Budget Friendly Chilli Recipe to Freeze

A budget friendly chilli recipe to freeze should be a staple in any household. It ticks the boxes of saving time, saving money and it’s really delicious. It’s also really easy to make a vegetarian version too. In fact, in my house I do both at the same time. I use my large electric frying pan (there are heaps of these on the market but I really love this one) and I also have my slow cooker going at the same time. I make the vegetarian chilli in the slow cooker while cooking the beef chilli in the frying pan.

One of the reasons I love this budget friendly chilli recipe is that the ingredients are cheap. Mince, beans and canned tomatoes are all basic cheap items that make up the basis of this recipe. It’s great served with rice, another super cheap food, and it freezes extremely well. It’s also quite a healthy dish too. I always make a large batch of this and keep one out for the week and put the rest in the freezer (in smaller containers). My husband loves taking this to work.

Budget Friendly Chilli Recipe (suitable to freeze)

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of mince meat (I use beef, but any mince will work)
• 250 grams of sliced mushrooms
• 1 red capsicum diced
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced garlic works fine too)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of tomato paste
• 1 jar of passata
• 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• Chillis (how many is up to you! I add 4-5 large ones, or use a good tablespoon of crushed chilli)
• 1 tablespoon of of smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon of hot paprika

Method:

Honestly, it couldn’t get much easier than this really!

1. Add the olive oil, garlic, mushrooms and peppers and cook till soft
2. Add the beef mince, breaking it up into small pieces as you go.
3. Once the beef is cooked, add in the tomatoes, tomato paste and pasata and stir.
4. Add in the BBQ Sauce, chillis and paprika
5. Simmer for 30 minutes
6. Serve with rice or jacket potatoes and sour cream
7. Freeze the remainder for later

Budget friendly Chilli Recipe – Vegetarian Alternative

For my budget vegetarian chilli, I use the exact same recipe, but leave out the mince and use a tin of red kidney beans instead. I cook this one in the slow cooker (as it’s easier when I’m making both of them together), but this will cook just as well in the electric frypan.

Serving Suggestion

I really love chilli on plain rice with some sour cream and grated cheese. We will also often cook up large potatoes in their jackets and serve the chilli with these.  Chilli nachos are also great!

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