient Chili My Clients Rave About

As a private chef, I make food for families, and they expect it to be good. Like, “worth-paying-for-it” good. Because I’m always making several dishes at once, I need to plan a menu that includes some fast and easy recipes. That’s where this 3-can chili comes in. This one is my little cheat so I can get to all the menu items prepared in time. Kids and adults love it.

3-Can Chili Is All About Simplicity

The original recipe for 3-can chili that you see floating around on the internet is just a can of black beans, a can of corn, a can of diced tomatoes, and some chili powder. To keep it just as simple but with my own twist, I swap out just one thing: no chili powder!

I like to make my 3-can chili special with canned chipotles in adobo sauce. Chipotles in adobo are an ingredient hack that add as much flavor as several spices and condiments, all in one little spoonful.

If you’re unfamiliar, chipotles are ripe (not green) jalapeños that have been smoked, then dried, then rehydrated and simmered in a tangy sauce of tomato purée, vinegar, and some spices. You can buy ground chipotle pepper powder as well, which delivers the smoky heat of the chiles, but then you’ll miss out on the adobo. A few teaspoons of the sauce can carry a whole dish, I promise.

What to Do with Extra Chipotles (and Adobo Sauce)

Because I often don’t use a whole can of chipotles at once, I like to freeze the rest. A quart-sized zip-top freezer bag is best—just spread the peppers and sauce into a thin layer inside the bag and freeze it flat. That way, you can easily remove one or two peppers and their sauce to use how you wish without thawing the whole thing.

Once you have some chipotles in adobo stashed in the freezer, try mincing them up and adding them to mayonnaise, hummus, salad dressing, or salsa. For an easy taco filling, smear some over a hunk of beef or pork shoulder and cook it all in the slow cooker until falling apart tender. Any dish that needs a little kick of smoky complexity will benefit from the chiles and zippy adobo.

Go for Petite Dice

Up until a few years ago, I only saw regular canned diced tomatoes on offer at the grocery store. The diced tomato pieces are big, and they take up half of your spoon when you take a bite of chili or soup.

Now, I’m totally converted to petite diced tomatoes, which are half the size. In a dish like this chili, I want pieces that are ready to eat with just a short simmer, so using a can of smaller-cut tomatoes also saves me time.

Serving Suggestions

In a school lunchroom years ago, I was introduced to the joy of a peanut butter sandwich with chili. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it! You also can spread some peanut butter on crackers to go with this chili—you’ll thank me later.

Of course, classic corn chips are a crunchy topper that can be used to scoop, too. A sprinkle of grated cheddar or pepper Jack or some diced avocado is perfect on top, as is a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

More Fast Soups

• 15-Minute Tortellini Soup
• Easy Mushroom Noodle Soup
• Sausage White Bean Soup
• Dump-and-Stir White Chicken Chili