Lamb and White Bean Chili Recipe (2024)

This is an excellent recipe. We've substituted ground beef and/or meatball mix for the lamb when it wasn't handy and the results were great. We use green bell peppers instead of the poblanos. We use 3 Tbsp of chili powder, not 2. We use 1.5 tsp of coriander and cumin and 2 tbsp of tomato paste for richer, more intense flavor. We use two 15oz cans of Goya small white beans instead of dried beans and these are excellent. Made it tonight to ward off this endless cold.

I used lamb shank steaks that I cubed instead of ground meat and it was excellent.

Chile powder is ground chile with spices (garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, etc) in it. Gebhardt's is Texas' best. Ground chile, or chile, is pure chile w/o the spices.

This was terrific, with a few alterations. I prefer a thicker chili, so I doubled the meat and halved the water. Definitely hold out for poblanos -- huge difference in the taste. This will become a regular in my rotation.

This is quite good. In order to lessen the fat load I discarded most of the liquids rendered after step 1. Recipe does not state whether to drain canned beans. I did.

Needs one teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano. Then you've got something

The recipe didn't specify whether the chili should be covered or not during the 45 minute simmer time. I simmered mine uncovered and it thickened in the correct amount of time.

I took to heart a few tips in these notes and added my own addition to this otherwise very good recipe: 1 tsp. dried oregano3 tbsp chile powder (2 hot and 1 mild)1 14 oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes (why not? amps up the tomato paste richness)1/2 c. Bordeaux red I did use canned white beans, I hope the NYT cooking gods and goddesses will forgive me! Served an (Acme-local Bay Area bakery) olive bread with this to sop up and a green bean salad.

You can also stir a bit of masa into the chili a few minutes before taking it off the fire...an authentic way to thicken the liquid.

Terrific and sure beats the store bought mixes I had been cooking with all along. Some changes - roasted coriander and cumin lightly before grinding them and did add half a can of tomato sauce to the bubbling mix to smooth out the spices. Family devoured it.

Made per recipe. Easy enough for weeknight. Good enough for 'company's comin'. Cooked my own navy (small white) beans. (You can cook beans ahead of time & hold in fridge - so much better than from can. 1C rounded dry = 3.5C cooked.) Had only about 12 oz ground lamb on hand - was plenty of meat to bean ratio for us. Drained most fat from pan between step 1 & 2. Big fan of cilantro stem flavor, ingredient seldom seen in recipes & enjoyed it in this one.

This was delicious and a perfect weeknight dinner during the middle of winter. Even my picky eater, a college student who doesn’t normally eat lamb, loved it so much that she had seconds. I did add 2 Serranos along with the other peppers because we like heat, but it didn’t overpower the dish at all. Threw in some fish sauce at the end as well because I almost always do for a savory soup. A

My guests loved this dish, noting its complex spice and deep flavors. I used only 3 cups of liquid and of that 2 cups was chicken broth for more flavor. Omitted jalapeno.

Added a bit of coffee, liquid smoke, Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar to brighten. Recipe is a nice start but too "one note" for me.

This is a great recipe. Can also be made with turkey, and you can play with the ratios of the onion/pepper/meat/beans to your liking. Really can’t screw it up. I like to make as little mess as possible so I start with the vegetables and when cooked/browned, i push them to one side of the pot and cook the meat before mixing. This maybe more difficult with lamb because of extra fat. Either way, I usually add a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes as well and let it cook down. Delicious!

Delicious. I made a crema style sauce with z'attar and lemon juice and added a few spoonfuls of fire roasted tomatoes. A splash of lemon of vinegar at the end for brightness.

Outstanding! I simmered up some large dried Lima beans a couple of hours before starting the chile and used the bean broth instead of water. I think the poblano peppers are what makes this; with the chile powder this was just the right level of spicy for my taste and I didn’t need the jalapeño peppers. You could easily add some diced carrots and celery to up the veggie content.I served it with baked sweet potatoes.

The lamb was super fatty, so I dumped the fat before proceeding with the basic recipe. I added about a heaping cup of sliced baby bellas after sweating the onions; then I added some leftover diced chiles and diced tomatoes after browning the tomato paste. I had about a cup and a half of home made cannelinis in the fridge and used them with some of their liquid and some home made chicken stock. I recommend adding the mushrooms, especially if you don't want so many beans.

Delicious. I modified as follows: red bell pepper instead of poblanos, added a few sliced to mushrooms when cooking the onions. Substituted chickpeas I had cooked a few days prior in place of white beans. Liquid was chickpea cooking liquid plus 28 oz can of diced tomatoes. Added 1/3 cup rice as a thickener, and stirred in chopped chard about 15 minutes before cooking was finished.

This is a great dish! It’s easy and delivers way more complexity than you might expect. Thank you commenters for your thoughts. I went heavy on the spices and chilies, I added two diced carrots, and a can of rotel tomatoes. I am not a huge fan of lamb, but I loved this. (And so did everybody else)Will make again

I am glad I lessened the amount of heat, it would have been way too spicy. And I like spice! I used poblanos, one jalapeño and less chili powder. Also more cumin and a little more tomato paste. I don’t eat much red meat but do like lamb and any bean is a good bean for me.Think I might play with the recipe a bit and I would make again.

This was delicious! I had leftovers from a braised leg of lamb in my freezer instead of ground lamb. Chopped the lamb into cubes size pieces, and cooked dried Rancho Gordo beans. I used the bean broth instead of water for the full 4 cups and a tsp of Mexican oregano to the spice mix. Topped this off with a dollop of sour cream and squeeze of lime. This is a keeper!

I could have won a chili cook-off with this recipe. It's that good! Thanks to helpful commenters, I used 1 1/2 tsp. each of cumin and coriander instead of just one tsp. and added a can of Rotel diced tomatoes/green chiles. Thanks again, Melissa!

I’ve made this many times over the years. I just made it tonight with Superior farms fresh ground lamb from our local butcher here in Santa Monica. It really took it over the top! I was also fortunate enough to get a couple of chocolate poblanos from our farmers market that had such a fruity spicy flavor. One thing of note is that I never use water and only 3 cups of liquid otherwise it’s more of a soup. I use chicken or beef stock but you kind of can’t go wrong with this one!

This is an excellent and flavorful dish. I used 1 cup of chicken broth and 3 cups of water, though beef broth would have been good too. I also deglazed the pot with a bit of the broth before pouring all the liquid in to get the good bits. Definitely a lot of chopping, but ultimately worth it

Didn't have poblanos so used a small green bell pepper and a couple of diced medium Hatch chiles (we buy a case of roasted Hatch chiles every year, clean and freeze so they're always ready to go). Otherwise followed the recipe exactly; New Mexico medium chile powder and 2 14.5 oz cans of small white beans, drained and rinsed. This was excellent and the perfect level of spice. It's going in the permanent rotation!

Made this with 2lbs of ground buffalo meat which made it more lean and used the poblanos a friend just gave me. Didn’t use the jalapeño, but added a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and balsamic. Turned out terrific! Easy and not overly acidic.

Beautiful chili with a lot of complexity that you don’t really get from beef chili! Definitely subbed out some of the water for a nice Pinot noir adjacent wine and I will probably add some crushed red pepper next time to intensify the spice, but serve this exactly as recommended with all the garnishes listed. It’s absolutely worth it! Also VERY easy to make and not particularly time consuming.

Harissa instead of chili powder and toasted whole cumin instead of or in addition to ground cumin.

Increase cumin and coriander to 1.5t and whole little can of tomato paste