Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili

The last week of October and Halloween is Friday and the house is decorated in the way that a house decorated by five children of different ages and aesthetic preferences gets decorated: comprehensively and somewhat chaotically. Ethan contributed two plastic skeletons from the dollar store placed with precise geometric accuracy on the front porch. Olivia made paper chain bats and hung them from the kitchen ceiling in a formation that is genuinely frightening at 6 AM. Mason built a small plywood coffin for the yard, unpainted and structurally sound, into which he has placed a stuffed scarecrow. Lily made pumpkin-faced lanterns from construction paper and placed them in every window. Noah demanded that the entire front of the house be decorated with his school artwork, which features what appears to be a blue ghost wearing a hat, and we have honored this request.

Halloween cookies this week: I made a batch of my standard sugar cookies, rolled and cut with the ghost and pumpkin cutters, and let all five kids decorate them Saturday afternoon. This is an annual event. Mason decorates with military precision: clean lines, no drips, cookies that look like they belong in a bakery. Ethan makes faces on his that are mildly unsettling. Olivia does each one differently. Lily uses all the sprinkles. Noah uses all the orange frosting and then most of the purple frosting and then asks why his ghost is purple, and I say because it is your ghost, and he says: okay, it is a sad ghost, and I say: even sad ghosts deserve cookies, and he agrees with this entirely.

I made a big batch of chili for the Halloween night dinner, which we eat before trick-or-treating because you cannot take children trick-or-treating on empty stomachs without consequences that are everyone's problem. Big pot, out of the freezer from the batch I made two weeks ago. The simplicity of pulling dinner from the freezer at 4:30 PM on Halloween and having thirty minutes to help with costumes instead of cooking is, I have come to believe, the single best argument for the freezer meal system I have ever encountered.

The chili I pulled from the freezer that Halloween was this one — made two weeks earlier on a quiet Sunday when I had the time and the foresight to think ahead. Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili has just enough kick to warm everyone up before they head out into the cold, and it’s hearty enough to actually hold seven people over through two hours of trick-or-treating. If you’re going to build a freezer meal habit around a single recipe, I’d argue this is the one to start with: it doubles easily, it reheats perfectly, and at 4:30 PM on a chaotic Halloween evening, it is the closest thing to magic I know.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min | Total Time: 1 hr 35 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into half-moons
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans (15 oz each) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings: shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions, hot sauce

Instructions

Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the andouille sausage and cook until browned, about 4–5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pot.
Cook the beef. Add the ground beef to the pot and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until fully browned and no pink remains, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
Soften the vegetables. Add the onion, green pepper, and red pepper to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5–6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste and spices. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, letting it caramelize slightly. Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt. Stir to coat everything evenly and cook 1 minute.
Build the chili. Return the andouille to the pot. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, kidney beans, and beef broth. Stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
Simmer low and slow. Cover partially and simmer over low heat for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chili has thickened and the flavors have melded. For deeper flavor, simmer up to 90 minutes. Taste and adjust salt, cayenne, and brown sugar as needed.
To freeze. Cool the chili completely, then transfer to zip-top freezer bags or airtight containers in meal-sized portions. Label with the date. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of broth if needed to loosen.
To serve. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheddar, sour cream, scallions, and hot sauce as desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili — The Halloween Freezer Meal That Saves the Night