Hold on to your pants, because I’m about to drop some unpopular opinion.
You don’t have to buy chili seasoning in the packet.
Whaaaaaaaaaat?! I know, I know. Crazy talk. But hear me out. Because it’s not actually hard to make your own, and frankly, it’s far more cost effective than dropping $1+ each time you want to make chili.
Now, it does require you to have some spices at hand. I happen to have them in my spice rack at all times. If you are missing some, you’ll need to do a little shop. Don’t have to buy the premium stuff, generic brand will do. If I start to run low on one of these, I write it up on my grocery list and restock so I’m not floundering when I’m halfway into spicing things up… only to find the spice rack is bare.
There’s a couple of options here. You can simply measure these out with each batch when you go to cook, or you can make a jar full of the blend and measure out what you need. Either way is just fine. The recipe provided here is a split the difference variety. It makes just enough of the blend to replace two packets of chili seasoning.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1T ground cumin
- 1T ground paprika (I like smoked!)
- 1T dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Note, I did not include salt or black pepper into this blend. Mainly because I tend to forget I already included them and then add again. Whoops! Use your own best judgment and taste preferences when adding those.
Spoilers: Momma often just measures with her heart and adds as much of whatever she likes when she’s cooking. Quantities are really just a guideline not a goal. Including the cayenne. There’s almost always more cayenne unless certain people are visiting that have a low spice tolerance. And if you find yourself in a pinch without all these spices at hand, I’d say the chili powder, cumin, and oregano are the backbone of flavor here. The rest is just what I prefer.
