Firehouse Chili and Cornbread Casserole Recipe

Yes I will make it again! My husband loved it!! Made during the Coronavirus shortage, so I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes (no crushed tomatoes in the stores); used Marie Callender cornbread mix, Jiffy all gone in stores. Spooned out a cup of chili so that the cornbread mix would fit, and that reserve came in handy to chili-fy my husband’s 2nd serving. Super yummy & easy recipe.

Come on....baking the cornbread directly on the chili!?! It was amazing. I made as written but used yellow cheddar. The overall flavor of the chili was spot on and the texture of the cornbread was light but held up to the chili. It was almost like a savory chili cobbler. The cornbread does soak up some of the liquid of the chili so I would probably add a little more liquid or not reduce it as much. The husband was a big fan and this would be very impressive to take to a pot luck or game day party. Thanks, Chef John!

Although I did make a few changes based on personal likes - this was amazing!! I took it to a potluck and everyone wanted the recipe. Highly recommend and frankly, I might not ever make chili any other way. The crunchy corn bread on the top was to DIE for and will likely add more next time. Here are the changes I made. Ground turkey instead of beef. Chipotle spice instead of cayenne. Oat milk instead of cow. Used 2 cans of of fire roasted diced tomatoes, no crushed. Added some left over black beans to use up as well as Kidney. Double all the spices except salt. Next time, I will make all these same changes, but also add diced jalapeno to the corn bread mix with the cheese. GREAT recipe!!!

I haven’t even finished this yet and it is amazing! I had to make some on the fly changes due to a grocery snafu, using dehydrated onions, etc. I chopped up some angus beef patties, added the dehydrated onion, garlic, and then I added the cumin, a good bit of paprika, a few tablespoons of Adobo, and smoked ancho pepper, along with Arizona Dreaming from Penzy’s. All of my spices are Penzy’s which make a difference. After the meat was done, I added a 28 oz can of organic crushed tomatoes. After that was simmered in, I added a can of organic chili spiced kidney beans. It is now simmering as I try it out with some mozzarella cheese, since I am out of cheddar! Oh I added a good sprinkle of salt also. It is Amazing!! I will finish it with the corn bread, but I will make this again.

I've made this twice now, the first time I followed the recipe exactly (awesome) and the next time I used slightly different ingredients due to shortages at our local grocery store during the whole COVID-19 panic buying apocalypse. I used the Gluten Free Corn Muffin Mix from Bob's Red Mill since the regular Jiffy mix was out of stock, and used regular sharp cheddar cheese. I just followed the instructions on the package of corn muffin mix and doubled the cheese since gluten free stuff tend to be drier. Crust tuned out moist and perfect. For the chili, I could only get regular diced tomatoes so I used two cans of that. This recipe is very forgiving and hard to mess up. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Chef John!

This was wonderful. The cornbread topping really hits it out of the park. I can't handle too much spice so I just used one tbsp of chilli and 2 tbsp of cumin and added cinnamon stick and bay leaf to my simmering pot. This created a milder heat level but still full of flavour. Delightful! Also, I couldn't find corn muffin mix in the grocery store but it was easy enough to make with cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vegetable oil. Just google jiffy corn muffin copycat recipe.

I have made twice without any changes and both times it was very good. I recommend putting a cookie sheet under the baking dish in the oven incase the chili bubbles over.

I was very skeptical about this recipe mostly because we are partial to OUR chili and always make cornbread from scratch. Also seemed like a lot of liquid for a casserole. Boy, was I wrong! This was just outstanding! I would serve to company without hesitation. The entire family loved it! I did use a large.can of crushed tomatoes and adjusted water accordingly. It did make more than a 9×13 could hold, so I used a bigger pan plus 1 more box of Jiffy mix. My only advice- follow the directions. Do not try to rush the simmer and for the first time ever, I'll say use all the cayenne. Chef John tends to be pepper happy, but in this case it is JUST RIGHT! One more thig- to bean or not to bean? I used 2 cans...

Chef John did it again. I enjoy his recipes and videos! I made this one as written and it came out very yummy! The only change I made is I cooked and baked this in my large Dutch oven (6 qt). I’m a big fan of one-pot meals. This did lead to the cornbread being a little thicker and took about 5 extra minutes of baking time. Will definitely add this to my favorites!

I have been making Chili...forever....however, I have never thought to add this amazing topping of cornmeal. The only thing we changed was, no poblano pepper and added a heaping tablespoon of sour cream to the topping mixture. So moist and all was delicious! Thank -you Chef John...for this recipe that we will make many times over!

my girlfriends newest favorite. made it per the recipe and it is great. use lean (85 or 90%) or be prepared to ladle off some grease before putting it in the oven. i too used the larger 8.5 oz iffy mix and it turned out fine. another great recipe from chef john

Awesome meal and and feeds the family easily. Also great leftovers. Make it all the time especially on cold winter days

I just made it and my husband can't stop raving about it. Definitely a keeper!

I liked it very much ... I added more Garlic and a bit more onions!

Honestly, you could make the chili by itself without baking it and it would be incredible. But the cornbread topping elevates this dish. This has become a fast favorite of mine!

Made it with my daughter — so fun and yummy!

I make it with Grandma´s buttermilk corn bread from AR and it is a great meal on cold days

I used green pepper instead of poblanos, because that's what I had on hand also had a problem finding fire roasted crushed tomato so I used regular crushed. I used chili grind beef instead of ground beef gave it more chew. yum

Bro, my stomach is in heaven.

Very tasty and not too spicy. May I suggest that instead of overfilling the casserole dish, you simply make 2 slightly smaller casseroles? Still good!