Venison Chili: Wisconsin’s Cold Weather Companion

Last Updated on October 11, 2024 by Jess

True confession: I use to hate chili with a capital H. Well, I don’t know if I so much hated the chili or if it was all the kidney beans my mom wouldn’t let me pick out because I actually hated those. But I have grown wiser in my old age and have developed a deep love for venison chili in the cold Wisconsin winter months. If I am feeling ambitious it is accompanied with some honey corn bread. Not so ambitious? A side of homemade sourdough is almost as awesome.

If you have read many of my posts, you know I am all about getting all the veggies in my main meals. Does the recipe originally call for 1/2 cup of green pepper? You can bet I’ll up that to a full cup. Veggies make my heart happy (I am fairly certain I have a Pinterest board by that name…no joke. I mean, who does that?!) So this venison chili recipe has lots of chunky veggies because I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Few things before you get started:

• I try to buy low sodium or no salt added tomato products if at all possible. I like to be able to control the salt I add to my cooking. If you use regular tomatoes, you may want to decrease the added salt. Just taste it first 😀
• I started using 4 cups of the tomato juice (saving a couple cups for my husband because he loves it), but my kids thought the chili powder left it a little spicy so I poured the rest of the container of juice in. If you like a spicy chili that is super chunky, leave it at 4 cups instead of 46 ounces. Or just be like me and try it first. If you want to cut the kick or you like a not so thick chili, add the remaining 14 ounces.

Your ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef (We do our home ground venison, so your favorite ground protein would work great here whether it be turkey, beef, bear, you name it)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper (about 1 large)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
• 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 15.5 ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
• 46 ounce container low sodium tomato juice (see the note above for how much you decide to actually use)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

Your Steps

Heat a Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Once warm, add 1 teaspoon of garlic. Sauté for 20 to 30 seconds. Add ground protein. Season lightly with salt and pepper from your shakers. Cook until browned and remove. Drain if necessary. In the same pan, add remaining olive oil and garlic. Then add pepper, onion, and celery. Sauté over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, until they are just becoming soft. Stir in remaining ingredients, including the browned protein. Allow to simmer on low as long as you can wait, up to an 90 minutes, to allow the flavors to mingle 🙂

Serve this venison chili alone or with all the toppings: oyster crackers, cheese, chopped onion, sour cream. Even better if you have some fresh baked bread! My son gave it two thumbs up, so I hope you enjoy it as much as he did! —Jess

Tools of the Trade

I adore my Dutch ovens. They are something that I use for nearly all my soup and stew making! Also a big fan of my wooden spoons and seriously, flexible cutting mats are all the rage.

Looking for other dinner inspirations? Check out my page below or maybe some recipes below this recipe!

Wisconsin Cold Weather Chili

As the snow begins to fly in Wisconsin, venison chili is a sure fire way to keep your heart happy and your belly full! No venison? Beef works too!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground venison or beef
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper about 1 large
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped onion about 1 medium
• 1 cup chopped celery about 3 stalks
• 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes no salt added
• 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 15.5 ounce can of kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 46 ounce container low sodium tomato juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

Instructions

 

• Heat a Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
• Once warm, add 1 teaspoon of garlic. Sauté for 20 to 30 seconds.
• Add ground protein. Season lightly with salt and pepper from your shakers. Cook until browned and remove. Drain if necessary.
• In the same pan, add remaining olive oil and garlic.
• Then add pepper, onion, and celery.
• Sauté over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, until they are just becoming soft.
• Stir in remaining ingredients, including the browned protein. Allow to simmer on low as long as you can wait, up to an 90 minutes.

Keyword chili, dinner, venison, venison recipe

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Some of my favorite soups and stews

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