This hearty breakfast chili is sure to wake up your taste buds and is perfect for slathering over eggs and hashbrowns!

I love this easy chili recipe because it comes together much quicker than a traditional chili, and the addition of breakfast sausage and bacon really adds a unique flavor. Best of all, this chili is even better if you make it the night in advance. No one wants to mess around with making chili first thing in the morning anyhow!

What is it?

Breakfast chili is made with breakfast meats rather than ground beef. Breakfast sausage is loaded with herbs and seasonings already, so it really adds a lot of great flavor to the chili while bacon deepens the flavor with its smoky touch.

This homemade chili has less liquid in it than a traditional chili, making it thicker like a gravy. This allows it to be used as a sauce over your breakfast favorites.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Breakfast sausage - You are looking for bulk breakfast sausage sold in one pound tubes, not breakfast sausage links. Tennessee Pride or Jimmy Deans are both great options or make your own venison breakfast sausage. You can use sausage patties, but they will need to be broken apart.
• Bacon - I recommend regular cut, rather than thick cut bacon for this recipe.
• Onion - A yellow onion or sweet onion is best.
• Rotel tomatoes - You will need two ten ounce cans of Rotel. However, if you don't like green chilies you can substitute diced tomatoes instead.
• Chili beans - Use your favorite brand of chili beans, along with the sauce in the can. Chili beans also contain the chili seasoning you need for flavoring this dish. If you substitute a regular can of beans you will have to add your own chili powder and seasonings.
• Tomato sauce

How to make it

It is best to make your breakfast chili the night before. Not only does this save you time in the morning, but the flavor of the chili improves overnight as it sits in your refrigerator.

Begin making it by chopping your bacon into small pieces and then adding it to a pot, such as a Dutch oven, with your breakfast sausage and onion. Break apart the sausage into small pieces and cook over medium-high heat until everything is well browned.

Pour in the Rotel tomatoes with liquid, and scrape the bottom of your pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits. Then add the chili beans and tomato sauce.

Stir to combine everything then bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. The chili can be enjoyed immediately if desired, or stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator.

To reheat leftover chili the next morning you can heat individual servings in your microwave, or place the chili back in a pot and bring it back to temperature on the stovetop.

Ways to serve it

Your breakfast chili can be enjoyed just like a regular chili in a bowl with all of your favorite fixin's. Otherwise, try these ideas:

• Serve over a fried egg and hash browns.
• Mix into scrambled eggs.
• Serve over biscuits in place of sawmill gravy.
• Serve as a Frito pie.
• Add it to a breakfast burrito.
• Top your chili with any of your favorite optional garnishes, including tortilla chips, fresh avocado, hot sauce, shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, or green onion.
• Load it onto hamburger buns and serve it as a Sloppy Joe.

More Chili Recipes

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