Healthy Beef Chili Recipe

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Everyone needs a good healthy beef chili recipe to look forward to on those chilly fall and winter days, right?! This chili is packed with veggies that you won't even realize are in there! Plus it's high in protein and fiber, which will keep you full for hours.

Healthy beef chili topped with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, a lime wedge, and blue tortilla chips with more cheese and cilantro in the background.

Stovetop Chili Recipe

This stovetop chili recipe is simple and quick to make:

Chop your veggies
Brown the meat (you can use beef, turkey, or even tofu crumbles!)
Add the veggies to the meat and cook until softened
Add the liquid, tomatoes, lentils, and spices
Simmer for ~1 hour or until the chili has reached the desired consistency
Top with your favorite chili toppings and enjoy!

Plus it's a great meal prep recipe, which I love, and can easily be made ahead of time. If you're new to meal prep or want some of my top secrets to meal prep efficiently, check out this post!

Healthy beef chili topped with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, and a lime wedge. Another bowl, blue tortilla chips, more cheese, and more lime in the background.

Toppings for Chili

Everyone has their favorite toppings for chili. Some of my favorites for this healthy beef chili recipe include:

Fresh sliced green onion
Fresh chopped cilantro
Low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
A dollop of plain Greek yogurt (in lieu of sour cream)
Crushed saltine crackers

Using low-fat options like reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese and/or Greek yogurt instead of sour cream can help cut back on the saturated fat content significantly without compromising flavor and taste! Check out my post on all things fat to learn more about the different types of fat 🙂

Two bowls of healthy beef chili topped with shredded cheese, cilantro, and lime wedges. Two spoons and bowl of more cheese around the bowls.

Ingredient Highlights: Healthy Beef Chili Recipe

Ground beef - traditional chili is made with ground beef, which can be high in fat depending on which ground beef you buy. I like to use a 90/10 ground beef, which is leaner but still has some fat to give the chili some flavor. Beef is a great source of protein, iron, and B12. You can sub ground turkey or even tofu in this recipe!
Lentils - these add plant-based protein and fiber! If you want to make this recipe vegetarian or vegan, add another cup of lentils and omit the meat.
Zucchini - you would never know zucchini is in this chili! The shredded zucchini essentially melts away in this recipe but you get all the healthy benefits like vitamin A, manganese, vitamin C, potassium, and more!
Mushrooms - like the zucchini, the mushrooms blend into this healthy beef chili recipe without you even knowing they're there! Mushrooms contain nutrients like vitamin C, choline, and selenium.
Beans - this recipe calls for kidney beans and lentils, which boost the fiber content (great for gut health!). You can use any type of bean or omit the beans altogether in this recipe.
Crushed tomatoes - these are a chili essential, in my opinion. Plus tomatoes add lycopene, vitamin A, and more vitamin C. My favorite kind to use are fire-roasted diced tomatoes!
Spices - what's chili without chili powder?! Plus some salt and pepper.

Recipe FAQ

How healthy is beef chili?

Traditional beef chili can be decently healthy but also high in saturated fat, depending on what type of ground beef you use or if it uses other high-fat meats like pork sausage and bacon. This healthy beef chili recipe calls for lean ground beef (90/10) and beans to add protein but keep it low in fat!

What can I add to chili to make it healthier?

I love sneaking veggies into chili to make it healthier. This recipe uses shredded zucchini and finely diced mushrooms but you wouldn't even know they're in there! Other ingredients you could add include shredded sweet potato or carrots.

Can you taste the extra veggies in this chili?

Not at all! With the amounts in the recipe combined with how finely they're diced/shredded, they basically "melt" into the chili and you don't even know they're there.

Healthy beef chili topped with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, and a lime wedge with blue tortilla chips and more lime in the background.

Other Recipes You May Like

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (these make a great chili topping!)
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Chipotle Pulled Pork
Crispy Roasted Broccoli

Healthy beef chili recipe topped with shredded cheddar cheese, a lime wedge, and cilantro. Blue tortilla chips scattered in the background.

Rate & Review

If you made my healthy beef chili recipe, please rate and review my recipe below! I would love to hear your feedback. Also snap a photo and tag me on insta @theperfectpearr so I can see your creation!