Beans in Chili: The Best Beans, the Rules and When to Skip

Beans in chili depend on the style: Texas red and cook-off red leave them out, and a pot with beans does best with kidney, pinto or black.

Originally published: October 23, 2026

Chili con carne is, in Merriam-Webster’s words, “a spiced stew of usually ground beef and minced chiles or chili powder often with beans,” and the whole fight over beans in chili lives inside that one word, often. Some pots never see a bean, some rulebooks ban them, and one cook-off category requires them by brand name. If you do use beans, the one rule that is not up for debate is food safety: dried red kidney beans have to be boiled before they go into a slow cooker.

A 2023 poll on the AmazingRibs Pitmaster Club forum asked 53 cooks what they do with canned beans for chili. Thirty-six percent drain and rinse them, 25 percent do neither, 17 percent drain without rinsing and 23 percent use no beans at all. Nearly a quarter of the 53 voters leave beans out of the pot, and the rest cannot agree on what to do with the can.

Does Chili Have Beans?

It depends on where you live and what you are cooking. Merriam-Webster’s “often with beans” leaves room for both camps, and federal labeling rules treat them as two different products: canned chili con carne must be at least 40 percent meat, while chili con carne with beans needs only 25 percent.

In Cincinnati, beans are a topping. At Skyline Chili, a 3-Way is spaghetti, chili and shredded cheddar, a 4-Way adds onions or beans, and a 5-Way adds both. Whether chili has beans is a question of style more than a rule, except at a sanctioned cook-off.

Why Texas Chili Has No Beans

The Texas Legislature named chili the State Dish of Texas in House Concurrent Resolution 18, which Gov. Dolph Briscoe signed on May 11, 1977, and the Texas version most often leaves the beans out. A UTSA Libraries special collections post says Texas-style chili “most often consists solely of meat, chiles, and other herbs or spices,” and that asking whether something with beans can be called chili “will quickly start a spirited debate among any group of Texans.”

The bowl has deep roots in San Antonio, where the chili queens sold chili con carne in the city’s plazas in the late 19th and early 20th century, per UTSA. The cook-off scene came later. The Handbook of Texas says the Terlingua competition began in 1967, when New York humorist H. Allen Smith claimed no one in Texas could make proper chili and Wick Fowler answered the challenge. The first contest ended in a tie. Our chili cook-off road trip covers the big contests on the circuit.

Beans in Chili at a Cook-Off

The two big sanctioning groups split on beans, and one of them splits with itself. CASI, the Chili Appreciation Society International, bans beans from every pot. The International Chili Society bans them in red and green chili but requires them in two other categories.

Quotes are from the CASI rulebook in effect October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027, and the ICS contestant rules modified February 27, 2025.

One more ICS line matters if you enter more than one category: “Chili must be braised in one pot for each category, any additional pot(s) must have beans.” Read the current rulebook before every contest, because both groups update them.

Best Beans for Chili

Red kidney beans are the safe pick for a long-simmered pot, and pintos are the creamy pick for the last few minutes. Protein and fiber vary by only about 1.5 grams per half cup from bean to bean. Texture is what changes.

Protein and fiber are USDA FoodData Central values for dried beans boiled without salt, worked out per half cup from USDA’s cup weights. The white bean row uses great northern beans. Texture notes for kidney, pinto, black, cannellini and chickpeas are from Daily Meal’s 2024 test of canned beans for chili; the lentil note and the best-for column are our guidance.

Daily Meal’s tester found that kidney beans “have a thicker skin that gives them more structural integrity than some other bean types,” which is why they survive hours in the pot. Pintos are the opposite: creamy and smooth, and the tester simmers them only 5 to 10 minutes at the very end. Black beans have a thinner skin but, in the tester’s words, “hold up surprisingly well.” Chickpeas brought a graininess the tester did not like in chili.

In our view, two beans in one pot is an easy upgrade: kidney beans for shape and pintos for creaminess. If you smoke a pan of beans on the side instead, our Big Green Egg baked beans show the other way to get beans and smoke on the same plate.

Canned or Dried Beans

Canned beans skip the soak and the boil, and they carry salt. USDA lists canned red kidney beans at 256 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams with the liquid, 231 drained and 208 drained and rinsed. USDA lists low-sodium canned black beans at 138 milligrams per 100 grams, against 384 for its regular canned black turtle beans.

How much rinsing helps depends on who measured. NDSU Extension cites a 2011 study that found draining cut sodium 36 percent and draining plus rinsing cut it 41 percent. America’s Test Kitchen’s own lab test found a smaller drop, about 100 milligrams per half-cup serving, or 20.7 to 26.5 percent.

Dried beans cost more time and give you control of the salt and the texture. They also come with the one real safety rule on this page, covered next.

Raw Kidney Beans and the Slow Cooker

Red kidney beans carry a natural toxin, phytohaemagglutinin, and FDA’s Bad Bug Book says it is “in highest concentration in red kidney beans.” White kidney beans, the cannellini, carry about one-third as much. The symptoms are extreme nausea and vomiting within 1 to 3 hours, diarrhea later, and recovery usually within 3 to 4 hours, although some cases have needed a hospital.

Heat destroys it, but only enough heat. FDA says outbreaks have been tied to slow cookers and to casseroles that never got hot enough, and that slow-cooked casseroles often reached only 75°C, about 167°F, or less. NEVER put dried kidney beans straight into a slow cooker.

Steps

1. Soak dried kidney beans in water for at least 5 hours.
2. Pour off the soaking water.
3. Boil the beans in fresh water for at least 30 minutes.
4. Add the boiled beans to the chili, on the stove, in the smoker or in the slow cooker.

Kansas State University gives the same advice: the toxin dies in a 10-minute boil at 212°F, scientists recommend 30 minutes to be certain, and a slow cooker likely will not get hot enough.

When to Add Beans to Chili

Add beans by how much simmer they can take. Kidney beans can go in early with the liquid. Pintos and white beans turn soft fast, so Daily Meal’s tester gives pintos only the last 5 to 10 minutes. Dried beans go in only after the soak and the 30-minute boil above.

Leftover chili with beans goes back to 165°F when you reheat it, the federal number for leftovers and for casseroles with or without meat. Our guide to using a meat thermometer shows where to put the probe.

Beans, Allergies and Sensitive Stomachs

Beans themselves are not on FDA’s list of nine major food allergens: “milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.” The pot around them can be. Wheat can show up as flour used to thicken, so read every label going into the pot.

Peanuts are legumes, so a peanut allergy in the house raises the question. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says most people with a peanut allergy can eat other legumes, and that fewer than 5 to 10 percent of them are allergic to other legumes. Lupin is the one to watch: FDA says people with a peanut allergy may react to it, and it must be named in the ingredient list.

For gluten, the Celiac Disease Foundation lists regular beer as a gluten source and lists mixed spices and pre-seasoned meats as foods that may contain gluten. For a low-FODMAP diet, Monash University says the FODMAPs in beans dissolve in water, so canned beans that are drained and rinsed, or dried beans boiled and drained, tend to be lower in them. Check with your doctor or dietitian about your own case.

Beans in Vegan Chili

In vegan chili, beans do the work the meat would have done. Lentils list the most protein of the six in our table, 8.9 grams per half cup, and pairing them with kidney or black beans gives the pot both body and shape. Vegan chili also leaves out the cheese and sour cream on top.

The International Chili Society runs a Vegetarian category where “The use of meat and/or any meat by-product is not allowed,” beans are allowed, and the consistency “should be like chili, not soup like.” That last line is a good test for a meatless pot at home, too. Reheat it to 165°F like any other leftover. For a smoked plant-based plate to serve alongside, our smoked carrot steaks show what the smoker can do without meat.

Chili Without Beans

Chili without beans needs the meat to carry the bowl. America’s Test Kitchen’s advice for “the best beanless Texas-style chili recipe” is to “start with big chunks of chuck roast,” and it thickens the sauce with a paste of masa harina and water, simmered 5 to 10 minutes. Our smoked chuck roast is a good start for the meat if you want smoke in the bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you put beans in chili?

You can. Merriam-Webster defines chili con carne as a spiced stew “often with beans,” so both styles count. Texas-style red and sanctioned red chili cook-offs leave them out, and ICS Homestyle and People’s Choice require them.

What beans go in chili?

Red kidney, pinto and black beans all work. Kidney beans hold their shape through a long simmer, pintos turn creamy, and white beans go in white chicken chili.

Do you drain and rinse beans for chili?

Draining and rinsing cut sodium 41 percent in a 2011 study cited by NDSU Extension, and 20.7 to 26.5 percent in America’s Test Kitchen’s lab test. Cooks are split: a 53-person forum poll found 36 percent drain and rinse and 25 percent do neither.

Can you put dry beans in a slow cooker for chili?

Not dried kidney beans, red or white cannellini. FDA says slow cookers do not get hot enough to destroy the toxin, so soak them at least 5 hours, pour off the water and boil them in fresh water for at least 30 minutes first.

Why does Texas chili not have beans?

Texas-style chili most often consists solely of meat, chiles and spices, per UTSA Libraries, and CASI, the cook-off group Frank Tolbert founded, bans beans outright.

Beans or no beans, the bowl gets judged by whoever eats it. Cook red with no beans for a CASI cup, cook Homestyle with the can in plain sight, and at home, put in whatever beans your table will eat, boiled first if they started out dry.

Sources: Merriam-Webster; Federal rule for canned chili con carne; Federal rule for chili con carne with beans; Skyline Chili menu; Texas State Library, state symbols; Texas Legislative Reference Library, HCR 18; UTSA Libraries, October is Chili Month; Handbook of Texas, Wick Fowler; CASI rules; International Chili Society rules; AmazingRibs Pitmaster Club poll; USDA FoodData Central; Daily Meal, canned beans for chili; NDSU Extension, All About Beans; America’s Test Kitchen on rinsing beans; FDA Bad Bug Book; Kansas State University on dry beans; FoodSafety.gov temperature chart; FDA food allergies; AAAAI on peanut allergy; FDA on lupin; Celiac Disease Foundation; Monash University on legumes; America’s Test Kitchen chili con carne.

James Nicholas

NFA Firearms Manufacturer & Professional Gunsmith The XDMAN has a talent for taking complex firearms subject matter and breaking it down into an easy-to-understand format that all experience levels can relate to. James is an 07/02 NFA Firearms Manufacturer, a Professional Gunsmith with over 20 years of experience, and a Firearms Writer, Photographer and Firearms Expert. Connect with him on Instagram, X, and Facebook as @therealxdman.

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