Insanely Good Venison Chili
Venison Chili is one of the best easy meals you can make with your ground game meat! It is a one pot meal that is hearty, nutritious and delicious. Stick around, because there are a couple ingredients in this recipe that will make it the best chili you ever have!
Every year I dream of the weather getting cooler so I can make this Venison Chili. You can make it with any ground game meat you have from venison, to elk, to goat. It is full of vibrant flavours and even includes some special ingredients like blackstrap molasses and maple syrup to make it even better!
Venison Chili is such a great week night meal because it comes together in 30 minutes and makes a big batch to feed the whole family. I like to serve it up with fresh sourdough bread or homemade sourdough biscuits for a meal that everyone will love.
Of course there are a million ways to make chili and I may be biased, but I think this recipe will become your new favorite!!!
Tips for Making Venison Chili
- As I always recommend, use a ground venison or game meat that ideally has 10-20% pork fat added to it. This will help add flavour to the meat and keep it juicy.
- If you have the time, let it simmer for a while once the chili is done. All of the vibrant flavours will continue to meld together and enhance one another, the more time you can let it simmer. I typically will do this for about 30 minutes before serving.
- Don’t skip the toppings! While this chili is delicious as is, adding some creamy and delicious toppings like cheddar cheese, sour cream and/or avocado bring it to the next level!
Venison Chili Ingredients
Ground Venison– As mentioned above you can use ground venison or any other ground wild game meat.
Bacon– This is a fun addition that brings a little bit of fat to enhance the flavours and keep the meat tender. I love adding some crispy bacon as a topping too.
Onion– Use a white or yellow onion for this Chilli.
Garlic– As always I recommend using fresh minced garlic over pre minced garlic.
Diced Tomatoes– Canned diced tomatoes is what you want to use. Just the plain ones with no added spices.
Chili Powder– There is a decent amount of chili powder in this recipe, don’t be alarmed.
Cumin– Ground cumin gives a strong and vibrant flavour.
Cayenne– Ground cayenne adds a bit of kick to this chili. If you don’t like any spice you can omit it and if you like a lot of spice, feel free to add more.
Beans– I do a combination of black beans and red kidney beans in this chili.
Molasses– This may seem weird but adds an amazing depth of flavour as it simmers. Use blackstrap molasses if you can.
Maple Syrup– The final touch to make this chili perfect is a touch of maple syrup. It balances all the spices beautifully.
Toppings– Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, and crispy bacon are delicious toppings to add to your venison chili!
The Steps
- Start by adding the onions and garlic to a large pot with a couple tbsp of oil. Cook over medium heat for a couple minutes.
- Next, add in the bacon and continue to cook until it starts to get crispy. About 5 minutes.
- Then you are going to add in the ground venison, and brown the meat until it is mostly cooked through.
- Once the meat is almost fully cooked, add in the chili powder, cumin, cayene and salt and pepper. Start with 1 tsp of each salt & pepper then you can taste it at the end and add more salt if needed.
- Cook the meat with the spices for 2 minutes to allow the spices to become fragrant.
- Then, pour in the diced tomatoes, molasses and maple syrup. Stir until everything is well mixed.
- Finally, let the chili cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, to allow it to loosen up, then turn it down to simmer and let it simmer for at least 10 minutes but ideally 20-30.
- Serve each bowl of chili with your choice of the toppings and a warm jalepeno cheddar sourdough biscuit. Enjoy!
If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or recipe review below!
Looking for more delicious, cozy wild game meat recipes to try?
https://cmbarndominium.com/how-to-make-the-best-venison-french-dip/
https://cmbarndominium.com/the-best-venison-shepherds-pie/
https://cmbarndominium.com/easy-delicious-venison-italian-wedding-soup/
Hearty and flavorful chili full of ground venison, crispy bacon, beans and a couple secret ingredients! This is the ultimate cozy dinner to make with wild game meat. * This venison chili recipe is delicious made with venison, moose, elk or any ground game meat you have. * I know the molasses may seem strange, but trust the process. You won't taste the molasses itself but it develops a deep, rich flavor that is incredible. * This chili will store in the ridge for up to 5 days or can be frozen for up to a month. 
Venison Chili
Ingredients
Toppings
Instructions
Notes
This is SUCH a good recipe. I used ground yak- next time I will omit the maple syrup, but if Iām using venison then I will add the syrup. I added a little extra cayenne. The molasses was such a great addition! The directions did missed out on when to add the beans, however, I added the beans in between steps 6 & 7.
Love ššš
ooh! thanks for letting me know about the beans. I’ll Fix that. Glad you loves it with the molasses. It adds such great depth of flavor š