When you're cooking for a crowd, bean-based meals are a frugal choice. I created this three bean chili recipe on the fly last month. Our family loves chili. And I love that they love it! Chili hits all the boxes - nutritious, delicious, frugal, freezes well, and it's a frugal meal for a big family.
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This year we've been growing black beans indoors to help secure our family's food supply. So I'm always looking for new ways to use my black beans. At the same time, I try to use up all of our leftovers by composting or creating new recipes. In this recipe, I'm using up some leftover celery, peppers, and carrots.
Although this three bean chili recipe does make a big batch, it also freezes well. And like most of my recipes, it's easy to substitute other ingredients with what you have on hand.
Big Batch Three Bean Chili Recipe

Big Batch Three Bean Chili Recipe
This three bean chili recipe makes about 20 portions for your freezer or a family feast!
Ingredients
- 5 cups cooked mixed beans (black, red kidney, and red chili)
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 ½ onion, diced
- 5 cloves of garlic red pepper
- ½ yellow pepper
- ½ orange pepper
- 2 stalks celery
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels with jalapeno
- 2 28-oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 ¾ cups of water
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- 3 tablespoons oregano
- 3 heaping teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons salt (or to your taste)
- 2 strips cooked bacon, diced
Instructions
- 1. Fry onion and garlic in 2 tablespoon olive oil in large frying pan
- Add peppers and celery
- Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink
- Transfer the ground beef mixture into a large slow cooker
- Add all other ingredients
- Cook on high for four hours or low for six to eight
- Serve over brown rice with grated cheddar cheese adn sour cream
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Three Bean Chili Notes and Substitutions
My pantry usually contains packages of dried beans of all sorts. That's because I use them two to three times each week. Some of our favorite recipes using beans include my Chicken Black Bean Salsa Corn Casserole, Stovetop Rice and Beans, and my Big Batch Black Bean Soup Recipe.
This recipe calls for 5 cups of cooked mixed beans. I used red kidney beans, black beans, and chili beans.
So this time I actually cooked up five cups of dried mixed beans. However, take note! Five cups of dried mixed beans make 10 cups of cooked beans. Since this recipe only calls for half that amount, I cooled and froze the rest in 1 cup portions.
Use Homegrown Tomatoes Instead of Canned Tomatoes
So I'm really hoping that next year we'll be using home-canned tomatoes instead of the big cans we currently buy by the case! It seems to me that the 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes equal about 3.5 cups. So you'd need seven cups of diced tomatoes with their liquid for this chili recipe.
Use Canned Mixed Beans Instead of Dried Beans
Recently I've been experimenting with mixed bean recipes. Use whatever you have on hand for this chili. If you use canned beans and don't drain the liquid, cut the water and salt from the recipe.
Did you make this chili? What were your substitutions? Drop me a line and let us know!
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Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
That is a beautiful bowl of chili!! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party! Have a great week.
Marie B.
This recipe is definitely landing on our dinner table soon. We love making big batches of chili and freezing it for quick and easy meals. Your recipe sounds delicious!
Rebecca
Chili is a favorite go to at our house! One of our favorite variations is to use navy or northern beans, kidney, and pinto. My oldest daughter cans beans for me so I have the money-saving benefit of dried beans with the convenience of canned. A pot of chili can be put on and ready in no time. Of course the flavors are even better if it simmers on low in the crockpot. None of my family cares for extra veggies in their chili so we use tomato juice, chili powder, onion powder (because there are some of our family who cannot stand to bite down on an actual onion) and plenty of garlic. Simple yet delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I look forward to trying the oregano and tumeric options.
Jamie
I love beans and this sounds so flavorful and filling! I personally love chili year round!