Not for the faint of heart. This hearty chili strives to excite all the taste buds. Each bite is at first sweet, and then blossoms into a slow burn that begs for the next bite. Use coarsely sliced jalapeno, so that the less adventuresome can easily identify and scoop them out. Serve with fresh grated sharp process white Cheddar and warm garlic bread. Serve leftovers on hot dogs - yes, beans and all.

Carol's Vermont Chili Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 cloves minced garlic

  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped

  • 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced

  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

  • cup maple syrup

  • 1 (40 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

  • 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons chili powder

  • 4 pounds ground beef chuck

  • salt to taste

  • 2 (12 ounce) bottles beer (such as Heineken), or as needed

How to Make Carol's Vermont Chili

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers. Cook and stir until the onion is tender, about 7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, and kidney beans. Season with black pepper and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

  2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef. Sprinkle beef with salt. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease; stir into the chili along with 1 beer. Cook and stir for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt, and thin to desired consistency with 1 beer before serving.

Carol's Vermont Chili Nutritions

  • Calories: 740.8 calories

  • Carbohydrate: 59.2 g

  • Cholesterol: 142 mg

  • Fat: 32.2 g

  • Fiber: 12.8 g

  • Protein: 49.3 g

  • SaturatedFat: 11.4 g

  • ServingSize:

  • Sodium: 865 mg

  • Sugar: 21.3 g

  • TransFat:

  • UnsaturatedFat:

Carol's Vermont Chili Reviews

  • This chili definitely delivers It is the perfect texture and the perfect blend of sweet and spicy Made just as is and enjoyed bowl after bowl. I found myself looking forward to getting hungry again just so I could eat another bowl

  • Tried to recipe. I really like it, and so do my coworkers (well, maybe because I am their boss). I like the fact this is a sweet approach to chili. However I only used 1/2 syrup. I also love to kick but will definitely add more jalapeno peppers next time.

  • I made some adjustments to this recipe, but nothing so drastic as to change the integrity of the recipe. First I cut the recipe in half for a 2-person household. Had a can of chili beans instead of kidney beans; used a can of tomatoes with chilis; yellow pepper instead of red. After noting the amount of maple syrup to be added, I knew it would not go over well at our house, no one cares for a sweet soup, so I only used 1/4 cup of syrup. For our personal taste, I had to add a good amount of chili powder and a few dashes of cayenne pepper to compensate for the sweet.

  • I have been using this recipe for 2 years now and it is still a huge hit at my house My husband LOVES this chilli and I have also made it for my mom and stepdad who were also fans. I omit the peppers (but that is just my personal taste). I think the maple syrup is the secret awesome ingredient in this chili. I will never make another chili again. This is by far my favorite and you wont be sorry trying it. Thanks for the great recipe :)

  • 2 beers and some maple syrup really change the chili game here I loved this. Based on what I had, little more than 3lbs beef and only 30oz of kidney beans, I thought the consistency was perfect. I think any more than that and it would have been too chunky. This wasnt spicy in anyway and I did the full two jalapenos. Just a nice sweet and rich chili that holds well as a leftover.

  • Very good chili. I cant handle much heat, so I used poblano peppers instead of jalapeno and halved the chili powder and it was perfect for me. I also only used 2 lbs of ground beef to save USD and it was more than enough meat.

  • Too syrupy. I used to have a maple chili recipe that used maple syrup and it was much better. Unfortunately searching for that recipe, I found this one. Way too much syrup. Too sweet. I wish I could find the other recipe it is 1000x bettter.

  • Loved this recipe- I did make a few changes that (I think) improve it a little:Instead of just beef, 50/50 beef/hot sausageAdd 2 teaspoons of liquid smokeAdd 1 teaspoon (really, just one) of TabascoAdd about 6 times the chili powderAdd 3 times the black pepperCut the maple syrup back to 1/4 cup

  • Definitely needs some editing. Beans have no places in chili, and that is way too much maple syrup (and thats a Vermonters opinion). Add a bit yes, but not that much...