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    Home / Recipes / Season / Fall

    43 Sep 6, 2016 Fall  |   Jump to Recipe

    Beer Brat Chili Recipe

    You guys, it’s finally cooling off here in San Diego, and I’m so excited to start transitioning to those cozy fall meals.

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Beer Brat Chili Recipe

    Hearty and satisfying, this Beer Brat Chili recipe is so simple to prepare and packed with rich, chile flavor.  Imagine a brat sitting in a bun, topped with chili, cheese and sauerkraut.  This soup is a similar experience (just without the bun!).  Start by cooking onion, garlic and bell pepper in olive oil until tender, then stir in ground pork.  The pork adds some good flavor and texture to the soup as it simmers.  Next, chile powder and cumin sizzle with the pork and aromatics before chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, oregano and white beans are added to the mix.  Finally, beer-infused brats are grilled until golden, sliced and added to the chili during the last 30 minutes of cooking.  The soup is finished with grated cheddar, chopped red onion and a bit of tangy sauerkraut. The kraut helps to balance the richness of the soup, so don’t skip it!  I could seriously eat bowl after bowl of this chili.  It’s so darn good.  Continue reading for the recipe.

    Beer Brat Chili Ingredients

    I partnered with Johnsonville on this recipe to help spread the word about their new Johnsonville Sizzling Sausage Grill.  It’s a table-top grill that cooks brats (and other sausages) to golden perfection.  Simply place brats in the sausage-shaped wells straight from the fridge.  Close the lid, hit start, and in 15 minutes, you’ve got perfectly cooked brats!  In this chili recipe, I am using Johnsonville Beer’n Bratwurst to add another layer of beer flavor to the soup.  The brats are cooked first in the grill to get that golden flavor, then finished in the soup, so they can soak up all that chile goodness.

    Hot Italian sausages are frequent add-ins to our pot of Sunday tomato sauce, so this grill will definitely get some good use.  I love how it evenly cooks the sausage all around without the use of oil!  If you want to get one of these grills for yourself, be sure to check out the link above and use the coupon code sizzle2 to get $20 off.

    Johnsonville Sausage Grill

    Jorge and I are not big football fans; however we LOVE Game Day food.  Chili, guac, layered dips, burgers, hot dogs, and so on!  We’ve been known to throw Game Day parties in the past just to enjoy the food with friends 😉  This Beer Brat Chili would be a perfect addition to any Game Day party.  I would recommend cooking it on the stove top in a cast iron pot, and then transferring it to a slow cooker to keep warm during the party.  Set out big bowls of grated cheddar, chopped onions and sauerkraut, so guests can add to taste.  The flavor of the chili is even better the next day, so you can totally prepare this in advance and just warm up right before everyone arrives.

    Beer Brat Chili Recipe

    Beer Brat Chili Recipe

    Beer Brat Chili Recipe

    by Brandon Matzek
    4.75 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Servings 8 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
    • 1 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
    • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • 1 pound ground pork
    • 3 tablespoons chili powder*
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 43 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices (that's 1 big can and 1 smaller can)
    • 2 15 ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1 12 ounce bottle beer (use what you've got on hand)
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 package (1 lb 3 oz. ) Johnsonville Beer'n Bratwurst

    Toppings: shredded cheddar, chopped red onion, sauerkraut

      Instructions
       

      • Warm oil in a large cast iron pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic, and cook until the vegetables are tender but not brown (5 - 6 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add the ground pork, and cook until browned all over. I like to get all the meat in the pan, stir to combine, and then let sit for a few minutes to really get some brown color. If you continuously move the meat around, no caramelization will occur. You won't get that much dark brown color here, but even just a little bit will help with flavor.
      • Stir in chili powder and cumin, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes with juices, beans, tomato paste, beer, oregano,salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for an hour.
      • Meanwhile, cook brats using the Johnsonville Sausage Grill. This takes about 15 minutes. Let the brats rest for 5 minutes, then cut into 3/4-inch slices. Stir in the brats into the chili during the last 30 minutes of cooking. To finish the soup, season to taste with salt.
      • To serve, spoon chili into soup bowls and top with shredded cheese, chopped red onion and sauerkraut.

      Notes

      *When making chili, I love using a mixture of chile powders to add depth of flavor. If you don't have access to these types of chile powders (or they are super expensive), you could definitely use the spice labeled "Chili Powder." Just keep in mind that chili powders usually have other things mixed in like garlic and oregano, so the end result might taste a little different.
      Tried this recipe?Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can check it out!

      This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.

      43
      Brandon and Federico
      Brandon

      I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!

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      Categories: Fall Tags: beer, bell pepper, black pepper, bratwurst, chili powder, cumin, garlic, kosher salt, olive oil, onion, oregano, tomatoes, white beans

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Jenny (VintageSugarcube) says

        September 7, 2016 at 9:53 am

        You are sooo right! This is just what I need in the cool Cali evening weather. But I definitely ain’t complaining about temp dropping.

        Reply
        • Brandon Matzek says

          September 14, 2016 at 9:55 am

          Me too!! Yeah I’ve been loving these cool days.

          Reply
      2. Melinda says

        September 20, 2016 at 6:07 pm

        Hello I recently read on one of your posts(which I can’t find) you mentioned a slow cooker that you use? Wondering if you a let me know the name of that brand. Thanks

        Reply
        • Brandon Matzek says

          October 11, 2016 at 5:40 pm

          Hi Melinda, I’ve got two that I’m using right now. The first is an All-Clad: http://amzn.to/2duG1VA It doesn’t seem to be getting good reviews, but I’ve never had any issues with it. And it’s beautiful!! The second is an Instant Pot: http://amzn.to/2e7MR4s It’s a newer purchase, and I’m still getting used to the heat and settings. Very highly rated!

          Reply
      3. Kate says

        September 25, 2016 at 7:10 pm

        Brandon-

        I have pinned this recipe and people are pinning it off of my page like crazy! Can’t wait for our Indian summer to go in Indiana to try it. Love your blog. The watermelon panzanella was amazing!

        Kate

        Reply
        • Brandon Matzek says

          October 11, 2016 at 5:31 pm

          Thanks Kate!! So glad you liked the panzanella, and let me know how this chili turns out 🙂 I’m craving it again now!!

          Reply
      4. Rony Jahid says

        October 16, 2016 at 10:35 am

        It was an amazing recipe for friends & family parties. You mentioned that, if I don`t have mixture of chile powders than I could definitely use the spice labeled “Chili Powder.. Could you please tell me, it will be the same ratio as chile powder & how much expensive this chile powder?

        Reply
        • Brandon Matzek says

          October 17, 2016 at 12:02 pm

          So glad you liked the chili!! And yes, you can make a directly substitution with Chili Powder – same ratio. Pricing on chile powders can vary. I like to get it from a bulk bin, so it’s cheaper. You also might be able to find cheap chile power in the Mexican section of your grocery store (rather than the spice section).

          Reply
          • Rony Jahid says

            October 17, 2016 at 4:32 pm

            5 stars
            Thank you very much #Brandon for your valuable time to reply me, Also thank you for the given informative suggestion, I am one of regular reader of your blog post, hopefully to get some interesting post soon, I have started blogging on relevant topic of food. Hopefully your suggestion and assistance will help me a lot.

            Reply
      5. Kristina says

        November 17, 2016 at 11:18 am

        5 stars
        This chili recipe has seriously just become my favorite! I made it for a chili cook-off at work and it was a huge hit! The flavor development is amazing in this dish. Wow!

        Reply
        • Brandon Matzek says

          November 22, 2016 at 7:16 am

          YES!! Thanks for sharing Kristina. Glad you like the recipe 🙂

          Reply

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      Brandon and Federico

      I'm Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Read More…


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