Texas Roadhouse Chili Recipe
Feb 23, 2021, Updated Apr 23, 2024
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Enjoy Texas Roadhouse Chili in the comfort of your own home with this easy copycat recipe. Top a big bowl of beefy chili with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream for the ultimate meal.
Texas Roadhouse restaurant is known for many things like steak, ribs, soft dinner rolls, cinnamon butter, green beans with bacon, seasoned rice, and chili. With this easy copycat Texas Roadhouse chili recipe, you can now make your own big bowl of Texas Roadhouse chili in the and enjoy it at home.
Table of Contents
Does Texas Roadhouse chili have beans?
Beans or no beans? That is the question. Texas chili traditionally does NOT have beans. After talking with friends in different parts of the country, it seems that the Texas Roadhouse chili is different depending on what location you are visiting. I have heard some restaurants make their recipe with kidney beans while others don’t. So the conclusion is the traditional recipe has no beans but if you like beans feel free to add a can.
Ingredients
Beef Stew Meat – Many chili recipes use ground beef but this copycat recipe uses just stewed meat, similar to the restaurant. You can typically find beef chuck pre-cut in your grocery store meat section.
Vegetable Oil – Used to cook the meat.
Onion, Garlic, Jalapeno
Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Paprika – Mix of traditional smoky chili seasonings.
Brown sugar – Adds a balance of flavor.
Crushed tomatoes – You will need 1, 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes.
Cornmeal – Used as a thickener. You can substitute with masa harina or even flour.
Salt and pepper – Salt and ground black pepper.
How to make
This Texas chili recipe is thick with a delicious smoky flavor. A hearty meal your family is sure to love.
- Heat a large pot and add oil. Add meat and cook until browned and cooked through.
- Stir in diced onions, garlic and jalapeno and continue cooking 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften. Add in the chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and brown sugar. Cook for another minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and jalapenos. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to low. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in corn meal to let the chili thicken for another 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.
How to store and freeze
Store: This makes great leftovers! Make sure to let it cool to room temperature before storing. Store covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, pour back in a saucepan and warm over medium heat until heated through. Be sure to checkout these leftover chili recipes for more ideas on how to serve.
Freeze: Let it completely cool and then place in a freezer safe bag or container. It can be frozen for up to 6 months. To reheat frozen chili, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat on the stove in saucepan.
What to serve with chili
Texas chili goes well with so many things. You don’t have to just serve it in a bowl. Try anything from topping a baked potato to topping nachos. Here are a few other ways to serve this chili and some of the best side dishes.
Cornbread – A side of cornbread is the perfect thing to serve with chili. We like this easy Jiffy cornbread recipe. Don’t forget to spread some famous cinnamon butter on your cornbread.
Slaw – Cool, crunchy, creamy slaw makes a nice side dish to hot chili.
Tortilla chips – There is nothing better than scooping up this chili with a tortilla chip instead of a spoon. I even love to make nachos with leftovers.
Pasta – We love using leftovers to make chili mac. Cook up some pasta and mix with chili for a wonderful meal.
Variations
Toppings: There are lots of tasty things you can add to the top of your Texas chili like shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, green onions, diced red onions, diced avocado and hot sauce. I also like adding a squeeze of lime to give it a bright, fresh taste.
Spices: You can substitute the above spices with a Chili Seasoning Mix. If you like your chili a little hotter, try adding 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes or an extra diced jalapeno. If you are feeling really festive, you could also add a splash of your favorite beer when adding the crushed tomatoes.
Meat: Texas Roadhouse uses stew meat in their chili but feel free to replace with ground beef. You could also make this vegetarian by substituting with butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
Texas Roadhouse History
Texas Roadhouse is a chain restaurant that was founded in Clarksville, Indiana in 1993 and now has 300 restaurants in the United States. They also have international restaurants in South Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Philippines, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
They specialize in steak and Texan themed food. This fun family restaurant is also known for serving peanuts at the table and making most everything on the menu from scratch.
More copycat recipes
- Chi-Chi’s Sweet Corn Cake
- Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino
- Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino
- Chick-Fil-A Polynesian Sauce
- Arby’s Horsey Sauce
Let me know how you liked this copycat hearty chili recipe in the comments. What’s your favorite thing to order at Texas Roadhouse?
Texas Roadhouse Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 lbs beef stew meat
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon jalapenos, diced
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil and beef. Stir and cook until beef has browned.
- Stir in diced onions, garlic and jalapeno and continue cooking 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften.
- Add in the chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and brown sugar. Cook for another minute.
- Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to low. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in cornmeal to let the chili thicken for another 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! I’m allergic to corn, so I left out the cornmeal but it was still nice and thick. I ate mine over rice with some sliced green onion, and hubby ate his “as is” in a bowl with a cheese quesadilla on the side.