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Ready For A New Favorite Chili Recipe? This One Will Surely Win You Over

Author:

Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

March 22, 2025

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

By Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Texas Christian University and a master’s in nutrition interventions, communication, and behavior change from Tufts University. She lives in Newport Beach, California, and enjoys connecting people to the food they eat and how it influences health and wellbeing.

Image by Emilia Aghamirzai / FatChix Inc.

March 22, 2025

Chili is hearty, comforting, and no recipe is quite the same. This recipe by actress and writer Emma Myles in her new cookbook The Trigger Kitchen has a bit of a Southwestern twist.

It features fire-roasted tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and chipotle peppers for heat and smokiness ,plus cotija cheese for garnish. The three bean varieties offer different textures and flavors, and the avocado slices add a nice dose of monounsaturated fats to make this dish a complete meal.

And of course, if there's something you want to add or leave out, Myles won't take it personally. Why? "She emphasizes, "The whole point of a bowl of chili is to sit and be cozy. And feel the warmth inside saying, Stay. Enjoy. Be here."

Chili soup hugs

Makes about 12 cups (2.7 kilograms)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5–7 cloves garlic, grated
Pinch of salt
1½ tablespoons (14 grams) Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon (16 grams) tomato paste
2 (15.5-oz [439-grams]) cans pinto beans
2 (15.5-oz [439-grams]) cans black beans
1 (15.5-oz [439-grams]) can pink beans
2 (14.5-oz [411-grams]) cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup (480 grams) roasted red peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons (34 grams) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 quart (960 milliliters) veggie or chicken stock
1 cup (113 grams) grated Cheddar, divided
½ cup (120 ml) crema or sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips, for serving
Avocado slices, for serving
Cotija, for serving

Method:

In a large stockpot, melt the butter and oil over medium-high heat.
When frothy, add the onion and let it sweat for 3 to 5 minutes. I’m partial to some caramelization, but as long as they’re soft and translucent, you’re fine.
Add your garlic and salt and stir. When the smell of garlic goes straight up your nose (1 minute), add the Taco Seasoning and tomato paste and stir to combine.
Let the flavors cook together for a few minutes and then add the beans, tomatoes and peppers, and mix it all up, making sure to get the onions and garlic from the bottom. Add the stock, season to taste and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and put a lid on your cauldron. Let it cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
Uncover the pot and remove it from the heat. Using an immersion blender (have you gotten one yet?), pulse a few times just to break it up, not to blend it completely. You still want some of it intact because even though it’s soup, it’s still chili.
Fold in ½ cup (57 grams) of Cheddar and the crema and stir until the cheese is melted.
Spoon into your favorite bowl and top with crushed tortilla chips (i.e., the bottom of the bag cause that’s what I had), some sliced avocado, the rest of the Cheddar and a sprinkling of Cotija for “atmosphere.”

Reprinted with permission from Trigger Kitchen by Emma Myles. Page Street Publishing Co. © 2024. Emma Myles is a writer, artist, activist, and home cook. She's best known for her role as Leanne Taylor on the hit show Orange Is the New Black, for which she won three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She lives in New York City.