One-Pot Leftover Grilled Hamburger Chili Recipe

If you have leftover hamburgers you can easily make this Tex-Mex, one-pot chili recipe. This recipe can also be made with fresh ground beef.

Note: Find the printable version toward the bottom.

Next time you cook hamburgers on the grill, consider cooking extra. This way you can make chili with the leftovers for one of your next meals.

Back when I was a single mom, one of my moonlighting jobs was as a cook in a corner tavern. My friend was the owner and she had a chili recipe that was out of this world. While I wouldn’t dare share her recipe, one thing that made it special was that she used her own tavern char-cooked hamburgers in chili.

Believe me, the char-grilled flavor adds a nice smokey touch to any chili recipe.

Today I’m sharing a Tex-Mex recipe I’ve been making for years. It’s pretty much a one-pot meal. Which is my kind of cooking. Less time in the kitchen just works for me.

Especially when I don’t have to brown the meat, because I’m using leftover grilled hamburgers from the previous night.

Leftover grilled hamburger chili Tex-Mex Style

Ingredients

• 1 lb raw hamburger patties (Qty 4 – quarter-pound patties)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 16 oz can pinto beans
• 1 16 oz can refried beans
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1/8 Tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 Tsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1/2 Tsp garlic salt
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp molasses

Directions

1. Cook hamburgers on the grill. Chopped into small cubes.
2. Brown onions in a skillet with vegetable oil.
3. Add the onions and the chopped hamburger into a large pot.
4. Add all of the remaining ingredients into the pot, except the refried beans.
5. Cook on medium/high heat until everything starts to bubble.
6. Turn heat down and simmer for at least 1 hour.
7. Add the refried beans and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Try these variations:

• Make this same recipe in the crockpot. You can
• Add 1 chopped green pepper and/or a can of diced tomatoes for a chunkier recipe.
• Add 1 or 2 chopped jalapenos peppers for a spicier flavor.

Short on time?

Save time and cut corners by using your “leftover hamburgers on the grill” with a chili kit. Just add green pepper and onion and follow the directions on the package.

Like I mentioned, you can substitute leftover burgers on the grill into any one of your favorite chili recipes.

I think of burgers on the grill as kind of a warm-weather meal. And chili as more of a cold-weather meal. That’s why I like to make this chili in the fall because it’s a little of both.

For several other easy recipes, try my One Pot Oven Chicken Cacciatore or Leftover grilled steak soup