Walt’s Chili Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Sharing Walt’s Chili recipe today inspired from Disneyland! The best chili recipe I’ve made! So delicious for chilly nights at home.

chili recipe in bowl

Best Chili Recipe

If you ask me, Walt’s Chili is absolutely an award winning chili! This is a version inspired by Carnation Cafe on Main Street, U.S.A. I tested it today and let me tell you, it’s perfect! In all honesty, I probably won’t ever need to make another chili recipe. It’s that good! I love to enjoy Walt’s Chili from Carnation Cafe on Main Street, U.S.A. The best!

Be sure to also try Loaded Baked Potato Soup from Disneyland too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration!

ingredients for best chili recipe

What You’ll Need

  • extra virgin olive oil– You’ll use the olive oil for sautéing vegetables.
  • onion– Finely chop the onion before adding to chili.
  • green bell pepper– Finely chop and de-seed green bell peppers in advance.
  • jalapeños– Optional, but adds a nice kick. Mince jalapenos.
  • garlic– Mince fresh garlic for the chili.
  • parsley– Fresh chopped parsley adds a nice freshness to the chili.
  • pinto beans– Rinse beans before adding to chili.
  • diced tomatoes– Any diced tomato brand you prefer works great.
  • water– Water gets added to chili.
  • chicken broth– Use reduced sodium chicken broth.
  • butter– I generally use salted butter for my recipes, but unsalted works fine too.
  • ground beef- Use a 80% lean or higher beef.
  • ground sausage– Jimmy Dean mild or regular sausage works great here.
  • kosher salt– Kosher salt is a coarse salt commonly used in cooking and baking.
  • black pepper– For best tasting results, use fresh cracked black pepper.
  • ground cumin– Cumin adds a nice smoky flavor, just a touch.
  • chili powder– Gives the chili it’s traditional chili flavor.
  • sour cream– Use full-fat sour cream for best results.
  • diced fresh tomatoes– Adds a nice garnish for top of chili.
  • green onion, chives or chopped parsley– Options for garnishing each bowl of chili.

vegetables in pot to saute for chili recipe

How To Make The Best Chili

  1. Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, saute onions, green bell pepper, and minced jalapeno. Cook for about 10 minutes until tender. Add pinto beans, diced tomatoes, 3/4 cup parsley and water. 
  2. In a separate medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add ground beef and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, cooking until browned. Drain most of fat, leaving a little still in meat. Season with chili powder and cumin, stirring to combine. 
  3. Transfer cooked beef/sausage to vegetable pot, carefully stirring. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 
  4. Place chili into soup bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese, fresh diced tomatoes and sour cream drizzles. Add additional chopped parsley on top if desired.

add beans tomatoes and parsley to pot for chili recipe

Once vegetables are sautéed, add beans, tomatoes and chopped fresh parsley.

adding water and chicken broth to pot

Add water and chicken broth. Let simmer.

browning ground beef in pot

In a separate pot or large skillet, melt butter and brown ground beef and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, stirring until cooked and browned.

adding cumin and chili powder to pot of chili

Once the beef/sausage has cooked, drain and add cumin and chili powder. Stir to combine.

simmering chili recipe in pot

Add cooked beef/sausage to the vegetables and bean pot, stirring to combine. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

best chili recipe in serving bowl

For each bowl of chili, top with shredded cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes…and to get the sour cream drizzle, I put a scoop of sour cream into a ziplock baggie, snip an end and drizzle over soup.

best chili recipe

Garnish with either chopped green onion, chives or chopped parsley.

best chili recipe

How To Serve Walt’s Chili

Enjoy this bowl of chili with a side of saltine crackers just like it’s served at Carnation Cafe. A soft roll is another great option. We also serve our chili with a big chopped salad.

award winning chili recipe
5 from 5 votes

Walt's Chili Recipe (Inspired by Carnation Cafe, Main Street, U.S.A.)

This version of Walt's Chili is delicious! I'll never make another chili recipe other than this one. Enjoy!
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 506kcal
Author: Jenny
Cost: $30
Print Pin

Equipment

  • Stove
  • cutting board
  • chef knife
  • soup pot
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • mixing spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large green bell pepper diced
  • 1 large white onion coarsely diced
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 large jalapeños minced
  • 2 15 ounce cans pinto beans
  • 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 cup parsley chopped
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1 stick salted butter
  • 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 pound ground sausage I used Jimmy Dean in roll
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/3 cup chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin

Garnish

  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions chives or parsley (I had parsley on hand so used that)

Instructions

  • Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, saute onions, green bell pepper, and minced jalapeno. Cook for about 10 minutes until tender. Add pinto beans, diced tomatoes, 3/4 cup parsley, water and broth.  Reduce heat to low to simmer.
  • In a separate medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add ground beef and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, cooking until browned. Drain most of fat, leaving a little still in meat. Season with chili powder and cumin, stirring to combine. 
  • Transfer cooked beef/sausage to vegetable pot, carefully stirring. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 
  • Place chili into soup bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese, fresh diced tomatoes and sour cream drizzles.

Nutrition

Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1022mg | Potassium: 811mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2953IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 5mg
Keywords: award winning chili recipe, chili, chili recipe, walt's chili

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photo collage of best chili recipe

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9 Responses
  1. Dionne N Veselko

    Thank you for this recipe. I’m going to try it out this weekend. I noticed it’s different than the “Walt’s Chili” recipe on the D23 website so I may substitute a few ingredients. I realize these recipes are Disney “inspired”. Thank you for the step-by-step directions and photos.

  2. Tori

    5 stars
    I made this tonight and it was seriously delicious! My entire family loved it! Can’t wait to make it again, it’s definitely going on our monthly menu schedule!

  3. Renee G

    5 stars
    I have never commented on a blog or recipe before but I had to for this. This is the best chili I’ve ever had! Possibly better than Disneyland’s. My friends made this for me and it was the best. (And they are just learning to cook) I took some leftovers to my parents and they loved it. My dad said he never liked chili til he tried that chili. I was worried there was too much chili powder but it was perfect. Not spicy at all because they de-veined and de-seeded the jalapenos.
    One notable change though- they used ground pork instead of sausage. I would make it that way every time. Not sure if I’d like it as much with Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage.
    This recipe is different from the Walts chili that Disney posted but I think this one is better.
    Thank you for sharing this recipe. ❤

  4. Samantha

    In your recipe it says 1/3 CUP of Chili powder. That is A LOT….are you sure that is right? Thanks!

    1. Jenny

      Hi Sarah, it goes in with the onion. I’ll go make sure I make it more clear in the instructions. So glad you enjoyed 🙂

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