Cooking-with-Chili Tips and Benefits

It's not too often that great taste combines with great health benefits, but our easy chili recipes offer both. Dishes such as White Bean Chili and Black Bean Chicken Chili serve up delicious, spicy flavors and antioxidant-rich ingredients. Putting chili on the menu is easy, with our tips on how to buy, store and handle chili peppers, handle ground meat safely and cook and serve this Tex-Mex delight.

Health benefits of chili

This comfort food is full of good-for-you ingredients, such as capsaicin, the spicy element of chili peppers identified by researchers as a cancer fighter. (To get more of this antioxidant, keep the white membranes inside the pepper on.) The fiber-rich beans found in most chili dishes have also been linked to a reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease. And here's news to get you cheering: high-fiber diets may promote weight loss. Add protein-packed lean ground beef or chicken and heart-healthy vegetables to the mix and you can see why chili is such a nutrition powerhouse. (No need to tell the kids when they ask for seconds!)

How to buy, store and handle chili peppers

Choosing the right pepper depends on you and how much spice you can handle. Can't stand the heat? Opt for larger peppers which contain fewer capsaicin-rich seeds and white membranes proportionally. Cherry and Ancho peppers tend to be milder, while Jalapeño and Habanero peppers will have your tongue aflame. (Soaking dried or chopped fresh peppers in salt water for an hour or more will tone down the heat, FYI.) If you choose firm and glossy fresh peppers, they should keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. Unrefrigerated dried chilies should be thrown out after four months. Remember to wash your hands after chopping and handling chili peppers to prevent skin and eye irritation.

How to buy, prepare, store and cook ground meat

Grinding beef exposes more of the meat to harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. (Check out our chicken tips for information on preparing chicken safely.) To reduce your risk of foodborne illness, select fresh, cold-to-the-touch ground beef before its expiry date, and place it in a plastic bag so it doesn't contaminate your other grocery items. At home, freeze ground beef or cook it to 160 °F within two days of purchase. Cooked ground beef will keep for three to four days in the fridge and up to four months in the freezer.

Four chili-cooking tips

1. Opt for a less-spicy dish by poking holes in a chili pepper and adding it to the pot midway instead of chopping and cooking it from the outset.
2. Cook chili with ground meat to an internal temperature of 165  degrees F.
3. Accompany your chili feast with other Tex-Mex favorites such as warm tortillas, Chunky Guacamole and Veggie Quesadillas.
4. Mix it up: try a different chili recipe each week until you find a favorite (or two or three or four). We love Potato and Chili Burritos and Canuck Chili.

More! Try our other Mexican and Crock pot recipes, too.

For easy cooking with kids ideas, visit our Food section.