Amp Up Your Chili With One Overlooked Canned Ingredient

Chili is my go-to meal for cool, rainy fall days, and I usually try something to make the recipe more interesting for my kids. One day, inspired by an article on Santa Fe chili, I added corn. I reached into my pantry for canned corn, opened the can, and found that I had pulled out creamed corn instead of the whole-kernel variety. It wasn't much of a dilemma as I am one of those, "Well, let's see how it goes" people. It turns out that the corn added a sweetness the kids loved! It cut the spiciness a little but not enough to make the chili too bland for adults. As a bonus, the canned creamed corn thickened the chili without any kitchen tricks I usually depend on.

That's right, creamed corn is another option to help cooks struggling to achieve the right consistency for chili. Cornstarch, tomato paste, or a flour slurry are great chili thickeners. However, they also have the risk of adding a gritty texture to the chili's gravy or sauce. Creamed corn doesn't have this problem. The sweetness that the creamed corn adds goes well with the peppers and spices. The sweetness can also cut the saltiness of an over-seasoned pot of chili.

The accidental creamed corn chili was not my first time using a pantry item to elevate my chili. I've used cocoa powder, cinnamon, and other small changes. Each one adds a new flavor, but they are not alone. There are several different items in your pantry that can be used to reinvigorate your chili. For example, many cooks use diced tomatoes in their chili, but how many also have fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles or Rotel in their pantry on standby for a cheese dip? Put it in the chili for an added spice, a little sweetness from the tomatoes and that smoky flavor from the fire-roasting. Another option is coffee, which works like cocoa powder to add a rich flavor to the chili. Dark chocolate chips also work in place of cocoa or coffee.

The next time you need to amp up your chili, look no further than your pantry. Try the creamed corn and dig around for some other pantry items. Look for anything that will vary the spice and sweetness of the chili and see what you come up with.