Venison Chili Recipe
Stay warm during these crisp, cold fall and winter months with a big bowl of this venison chili! Loaded with tender chunks of deer meat, pinto beans and your favorite toppings in every bite, this hearty chili comes with just the right touch of spicy heat to keep you and your guests feeling perfectly cozy.
How to Make the Best Venison Chili
This venison chili is the ultimate comfort food for fall and winter gatherings, delivering a warm, deeply savory dish that will have your guests coming back for seconds. Ground venison takes center stage in this hearty stew, paired with a complex chile paste made from both dried guajillos and chipotle peppers that create layers of rich, smoky, and slightly spicy flavor.
What makes this chili truly special is the unexpected combination of ingredients—cocoa powder adds depth, strong coffee enhances the savory notes, and a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, and coriander create an almost mole-like complexity that elevates it far beyond your typical chili. The long simmer time allows all these flavors to marry together beautifully, creating a thick, stick-to-your-ribs dish that’s perfect for serving at parties or enjoying as cozy weeknight dinners.
Top each bowl with your favorite garnishes—shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, fresh jalapeños, lime, and cilantro all complement the rich venison and spiced broth. This is the kind of chili that fills the house with an incredible aroma while it simmers and leaves you satisfied and warm from the inside out.
Venison Chili
Stay warm during these crisp, cold fall and winter months with a big bowl of this venison chili! Loaded with tender chunks of deer meat, pinto beans and your favorite toppings in every bite, this hearty chili comes with just the right touch of spicy heat to keep you and your guests feeling perfectly cozy.
Ingredients
Chile Paste
Main Ingredients
Seasonings & Spices
Finishing
Instructions
Make the Chile Paste
- Over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, toast the dried chiles until fragrant, about two to three minutes. Add 2 cups beef stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the chiles soften and are pliable.
- Add the chiles and beef stock used to simmer the chiles to a blender with the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Blend until smooth. Set aside the chile paste.
Cook the Chili
- Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos to the pot. Cook until softened, about four to five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add ground venison to the onion mixture. Cook the venison until it browns, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat as it cooks.
- Pour in remaining 4 cups of beef stock, strong coffee and reserved chile paste, scraping up the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the Rotel tomatoes, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, cocoa powder, brown sugar and spices. Bring the heat back to medium-high and boil the mixture.
- Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer. Put the top on, leaving a small crack open. Simmer for two to two and a half hours while stirring occasionally.
- In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add beans. Turn off heat. Serve with desired toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe uses ground venison, which cooks similarly to ground beef but is much leaner
- The chile paste is what gives this chili its distinctive complex flavor—don't skip the blending step
- This chili actually tastes better the next day as the flavors continue to develop
- Store leftover chili in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months