Chef John's Italian Sausage Chili

I've added pork to ground beef in chili before, but I've never tried it with all Italian sausage, and I loved the results. We Italian'd this up even more with cannellini beans and a touch of basil, but other than that, it's a fairly classic chili. Garnish with sour cream, avocado, red onion, and basil.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Calories: 599 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• salt to taste
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 ½ cups water, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1 ¼ pounds hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 ¼ pounds mild Italian sausage, casings removed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, onion, and a pinch of salt together in the pot, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage is browned and crumbly, and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Step 2

Stir ancho chile powder, paprika, cumin, ground black pepper, chipotle chile powder, and oregano into sausage mixture; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Step 3

Pour water and tomato puree into sausage mixture, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook on a steady simmer until sausage is tender, about 45 minutes. Add water as necessary and skim any fat that floats to the top.

Step 4

Stir cannellini beans, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper into sausage mixture. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste.