Steak and Shake was one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid. Mostly because if we were going to Steak and Shake, I knew I would be getting a shake. It wasn’t until I stopped existing on chicken tenders and fries, and worked in a few restaurants in my late teens, that I started enjoying food that wasn’t white. One of those foods was chili.
Beef chili, turkey chili, white chicken chili, every restaurant I’ve worked at has had a different variation of chili, but Steak and Shake was always my favorite. Steak and Shake was open 24 hours, so in high school that was a popular hang out and Chili 5 Way was my go to. After moving to Colorado when I was 20, there were so many foods and restaurants I missed. Steak and Shake was one of them. Chili may not be a hard recipe to make, but to find that same Steak and Shake flavor took me over ten years. It wasn’t until I tried my mother-in-laws chili that I had to recreate her recipe and get as close as I could to that Chili 5 Way flavor. And it does NOT involve one of those chili spice packets you find in the grocery store!
The BEST Chili
Equipment
- Instant Pot optional
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef browned
- 4 15 oz. cans dark red kidney beans
- 4 15 oz. cans chili beans
- 1 10 oz can tomatoes w/green chilies
- 1/2 cup green chilies 4oz. can
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 green onions chopped
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and chopped green onion to the browned ground beef. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes with green chilies, additional green chilies, chili powder, cumin and garlic powder. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Add rinsed kidney beans and chili beans to the pot. Add one can of water to the pot.
- Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
- Reduce heat and simmer until dinner!