Ground Pork Chili

Ground Pork Chili is the perfect hearty pork chili for an easy family meal or tailgating season that pairs well with homemade tortilla strip chips.

It’s a touchdown and the extra point!

Chili with Pork and Beans

When the cool weather hits, you need to add this chili to your must-try list. It’s also simple to convert into a slow cooker recipe.

Ground pork chili creates a favorite comfort food (chili) and offers a variety of flavors to suit different tastes.

Our recipe brings together ground pork, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and an endless variety of spices. The best part is that many base ingredients are shelf-stable and found in your pantry.

Warm up your kitchen today with a protein-packed pork chili. Spice it up by offering cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and jalapenos as garnishes.

To see how to adjust this recipe for a slow cooker, scroll to the bottom of this recipe.

Ingredients for red chili with pork

• lean ground pork
• onion, chopped
• crushed tomatoes
• black beans
• can corn
• chicken broth
• salsa
• spices: cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper
• corn tortillas
• olive oil
• limes
• fresh cilantro

Recipe Tips

• Save time and use pre-made tortilla chips or corn chips.
• Brown ground pork and transfer meat to slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook on low.
• Offer jalapenos, cilantro, cheese and sour cream as garnishes.

How to make pork chili

Preheat a skillet with olive oil over medium heat. 

Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp.

Remove strips from the pan and allow them to drain on a paper towel.

Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil as needed, then set aside.

In a large soup pan, cook chopped onions and ground pork until brown. 

Fold in spices and mix well.

Add tomatoes, beans, corn, broth, and salsa and stir well. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Spoon soup into bowls; squeeze limes and sprinkle fresh cilantro for extra taste.

Top with tortilla chips or serve on the side. 

How to thicken chili

Ideally, simmering chili with low and slow heat will allow liquid to evaporate and result in a thicker chili.

If you don’t have extra time, two steps you can try are adding a small can of tomato paste to the pot. Or crumbling a handful of tortilla chips and stir them into the chili.

The chips will soak up liquid and quickly become added texture to the dish.

Is chili a soup?

This is a loaded question with more categories than you might realize!

First you need to classify a soup. They can be hot or cold, savory or sweet, may or may not have solid foods in it.

In general, a soup is a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, or vegetables with various added ingredients.

Next, up is stew. Soup and stew can be lumped together in the same culinary category, but yet they have different consistency.

Stew is 30% liquid base, 70% solid food while, Soup is 70% liquid base and 30% solid food.

In conclusion, chili is somewhere in the middle. Not quite a soup and not exactly stew.

How long does chili last in the fridge?

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for cooked leftovers is 3 to 4 days when properly stored and refrigerated.

Can you freeze chili?

Yes! Chili can safely be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Beyond that amount of time it should be moved to the freezer.

Place refrigerated chili into a freezer-safe, airtight container and move to the freezer. Don’t forget to write the date you prepared the chili on a sticker or piece of tape on the lid.

Chili can be stored frozen for 4 to 6 months. Go ahead and make a large batch, freeze half for later!

What beans go in chili?

Our Ground Pork Chili recipe calls for black beans, but if you are a connoisseur of legumes you could also add pinto, kidney, navy, or great northern beans.

If beans just don’t agree with your tummy or you have picky eaters in your family, chili can also be bean-less.

What goes with chili?

Chili can be served up solo or with complimentary dishes. We suggested serving the ground pork chili with a side of tortilla chips and sour cream, cheese and jalapenos as toppings.

To style a second meal using this chili recipe, use baked potatoes and pour chili over the potato and personalize garnishes.

And one last classic chili side we don’t want to leave out, cornbread. Chili and cornbread go hand and hand.

Converting this to a slowcooker

To convert this recipe to a slow cooker or crock pot recipe, simply cook tortillas and brown the ground pork, onions, and spices as instructed above.

Then, place all ingredients except for the garnish and tortillas into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

For black beans or navy beans, add them in the last 30 minutes to keep from having overcooked beans.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with the crispy tortillas.

What to serve with Ground Pork Chili

We love serving Ground Pork Chili with easy cinnamon rolls or these delicious bacon cookies.

Other Ground pork recipes to try

Hot Tamale Casserole is a simple and easy casserole recipe with a cornmeal crust, ground pork and bean filling, and lots of cheese on top.

These easy-to-make Tasty Ground Pork Tacos combine ground pork, optional black beans, tomatoes, and simple spices to add a delicious twist to your traditional taco night.