Chili Bar
Spice up your next gathering with the ultimate comfort food station: a DIY chili bar. This fun and interactive party experience allows guests to customize their favorite bowl of hearty chili with various delicious toppings and sides.
The best part about making this chili bar for a party is watching what guests add to their bowls. For sure, no one’s will be the same.
Why should you make a chili bar for your next event?
Making a chili bar allows you to share your creativity. It will enable your guests to use their creativity to make their best versions of an epic bowl of chili. A chili bar can be an economical alternative to buying pizzas for your football party or other gathering. A chili bar is easy to serve to a large crowd and can make it ahead, so there is little last-minute work.
What you need
- Chili: First and foremost, you need an epic chili recipe like our easy chili for a crowd: ground beef and chorizo chili. Cater to any vegetarians with a vegetarian chili. Make a white chicken chili or use ground turkey.
- Various Toppings for Chili:
- Guacamole: Use homemade or store-bought guacamole or sliced avocado.
- Spicy Peppers: Dice or slice fresh chili peppers, like;
- Jalapeño: Jalapeños are often spicy, so you will want to dice them finely.
- Serrano: These peppers are generally a bit more mild compared to jalapeños. Slice them crosswise or dice them.
- Crushed Red Peppers: Add a small bowl with dried, crushed red pepper flakes for those who like extra spicy.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes are delicious on chili. Either buy cherry or grape tomatoes or dice a large tomato.
- Cucumber: Sliced mini cucumbers will add some fresh crunch and mitigate some of the spicy heat from the chili or the toppings.
- Onions: Sliced scallions (green onions) or diced white or red onions are all delicious with chili.
- Radishes: Thinly slice fresh radishes or use store-bought or homemade pickled radishes to sprinkle on the chili.
- Corn: Premium-quality canned corn is delicious when sprinkled on chili.
- Cheeses: Serve at least two different cheeses. Good choices are queso fresco or cotija and mild or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Dippers: Choose different things to dip into the chili.
- Chips: Use a crunchy dipping chip, like Fritos or tortilla chips.
- Cornbread: In our house, cornbread is an essential side for chili.
- Potatoes: You could use French fries, tater tots, or baked white or sweet potato.
- Hot dogs and buns: If some of your guests are fans of chili dogs, these are fun to add.
- Grilled cheese sandwiches: Diagonally cut a sandwich into four pieces for an excellent presentation
- Toppers:
- Salsas: Use different flavors and textured salsas on your bar. We used roasted corn with black beans and chipotle salsa. Other flavors that would be great are roasted garlic and peach salsa.
- Fresh chopped herbs: These will add a lovely herbaceous note to a bowl of chili. Fresh cilantro or parsley are good choices.
- Lime wedges: Lime will add a little acid to cut through the other heavy flavors.
- Hot Sauces: A couple of different varieties of hot sauce are great for some variation.
- Sour cream: Use regular dairy sour cream or Mexican creme.
How to Make it
- We make our chili in the slow cooker. It’s a great idea to do so because when you serve the chili, you can keep it plugged in so it will stay hot.
- List the items you would like to use on your bar. Making a list will not only be an asset not only when shopping but also when serving.
- Chop the fresh ingredients and add them to small bowls or ramekins.
- Grate the cheeses and place them in bowls.
- Arrange the chili and the bowls of toppings on your table.
- Place bowls on one end of the table, and at the other end, place spoons, forks, knives, and napkins. Encourage guests to start at the end with the bowls.
Helpful Equipment
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- Cheese Knife
- Charcuterie board utensil set (includes small knives, forks, spoons, and tongs).
- Chef’s knife
- Hot dog bites silicone mold
How to Store Leftovers
Storage: Cool the chili to room temperature. Store in airtight containers for up to three days. Store leftover toppings in airtight containers for two to three days. Place similar ingredients together, like the onions and the cheese.
Freezing: Freeze leftover chili in small, airtight containers for four to six months. You don’t want to freeze most toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally speaking, two cups of chili per person will be sufficient. You could increase that to three cups if you have many big eaters in the group. Think of small quantities for the toppings since most guests will only take a spoonful of this and that to top their chili.
Make a slow-cooked chili a day or two before you need it.
You can choose your favorite chili. A meaty chili is perfect. Cincinnati chili is very popular. Some folks love beans in their chili; others do not, so make one of each. Make a white chicken or turkey chili. The choice is up to your imagination.
Serve the chili in your slow cooker. It will stay warm throughout your event.
More Grazing Tables
That’s all there is to making an epic Chili bar. Grab your favorite toppings, make a delicious chili, and make your own for your next get-together!
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Please ask any questions or share your comments in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.
I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Connect with us through our social media pages! Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.
Please ask any questions or share your comments in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.
I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Epic Chili Bar
Ingredients
For the chili
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more, if required.
- 2 links fresh Chorizo. removed from casings
- 3/4 pounds Venison stew meat
- 1 1/4 pounds ground beef use 80% ground chuck
- 2 cups Onion chopped
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp pickled jalapenos or 1 small fresh jalapeno chili minced
- 1/2 can (7 oz.) chipotle in adobo – chopped
- 1 can black beans, drained (substitute any beans you have on hand)
- 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
- 1 can black eyed peas, drained
- 14 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried coriander
- 2 teaspoon oregano, dried
- 1 tablespoon Salt use our spicy salt for an added kick
- 1 tablespoon Pepper
- 1/2 cup Corn meal add more for a thicker chili
For the chili bar
- guacamole
- tomatoes
- sliced or diced hot peppers
- cornbread
- corn chips
- sour cream
- cheese see notes below for a full list of possibilities
Instructions
- Brown chorizo in a large heavy bottom frying pan with olive oil over medium high heat.. Break up and stir chotizo until nicely browned. Remove to Crockpot.2 links fresh Chorizo. removed from casings, 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Add more olive oil, if pan seems dry.
- Brown beef in the same pan, until nicely browned. Again, remove to slow cooker.1 1/4 pounds ground beef
- Brown venison in the same pan. Turning to brown on all sides. Remove to slow cooker or Dutch oven when browned.3/4 pounds Venison stew meat
- Turn heat down to medium low heat. Sauté onion until translucent.2 cups Onion
- Add garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.6-8 cloves garlic
- Add jalapeños, chipotles and a few cups of tomatoes.1 Tbsp pickled jalapenos or 1 small fresh jalapeno chili
- Let the tomatoes loosen the fond (the brown stuff) from the bottom of the pan. It should take 5 to 10 minutes on medium heat, Scrape all of the fond off the bottom of the pan.14 cups crushed tomatoes
- Meanwhile, add the rest of the tomatoes and all the spices to the slow cooker.1/2 can (7 oz.) chipotle in adobo – chopped, 1 can black beans, drained, 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained, 1 can black eyed peas, drained, 1 tablespoon Chili powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon dried coriander, 2 teaspoon oregano, dried, 1 tablespoon Salt, 1 tablespoon Pepper
- When the bottom of the Dutch oven is clean, transfer all of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Add drained and rinsed beans.
- Heat the chili on high until the mixture comes to a low bubble, then reduce heat to low. Cook for a few hours on low, then cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. This is an important step. If you have to have it for dinner the same night, it won’t be as good!
- The next morning scrape off the excess accumulated fat off the top and discard. Return to slow cooker for about an hour until the chili comes to a slow boil.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for another 5 hours or more. 8 hours won’t hurt it.
- About 1/2 hour before serving, remove lid and stir in corn meal.1/2 cup Corn meal
- Serve hot with cornbread and a side salad, if desired.
For the chili bar
- Make the guacamole, if using.guacamole
- Make the cornbread. Let it cool when it's done and cut it into squares.cornbread
- Meanwhile, chop your choice of vegetables and add them to small bowls.tomatoes, sliced or diced hot peppers
- Add dippers like corn chips to small bowls. Spoon the sour cream in a separate bowl.corn chips, sour cream
- Grate cheddar or queso fresco. Place that in a ramekin.cheese
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
-
- Guacamole: Use homemade or store-bought guacamole or sliced avocado.
- Spicy Peppers: Dice or slice fresh chili peppers, like;
- Jalapeño: Jalapeños are most often fairly spicy, so you will want to dice them finely.
- Serrano: These peppers are generally a bit more mild compared to jalapeños. Slice them crosswise or dice them.
- Crushed Red Peppers: Add a small bowl with dried, crushed red pepper flakes for those who like it extra spicy.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes are delicious on chili. Either buy cherry or grape tomatoes or dice a large tomato.
- Cucumber: Sliced mini cucumbers will add some fresh crunch and will mitigate some of the spicy heat from the chili or the toppings.
- Onions: Sliced scallions (green onions) or diced white or red onions are all delicious with chili.
- Radishes: Thinly slice radishes or use store-bought or homemade pickled radishes to sprinkle on the chili.
- Corn: Premium-quality canned corn is delicious when sprinkled on chili.
- Cheeses: Serve at least two different cheeses. Good choices are queso fresco or cotija and mild or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Dippers: Choose different things to dip into the chili.
- Chips: A crunchy dipping chip, like Fritos or tortilla chips.
- Cornbread: In our house, cornbread is an essential side for chili.
- Potatoes: You could use French fries, tater tots, or even baked potato or baked sweet potato.
- Hot dogs and buns: If some of your guests are fans of chili dogs, these are fun to add.
- Grilled cheese sandwiches: Diagonally cut a sandwich into four pieces for a nice presentation.
- Toppers:
- Salsas: Use different flavors and textured salsas on your bar. We used roasted corn with black beans, and chipotle salsa. Other flavors that would be great are roasted garlic and peach salsa.
- Fresh chopped herbs: These will add a lovely herbaceous note to a bowl of chili. Fresh cilantro or parsley are good choices.
- Lime wedges: Lime will add a little acid to cut through the other heavy flavors.
- Hot Sauces: A couple of different varieties of hot sauce are great for some variation.
- Sour cream: Use regular dairy sour cream or Mexican creme.
Nutrition
This article was originally published on January 23, 2024.
