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.

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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.

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

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 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. (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…

I originally made this chili early in the day with the intention of putting it away for dinner… but then, the kids saw it on the stove at lunch time and descended on the pot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

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Beef & Sausage Salsa Verde Chili

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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 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8

Author Rachel Singer

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

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

• Easy salsa verde chicken soup
• Slow cooker salsa verde pulled pork
• Vegetarian elote tortilla casserole
• Baked chicken avocado taquitos

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

Recipes in the real world

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!