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Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili

How about a slightly different take on chili today? The combination of hot breakfast sausage & salsa verde provides the perfect spicy tang in this Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili recipe.

Do you ever make chili the same way twice? Me, I experiment all the time with what I have on hand. Chili is super forgiving and fun to play around with, and yesterday’s random ingredient browse yielded a pack of hot breakfast sausage, and a jar of salsa verde.

Hmm. Why not, right? And what pleasant results this combination yielded, I must say! Mixing breakfast sausage with ground beef creates a satisfying mouthfeel here; you don’t generally want to use lean meat in chili anyway.

Bowl of sausage and ground beef chili with salsa verde

And, pre-made salsa verde provides such a pleasant shortcut to flavor in so many recipes. I just spiced the chili up a bit more after adding the salsa, giving it a pleasant underlying heat. Then, only the tiniest bit of brown sugar (2 tsp across the whole big pot) mellows out the salsa verde tang beautifully — letting it complement the other flavors, rather than overwhelm them.

Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili

salsa verde chili ingredients

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
16 oz roll of hot breakfast sausage
1 medium onion, chopped small
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
3 cups of water
16 oz jar salsa verde
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp brown sugar, packed
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cumin

Directions

chop onions small

Chop the onion and garlic (if not using pre-minced). Brown the ground beef, breakfast sausage, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat until cooked through & no longer pink, breaking up as you go.

rinse kidney and pinto beans

While the meat is browning, open all of the cans and rinse and drain the beans.

Drain the beef & sausage mixture and return it to the pot. Stir in all other ingredients.

Big pot of chili on the stove

Bring chili to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until flavors are nicely blended.

Serve with your favorite chili toppings. (I went with the traditional shredded cheese & green onions on mine…)

Note: If you use mild rather than spicy breakfast sausage, spice your chili up a bit more to taste with a little cayenne or crushed red pepper.

Lunch, dinner, or both…

Hot breakfast sausage & salsa verde provide the perfect spicy tang in this Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili recipe.

I originally made this chili early in the day with the intention of putting it away for dinner… but then, the kids saw it on the stove at lunch time and descended on the pot like locusts. I guess that means it’s a hit, so will keep this salsa verde chili idea in my back pocket for another night.

Luckily for us, there are plenty of leftovers for another dinner — which I’m quite looking forward to tonight. Have you ever noticed that leftover chili tends to get even better with age?

Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili, printable recipe

Hot breakfast sausage & salsa verde provide the perfect spicy tang, in this Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili recipe.
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5 from 1 vote

Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili

How about a slightly different take on chili today? The combination of hot breakfast sausage & salsa verde provides the perfect spicy tang, in this Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili recipe.
Course dinner
Cuisine chili
Keyword beef chili, breakfast sausage, chili, ground beef, salsa verde, salsa verde chili, smoked sausage chili
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 16 oz roll of hot breakfast sausage
  • 1 medium onion chopped small
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic about six cloves
  • 3 cups of water
  • 16 oz jar salsa verde
  • 1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 can kidney beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp brown sugar packed
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp cumin

Instructions

  • Chop the onion and garlic (if not using pre-minced). Brown the ground beef, breakfast sausage, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat until cooked through & no longer pink, breaking up as you go.
  • While the meat is browning, open all of the cans and rinse and drain the beans.
  • Drain the beef & sausage mixture and return it to the pot. Stir in all other ingredients.
  • Bring chili to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until flavors are nicely blended.
  • Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

Notes

If you use mild rather than spicy breakfast sausage, spice your chili up a bit more to taste with a little cayenne or crushed red pepper.

More salsa verde recipe ideas

Vegetarian elote tortilla casserole uses frozen elote style corn!

More recipe ideas using salsa verde? Sure thing! How about…

And on a related note: Aren’t you glad ALDI now stocks salsa verde as an everyday item?!

Recipes in the real world

weekly ALDI meal plans from Mashup Mom -- six complete dinners for four, $60 out the door! MashupMom.com, every Wednesday.

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!

Recipe Rating




Rachel

Wednesday 2nd of February 2022

We make this chili over and over again! My husband doesn’t like beans so I leave them out. And it’s still a delicious, satisfying dish!! Love the flavor profile. Thanks so much!

Deanne

Tuesday 13th of April 2021

I made this last night after my daughter went to bed. It was easy to heat up tonight for dinner! My husband and 2 year old daughter loved it! So good and easy to make! My husband and daughter are big meat eaters and liked the two different kinds of meat in it!! Love meals I can make after baby’s bedtime and then can heat up next day.