Ingredients That Will Take Your Chili To The Next Level

Try any two bowls of chili and they probably won't taste even remotely the same. Everyone who makes chili seems to put their own spin on it, which is, perhaps, one of the reasons it's so fun to make. Chili is traditionally made in a large pot or slow cooker with a chili pepper base and all kinds of additions, from veggies to beans, but there really are no rules when it comes to concocting a chili you love. For example, chili recipes run the gamut from pulled turkey chili to beef, bratwurst, and white bean chili. From its modest beginnings as a go-to meal in Mexican culture to becoming the official Texas state food (per National Chili Day), chili has secured a place in our hearts.

If you're looking to start your own chili tradition and want to upgrade the flavors in your pot, this guide has some of the best ideas for ingredients to try. Whether you enjoy savory or sweet chili, these simple ingredients can take your it to a whole new level. Experiment and enjoy!

Tomatoes are a prime ingredient in chili, whether you use tomato soup, tomato sauce, or stewed tomatoes as your base. Tomatoes are generally more on the acidic side of the pH scale than neutral or basic, often with a pH of around 4.6, although some varieties are more acidic than others (via Pick Your Own). 

The acidic flavor of tomatoes can be overwhelming for some taste buds. One way to cut it back is by adding sugar. Sugar increases the sweetness of your tomato base, enhancing chili's overall flavor and making it more balanced for the palate. Substitute Cooking suggests adding 1 teaspoon of sugar at a time, stirring, and tasting the chili before adding more to prevent making it too sweet. Or, if you want to get a little more complex with your flavor profiles, reach for maple syrup, which chef Bobby Flay uses in his red beef chili recipe.

One ingredient you probably never thought to add to your chili is beer. But, according to the pros, it works. In fact, Guy Fieri's Texas Chili recipe calls for a 12-ounce can of beer to boost its flavor in addition to numerous spices and other ingredients, like cayenne pepper, paprika, and ancho chiles.

Why add alcohol to the chili pot? It can deepen the overall flavor and complexity of chili. But, it's important to know what type of beer to use based on the type of chili you're making. For instance, beef chilis tend to pair well with stouts, while red ale can be a good option for sweeter chilis.

It's also helpful to know when to add the beer. For instance, you can use beer to deglaze your pans after sauteing the meats and veggies. You can also include it as part of the chili's base, cooking it long enough to allow the intensity of the beer to calm a bit. Just be sure to allow at least 2 ½ hours of cooking time for the alcohol to cook out if you're serving chili to non-drinkers (via Dr. Weil) or use a non-alcoholic beer instead.

Have you ever wondered why chocolate bars are sometimes blended with spicy ingredients, like chipotle peppers or cayenne pepper? Apparently, there's a science behind sweet and spicy flavors that make this pairing a winner in the eyes of many chocolate enthusiasts. Insider explains that mixing spicy ingredients like peppers with sweet ingredients like chocolate makes for a strong sensory experience that not only perks up your taste buds but also provides the perfect balance of flavors. So, even if you typically can't handle much spice in your food, balancing spicy ingredients with sweet additions like chocolate might appeal to you.

Therefore, adding cocoa powder or chocolate to chili seems like a no-brainer. In fact, traditional Mexican mole frequently contains chocolate, which is one of the ingredients that leads to its dark, rich color and flavor. To balance out the spiciness of your chili, try adding a few pieces of chocolate or a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder. It's up to you what kind of chocolate you use based on your sweetness preferences, but Cooking Clarified suggests trying dark chocolate — either semisweet or bittersweet — to add a deeper flavor to your chili.

Some chili makers smoke their chili peppers and vegetables before adding them to chili. The process gives chili a smokier barbecue-type flavor that can add to the complexity of the dish. But if you don't have a smoker or have an interest in using it to make chili, you can go the easier and much quicker route of adding liquid smoke instead.

Liquid smoke imparts many of the same flavors you'd get from smoking or grilling your chili ingredients because it's made from real smoke. Manufacturers make it by preserving the smoke that comes off burning woodchips and turning it into a pourable liquid that you can add to dishes like chili (via The Meat We Eat). Add a few drops to your chili pot or while you cook your veggies to breathe that smoky flavor into the chili. However, be sure not to add too much, which might produce an overpowering smoky flavor.

There's no denying it: Ghost peppers have a lot of spice. But if you're into really spicy chili, these mouth-burning peppers can sure turn up the heat. The ghost pepper is considered one of the world's hottest peppers, next in line to the Carolina Reaper and others with similar Scoville Heat Units (via Brittanica). Because of its powerful heat, ghost peppers are commonly used to make homemade hot sauces, salsa, and curry dishes.

Why not try some in your next batch of chili? Keep in my that it's important to test a pepper first so you can understand how hot it is. This way, you won't overdo it when adding it to your chili. For example, one Redditor suggests, "Eat a little bite of one. Not even half would be necessary. Just [a] wee little bit at first. If you're ok, then try a little more. After that, you'll know what to do with the meal. Have some milk on hand just in case."

Coffee lovers, this one's for you. As if you needed another reason to squeeze more coffee into your life, it's time to try it with chili. Adding coffee to chili, such as in this black bean and pork chili recipe, brings out some of the earthier flavors in the dish. Plus, it enhances the sensory experience of eating chili by making the aroma of herbs and spices a bit more powerful. 

Whether you should just add in some liquid coffee or reach for ground beans remains up for debate, so this might be something you want to experiment with. For example, Civilized Coffee recommends using instant espresso for a quick and easy addition to chili. However, several people on Reddit mention that they use liquid-brewed coffee or cold brew. Brewing the coffee beans rather than adding them in ground form will lend a deeper flavor and avoid crunchy bits throughout the chili.

If you've ever tried a bowl of Cincinnati chili — a food that the Ohio city is well-known for — you probably have noticed it's not quite like any other chili you've tasted. In fact, the Cincinnati variation is relatively sweet compared to others, as it's based on a traditional Greek pastitsio, a saucy pasta dish with loads of flavor. Pastitsio often includes cinnamon, which is also a common ingredient in Cincinnati chili that lends to its overall sweeter flavor (via WVXU).

In response to a question on Quora asking "Who puts cinnamon in chili?" several people responded that it's actually quite normal — and delicious. For instance, one commenter says, "Cinnamon is a spice with many uses. It's been used in sweet and savory dishes since the Renaissance and before. Nothing weird at all about putting it in chili." Another commenter mentions that their chili blends 12 herbs and spices, with two of them being the sweet additions of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Do you have trouble keeping your chili meat tender as it cooks? Try adding baking soda to chili, which, through the cooking process, works some science magic on ground beef. This secret ingredient helps ground beef hang on to its natural juices as it cooks, making it more tender when you're ready to eat it.

But that's not all baking soda can do for your chili; it also can help decrease the acid, which is great news for people who are sensitive to the acidity of tomatoes. According to Vanguard Gastroenterology, tomatoes are among the worst acidic foods for acid reflux because they can increase the amount of acid your stomach produces. Both sugar and baking soda can cut down the acidic taste of tomatoes, and while sugar may be the better option for an overall sweeter flavor, baking soda does the actual work of neutralizing the pH to make them less acidic.

Combining dried fruits with meat in recipes is common in many cultures across North Africa and the Middle East. Dates, in particular, are especially celebrated for their capacity to add a hint of sweetness and act as a thickener in dishes. This makes adding them to your chili a natural fit.

The key is understanding which kind of date to use. With thousands of date varietals grown across the globe, the possibilities are virtually endless. All dates are similar in nutritional content, with a majority of their calories coming from carbohydrates, predominantly in the form of fructose. This fructose is their superpower when added to chili. As the dates rehydrate in the chili, they begin to plump up and eventually dissolve, balancing out the heat of the chili peppers and creating a luscious mouthfeel.

Regardless of which variety you choose to use, make sure you remove the pit. Some dates are available with the pits already removed. You can add whole dates, but it's recommended to either chop them up or turn them into a paste by rehydrating them with water and puréeing in a food processor. This will enable them to blend seamlessly into the chili without leaving behind noticeable chunks. While Medjool dates are considered the Cadillac variety due to their size and distinctly soft texture, they are pricey. You can obtain the richness in flavor and texture necessary for chili from cheaper, more readily available varieties.

The condiment gochujang has been integral to Korean cuisine for hundreds of years. This crimson-colored chili sauce, made from a combination of fermented soybeans and glutinous rice, can be the key to upgrading your next batch of chili. Historically, the soybeans and rice would be combined in an earthenware pot with a grain like barley, salt, and a chili powder, known as gochugaru, before spending months fermenting. The result is a thick paste that resembles tomato paste with a kick. In Korea, it's often incorporated into classic dishes like bibimbap and other stews, and it's the star ingredient for the vinegary dipping sauce that makes Korean barbecue so unique. Gochujang is characterized by its complexity, having elements of salt, sweetness, smoke, spice, and a robust savoriness. These flavors all dance together in your mouth with the feverish frenzy of partygoers at a nightclub and the sophistication of the finest corps de ballet performing the second act of Swan Lake. 

These attributes make gochujang a natural fit for bolstering chili. The key is using it with finesse. Because it's strong-tasting and spicy, you'll want to add a little at a time to the liking, or tolerance, of those you're feeding. To layer flavors, add a teaspoon toward the beginning of the cooking process, and another toward the end. This will infuse the chili at every step, giving it even further nuance. Substitute sriracha, sambal oelek, harissa, or nam phrik if you cannot find gochujang.