This copycat Tim Hortons Chili recipe is hearty, flavorful, and even better than the real thing! I've dedicated countless hours to studying Tim Hortons chili to bring you the best copycat recipe ever. Keep reading to learn more!
If you like Tim Hortons' recipes, definitely check out my Tim Hortons Cream of Broccoli soup, Tim Hortons Iced Coffee, and Timbits next!
Tim Hortons chili is a Canadian classic. It's flavorful, humble, and, most importantly, comforting. It's made with a mixture of ground beef, kidney beans, vegetables, and various spices and seasonings. This blog post dives deep into what makes the perfect bowl of Tim Hortons chili.
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🥫 What is Tim Hortons Chili?
Tim Hortons chili is a classic, slow-cooked ground beef chili. It features ground beef, kidney beans, and an array of vegetables, spices, and seasonings. Like most fast-food recipes, Tim Hortons chili is a well-guarded secret; it's not even made in-store. It comes pre-made in large plastic bags, which are poured into holding containers that are kept warm for hungry customers throughout the day.
In 2019, Tim Hortons expanded its in-store chili offering to select retailers in Canada. You can now buy cans of Tim Hortons chili and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. The only problem is a single can cost about $5, so you'd be spending at least $50 for a whole pot. That's an expensive chili!
🕵 Deconstructing the Chili
Initially, I thought deconstructing a chili would be difficult since it's made up of so many different ingredients, all of which kind of blend into a single mass. But Tim Hortons has made it too easy for us.
Their website lists the main ingredients, excluding seasonings and spices, but their canned version tells us everything else. Remember that the canned version contains extra ingredients to increase its shelf life, which we can ignore.
Here is the ingredient list from their canned chili:
diced tomatoes, water, ground beef, rehydrated red beans, white mushrooms, green bell peppers, wheat flour, celery, concentrated tomato paste, sugar, textured soy protein, modified corn starch, salt, potassium chloride, onion powder, dehydrated onions, garlic powder, beef fat, hydrolyzed corn, wheat and soy protein, seasoning, spices, spice extract, citric acid, natural flavor, yeast extract, reconstituted beef extract, soy sauce.
Whew - that's a lot of ingredients! The good news is that many of these aren't actually needed or can be substituted with something better. For example, we can easily substitute dehydrated onions with fresh onions to deliver a better taste.
Citric acid, textured soy protein, and wheat and soy protein are some ingredients that manufacturers use but are not crucial for cooking at home. Citric acid is a food additive that helps preserve food and boost acidity. Textured soy protein, wheat protein, and soy protein are mainly for increasing nutritional content.
In the next section, I'll list all the ingredients we'll use to deliver the best copycat recipe.
🧂 Ingredients
For fresh ingredients:
- Onions - yellow onions are my favorite; they have a mellower flavor and are slightly sweeter.
- Garlic - no chili is complete without a healthy dose of garlic; use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Green peppers - are not a common ingredient in chili recipes - at least, I've never seen it - but Tim Hortons uses it, so we'll use it too.
- Celery - another unique ingredient in Tim Hortons chili.
- Ground beef - regular (at least 20% fat content) is preferred since the extra fat gives the chili body and richness.
For the canned ingredients:
- Canned sliced mushrooms - Tim Hortons uses canned mushrooms.
- Canned diced tomatoes - any type (plum, San Marzano, etc..) will do; just make sure you don't substitute with fresh tomatoes, which typically don't have as much flavor.
- Tomato paste - for adding concentrated tomato flavor.
- Kidney beans - both canned or dried will work, but canned is much less work. Dried kidney beans need to be soaked overnight in cold water, but they'll have a firmer, "al dente" texture.
- Beef/Chicken stock - my favorite brand of stock is Better than Bouillon. They have roast beef and roasted chicken flavors, which work well with this chili. I mix 3 teaspoons of beef base with 2 cups of water.
For the spices and seasonings:
- Chili powder - for simplicity's sake, we'll use pre-made chili powder; I can't imagine Tim Hortons making their own chili paste from Mexican peppers.
- Cumin - I love the flavor of cumin in chili.
- Cayenne pepper - just a little bit to give some heat.
- Soy sauce - adds saltiness and umami. Don't worry; we only add a little bit, so you won't be able to taste it. It just provides background support and lifts the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Marmite (yeast extract) - adds a ton of umami. You can find marmite in small jars next to the regular yeast in the baking section.
- Red wine vinegar - Tim Hortons chili uses citric acid, but most people don't have that in their pantry. Red wine vinegar is an even better substitute. It has a sharp acidity that pairs perfectly with the bold flavors of chili.
- Black pepper - freshly cracked for the best flavor.
- Salt - enhances the flavors of everything else.
- Sugar - for flavor and to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1. Saute aromatics
Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and saute for 5 minutes until they're lightly golden and translucent.
Step 2. Add veggies
Add green peppers and celery and saute for another 1 minute.
Step 3. Add ground beef
Add ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes until no longer pink, breaking up the beef into pieces as you go.
Step 4. Add spices
Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and stir for 1 minute until the ingredients smell delicious.
Step 5. Add everything else
Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, canned mushrooms, stock, soy sauce, marmite, red wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 6. Finishing
Taste and season with additional spices and seasonings. Always start with a small amount and taste at every step! The last thing you want is to make a perfect pot of Tim Hortons chili and then accidentally overseason it.
Transfer to serving bowls and serve with chips or crackers. Enjoy!
💭 Top Tips
- Use regular or full-fat ground beef for the best flavor. The fat will emulsify with the chili, making it richer and creamier. If you only have lean ground beef, add a couple of extra tablespoons of butter to make up for it.
- Use a good brand of beef or chicken stock like Better than Bouillon. The stock provides a lot of the flavor for the chili, so it's important to use a good one.
- Cook the chili low and slow for at least 30 minutes, ideally, 2 hours if you have time. The slow cook allows all the flavors of the Tim Hortons chili to meld together.
- Add cornmeal or a cornstarch slurry if the chili is too watery. A cornstarch slurry can be made by combining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water.
👨🏻🍳 Variations
Chili is super versatile; you can add many different ingredients, and it will still taste delicious! Here are some ingredients you can add to your chili to boost its flavor.
- Garlic/onion powder - add a teaspoon of each if you think the flavor from the chili powder is not enough. Garlic and onion powder have a more concentrated, sweeter, and nuttier flavor than their fresh counterparts.
- Cocoa or expresso powder - add a tablespoon to add a ton of depth and earthiness; you can't really taste the cocoa or expresso; it just adds complexity to the background.
- Fish sauce - add 2 teaspoons to add umami, depth, and a little saltiness.
- MSG - adding just ¼ teaspoon amplifies the umami tenfold.
- Ketchup - yes, ketchup. I tried adding it recently, and it actually tasted really good. Ketchup is quite sweet, so be sure to reduce the sugar if you add it; start with ¼ of a cup.
- Vodka - tomatoes have flavor compounds that are only soluble in alcohol. Adding a bit (about two tablespoons) before simmering will help unleash those flavors.
- Butter - add a knob at the end of cooking to give the chili a creamier texture.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Allow Tim Hortons chili to come to room temperature before storing it in the fridge. Store the chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheating: To reheat leftovers, scoop out the desired amount of chili into a pot, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and heat on medium heat for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
Freezing: Allow the chili to come to room temperature before freezing. Portion the chili into freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
💭 Tip
A big pot of chili can take hours to cool down to room temperature. You can speed things up by submerging the pot of chili in a sink of cold water. Change the water every 15 minutes until the chili is cooled.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Yes, definitely! Simply add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Some recipes suggest browning the meat separately, but it's not required. Chili has so much complexity that browning meat has no noticeable effect on flavor.
To thicken a chili, add cornmeal or a cornstarch slurry. A cornstarch slurry can be made by combining cornstarch and water in a 2-1 ratio. For a large pot of chili, start off by adding 2-3 tablespoons of cornmeal or 2 tablespoons of cornstarch slurry.
Some popular toppings for chili include shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onions. Tim Hortons serves their chili with soft ciabatta bread, but you can serve it with whatever type you like.
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📋 Recipe
Copycat Tim Hortons Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
Veggies and meat
- 2 cups onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 2 lbs ground beef
Spices
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cans
- 1 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 1 5.5 oz tomato paste
- 2 9.5 oz canned sliced mushrooms rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz canned red kidney beans rinsed and drained
Seasoning
- 3 teaspoon Better than bouillon beef base (mixed with 2 cups of water)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon marmite
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and saute for 5 minutes until they're lightly golden and translucent.
- Add green peppers and celery and saute for another 1 minute.
- Add ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes until no longer pink, breaking up the beef into pieces as you go.
- Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and stir for 1 minute until the ingredients smell delicious.
- Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, canned mushrooms, stock, soy sauce, marmite, red wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Taste and season with additional spices and seasonings. Check blog post for a bunch of fun variations.
Notes
- Use regular or full-fat ground beef for the best flavor. The fat will emulsify with the chili, making it richer and creamier. If you only have lean ground beef, add a couple of extra tablespoons of butter to make up for it.
- Use a good brand of beef or chicken stock like Better than Bouillon. The stock provides a lot of the flavor of the chili, so it's important to use a good one.
- Cook the chili low and slow for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours if you have time. The slow cook allows all the flavors of the chili to meld together.
- Add cornmeal or a cornstarch slurry if the chili is too watery. A cornstarch slurry can be made by combining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water.
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