Chef John's Italian Sausage Chili Recipe

I loved this recipe, and whats nice is we changed just a few things instead of a trip to the store and it turned out spectacular! I used all hot sausage, 1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, and white kidney beans. We enjoyed the incredible flavour! He was right, such a nice change from beef. Chef John won't steer you wrong! Best chili I have ever made.

I wanted to make chili all day. It's all I could think about at work. I made chili-mac last week but it just wasn't the same. I knew that I had 3# hot italian sausage in the freezer, so as soon as I got home I googled and found this recipe. I knew I could always trust Chef John so I went for it. I didn't have the sweet Italian sausage that I thought I had so I just had to wing it with all "hot". Good call. Only changes I made other than that: I added 3 T minced garlic and sauteed with meat, onions and peppers; added 3 tsp. of beef bouillon to the water; subbed 1 tsp. Hickory Salt and 1 tsp. Chipotle Salt for the "salt to taste". And, most importantly, I used my Electric Pressure Cooker. I did Manual for 5 minutes, Natural Pressure Release for 15 minutes and it was AWESOME! Tasted like it'd been cooking all day. It's spicy but by the time you add cheese and sour cream it's all good. You can also add 3 T of sugar to quiet it down a tad. This is my new Go-To Chili Recipe. Thank you, Chef John!

Followed recipe closely but added green chilies instead of hot pepper, 4 cloves of garlic minced, beef stock not water,1 can fire roasted tomatoes and the puree. Delicious 😋

Delicious. I followed the recipe, but I added some mushrooms, some fresh green beans. 1-28oz can of diced tomatoes & a few tbsps of tomatto puree. I used 1 pkg of hot Italian sausage + 1 pkg of mild Italian sausage. I cooked it in my crockpot & let it simmer for 5hrs. Delicious.

Awesome! Made a few variations of my own, however. Added 1b of beef with the sausage, a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes instead of puree, 1/2 can tomato paste, 1 4oz can green chiles, 1 glass of red wine, 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning instead of oregano, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp coriander and along with the bell peppers I threw in about 8 or 9 chopped baby bella mushrooms as well as 1 can of fava beans with the cannelini. I made this for a superbowl chili cookoff and I placed in the top 5 and my crockpot was empty within an hour! Will definitely do this again, soooo good.

Outstanding recipe. I modified only a little for personal preference. I used the beans I had on hand and way more, I mixed ground beef with sausage, and I only used Chipotle chili powder since I didn't have Ancho. I also added some roasted chilies from the freezer that I need to use up. It was spicy hot, too hot at first (I think I overdid the powder, plus the green chilies added heat) so I ended up having to dilute the chili by adding more meat, tomatoes, beans, etc. I used tomato puree, but I also added some canned tomatoes for personal preference. Managed to salvage the chili and it ended up outstanding - better than my usual chili. Chef John does it again!

my new favorite chili! I did use 28oz can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste with water as needed. I added beans in near the end, I opted for 2/3 cup dry navy beans which was about 4 cups cooked ( soaked and then boiled beforehand).

My husband loves this! The sausage I had was chicken Italian sausage with spinach and I used 1/2 of what was called for; the beans were a can of Peruvian spiced beans; I added 1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper (so it was all hotter than I would have thought). I used Rose' wine instead of 1/2 of the water. We topped it with sour cream, cheese and avocado. Wonderful!

I Love this chili i use all hot sausage and instead of water i use 1 1/4 cup spicy Bloody Mary Mix & 1 1/4 cup beef broth the rest the same as recipe calls for Family Favorite not going back to beef chili

This was amazing Chili. I used one can of canellini beans and 1 can of black beans. I couldn't find chipotle chile powder so I substituted one tablespoon of canned chipotle. Sprinkled fresh Cilantro on the top with shredded tex mex cheese, avacado and sour cream. Another HOME RUN for Chef John.

I didn't follow his recipe to the letter. I used my own variant on it. I made 7 quarts for a pot luck at work. When shift was over. I had 1/4 cup of leavins' in the slow cooker. Considering, most went home with half or more of, what they made for the potluck. I think it went well. Many are telling me; Make That Chili Again!!

It is wonderful. I added two cups of frozen corn and only used spicy sausage. It ‘s hot but delicious.

Great, this is the Italian food we eat, and we are Italian and Puerto Rican Familia! Forget about it.

This is great!!, modified with 1can pinto and 1can kidney beans, also added 4 chilies and a can of corn added a dollop of sour cream to a bowl, might have another bowl just to see what it tastes like with cheddar cheese. Thank you, absolutely delicious!

Nice change from hamburger. Used hot sausage and bangers sausage and it was very good.

I originally made this sticking to chef John's recipe and it was good. Since then I've often tweaked it depending on what ingredients I had or if I wanted a different protein. I usually use Italian sweet sausage and double up on the peppers because we like them. You can really make this recipe as is or your own ... Excellent in the winter on those cold days. Add jalapeno cornbread or a sweet cornbread and it's even better.

I’m obsessed with this 😱

Nice. Very nice.

Chef John never fails. the family loved it. there were no left overs.

The flavors were fantastic. This is perfect for those with family members that can’t take too much spicy heat. This chili has a rich, slightly sweet and savory flavor. Only changes made were a can of beef consume’ and 10oz water. Pinto beans and corn. I would have liked to use the bell peppers but other family members don’t like them for some reason.