What To Serve With Chili? These Are Your Best Options

Looking for a great way in order to make your favorite food taste great? If yes, then chili is the best option. Chili is informal, could serve gang and could also be prepared well ahead of time. So, if you are one of those who really loves chili at the same time would want to know what to serve with chili as for making things a lot delectable and spicier, good to know because there are numbers of options to choose from. And from these wide options, you are guaranteed to enjoy chili the way you never did before.

What To Serve With Chili? 8 Best Options To Choose From

Indeed, you could add anything that you want to your table, but below are the best options you should consider as you serve chili:

Pasta And Grains

There are some areas wherein chili is being served on top of spaghetti the same with pasta sauce. It would also be great if you are to use rice as the first layer in the bowl then smother it with the soup. As for giving the chili a better taste and texture, you might consider cooked elbow macaroni.

You might also leave the macaroni in the chili in the refrigerator at night then let it absorb all the spices up until the next morning. It might as well be of great idea that you add frozen or canned corn kernels as for making the dish look colorful.

Corn Chips

There could be varied options to choose from however blue corn chips would work great with chili. If you will serve it with a spicy stew, it would also give different eating options. It is also possible that you eat chips right after pouring the chili on them or you could simply dip these chips in the bowl. You might consider separately eating them as for having a salty change of taste.

Salads

Indeed, with salads, you could actually find endless variations. And the easiest way in order to make everything look almost perfect is to simply sprinkle some chili on green salads as for amazing taste. The flavor will improve if you will add sweet corn to green salads.

You might also mix in some diced cheese, onions, sour cream and cilantro for added texture and flavor. It might as well help in lessening the taste once the chili is too strong.

Toppings And Condiments

Once you are not sure about what to serve with chili, you might try simple condiments and toppings. You cannot go wrong once you serve a bowl of chili with toppings. There are numbers of restaurants that would offer this condiment option as part of the menu and would call it as the chili bar.

Sour cream, shredded cheddar, and jack cheese or parmesan are among the most common dairy toppings. You might also use vegetable condiments like sliced canned, chopped or fresh jalapeno peppers, green or white onions, diced canned green chillies, roasted red peppers, fresh mushroom, chopped fresh tomatoes and sliced radishes. And you might as well even see some people that go with refried bacon bits and beans as chili toppings.

Potatoes And Cheeses

You might consider applesauce as for creating a perfect pair as you serve chili. Indeed, it is the safest choice that must not be ignored. You might add some green peppers as for giving you a bowl of chili with some extra zest. You could also serve it with red wine and it would feel a lot better.

Other foods like potatoes stuffed with garlic might also be considered. A bowl of chili could also complement well with roasted potatoes along with mixing it up with cheese.

Homemade Organic Vegetarian Chili with Beans and Cheese

Desserts

Being confused whether what best suit with chili? Why not dry desserts? You could always make a dinner look perfect through serving a dessert such as brownies. There are varied options that you could choose from.

For an impressive chili dinner, why not add a dessert with a South-western flair. You might as well add a flan, dessert empanadas and sweet corn pudding. But the simplest idea is to add some sliced fruits in the bowl with a dash of cinnamon as for adding a delicious and healthy finale to the meal.

Breads

Like a soup, a bowl of chili tastes perfect once coupled with the right kind of bread. In the Southwest and for chili in Texas, there is indeed no better option than the cornbread as it doesn’t need any rising time. It might take you a bit of time to prepare a loaf from the scratch so you could simply rush to the market and buy a boxed mix of fresh bread.

There is a fact that a warm loaf of homemade bread would complement chili perfectly, you could also go to the local bakery and pick up the fresh ones. And by the way, biscuits could also go well with chili and you could make them a lot more impressive by adding shredded cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeno peppers, and chopped ham.

Beverages

Indeed, chili will definitely go great with those richly-flavored beverages. You might always serve it along with frosty mugs of ice-cold beer. It would also be great if you are to serve it along with fruity wine punches like sangria or red wines.

In addition to that, you could add the tequila and lime in margaritas as for complementing the bold tastes of chili. And for children, you could prepare a sweet carbonated beverage or lemony iced tea to serve along with chili.

Those are some of the best options that you might consider once you are wondering whether what to serve with chili. Simply choose from the options and enjoy it along with your favorite chili.

Some Recipes Perfect To Serve With Chili

And there are certain recipes that you could make as you plan to come up with a chili meal. Here are some:

Buttermilk Cornbread


The needed ingredients for this recipe include the following:

  • Large eggs, 3
  • Granulated sugar, ½ cup
  • Buttermilk, a cup
  • Sour cream, a cup
  • Baking soda, ¾ teaspoon
  • Kosher salt, 1 and ½ tablespoons
  • Honey, 1/3 cup
  • All-purpose flour, 1 and ½ cups
  • Yellow cornmeal, 1 and ½ cups
  • Baking powder, a tablespoon
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • Unsalted and melted butter, 1 and ½ sticks or 12 tablespoons and another 2 tablespoons for the skillet

And for the steps, follow these:

Set the 12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven then preheat the oven to 375°. And in the large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs together until frothy for about a minute or two. Whisk in the honey, sour cream and buttermilk.

Now, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne and the salt in another bowl. Use a wooden spoon in stirring the flour-cornmeal mixture to the sour cream-buttermilk mixture. And you have to stir in the melted butter and mix up until well-combined.

And finally, remove the hot cast-iron skillet from the oven then add the remaining two tablespoons of butter at the same time swirling the pan as to disperse the butter evenly. Pour the batter with the use of the back of the spoon in order to spread it into a lot even layer. Then bake up until the inserted toothpick in the center of the cornbread comes out clean for about 25 minutes. Simply remove from the oven and slightly cool prior to slicing and serving.

Hot Homemade White Bean Chicken Chili with Peppers and Corn

Dirty Rice


Another great recipe that will go along with chili is the dirty rice. You need to prepare the following ingredients:

  • Salt, a teaspoon
  • Flour, 3 tablespoons
  • Crushed garlic, 3 cloves
  • Butter, a tablespoon or two
  • Two thinly sliced scallions
  • Brown ale, ½ cup
  • Chicken stock, ½ stock
  • Ground black pepper, paprika, cayenne and cumin, all a teaspoon
  • Cooked white rice, 3 cups

And the directions to follow for this recipe are the following:

First, heat the thick-bottomed skillet over a medium to high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Next add the tablespoon of the oil then heat. Now, add the salt and the meat then cook wherein you should only stir it occasionally up until browned then continue cooking up until a fond or brown bits develop on the bottom for around 8 minutes.

Now, transfer the meat to the plate and return to heat the skillet. Then, add the remaining tablespoons of oil along with flour and stir. Cook the roux and stir until dark brown or around 6-8 minutes. Next is to add the scallions and garlic and stir for a minute only.

Finally, deglaze the pan with the use of a beer. Scrape all the flavorful dark bits using a wooden spoon. Along with the chicken stock, cayenne, paprika, black pepper and cumin, return the beef to the skillet and cook up until the liquid has already reduced by half and this could be about 10 minutes. And now, fold in the cooked white rice as well as the butter and briefly cook until hot. Sprinkle it with scallions and serve.

Why not try these recipes along with enjoying how great the taste of chili is.

Final Thoughts

Indeed, many are looking for best options on whether what to serve with chili. Though many options are available, still looking for the best ones that would complement the taste of a chili must always be considered. Good to know that the above-mentioned options are among the most popular and accessible ones. So, if in doubt of whether what goes well with chili, the list of options above is of great help. For a homemade chili, watch this.

If you want to add more options, feel free to give us your suggestions. We will be happy for your thoughts!

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