Different Ways to Serve Chilli con Carne

One of the easiest crowd-pleasers to make, chilli con carne is always a winner! Whether you’re cooking for family and friends, or looking to impress dinner guests, making a large batch of one of the tastiest comfort dishes out there is pretty much effortless. There’s nothing we love more than mixing things up a bit, and while we think it’s genuinely impossible to get bored of chilli con carne, we can’t resist the fun in finding new (and tasty!) ways to freshen up our leftovers.

All of the chilli-based dishes we’ve included here have the classic, rich flavours you’d expect from the dinner you know and love, with a twist. Are you ready to spice up chilli night?

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Chilli con Carne

Chilli con Carne itself is a dish that truly has everything: a rich, spiced (to your liking) tomato-based sauce, filling minced meat and lots of nutritious veggies. Our homemade Chilli is so deep in flavour, it’s easy to sneak a variety of hidden veggies past the fussiest eaters at the dinner table. 

Adding more veggies to your pan is a thrifty way to make your pot of chilli go a little further; you’ll have more leftovers to get creative with on another day, and you won’t leave stray veggies going to waste in the fridge either. Winner!

Our top tip for making the most of your chilli con carne? Stay organised! It can be easy to lose track of the leftover portions you’ve got waiting to be enjoyed in the freezer. Our Family Meal Planner comes with a Freezer Tracker feature –  dedicated space for noting down what’s in your freezer, so you’ll never miss out on the time-saving convenience of using up pre-made portions of family favourites. 

The new planner’s OUT NOW and you can grab your copy here.

Aside from being a batch-cooking dream, we love that chilli con carne’s crowd-pleasing flavours are incredibly easy to build a meal around. You can use a variety of accompaniments to finish off your plate so that family chilli night is as hearty (or as light!) as it needs to be.

Served over fluffy boiled rice, crispy fresh veg or Creamy Mashed Potatoes, chilli never disappoints.

Chill Bowls

Whether you’ve got a pre-made portion of chilli at the ready, or you’re cooking up chilli from scratch, you can have our Chilli Bowls ready in less than half an hour (prep included!). By using baked tortilla wraps as crunchy, edible bowls, we’ve added a whole new level of crunch to a classic recipe. 

It’s not chilli con carne unless there’s cheese involved, so we’ve added a sprinkling of melty reduced-fat cheddar to finish off our bowls. Using a Deiss grater will make sure a little bit of cheese goes a long way (it’s useful but sharp, so be extra-careful!).

If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s no need to stop there – you can always add guacamole or sour cream to pile on more Mexican-inspired flavours.

In no rush? Come home to a ready-to-serve pot of deliciousness by leaving our slow cooker version simmering throughout the day. So easy!

Chilli Pasta Bake

With so many inexpensive store cupboard ingredients involved, our Chilli Pasta Bake is a budget-friendly wonder. Combining the best of two delicious worlds, you get all the satisfying, crunchy cheesiness of an oven-baked pasta dish, with the fiery flavours of a one-pot chilli dinner. What’s not to love?

With fresh carrots, courgettes, mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers, there’s no shortage of nutritious veggies involved too. Don’t worry if you don’t have dried fusilli in the cupboard, your favourite pasta shape is bound to work just as well.

Chilli Cheesy Nachos

Comfort food alert! Nothing says cosy night-in with a film quite like our Chilli Cheesy Nachos. If you’ve already got a portion of lovingly pre-made chilli con carne waiting in the fridge or freezer, you’re already halfway there. All that’s left to do is rustle up a batch of Crispy Potato Wedges.  

This one will inevitably end up on repeat, so it’s a good idea to freshen things up each time by playing around with different coatings on your wedges. Try going heavy with smoked paprika the first time around, and making them garlicky and peppery the next – no one’s ever going to get bored! 

You can’t miss our bright and colourful Mexican Corn on the Cob recipe once it’s on the table. With fresh, crunchy corn, a lime-infused yoghurt dressing and melty cheese, it’s an irresistible addition to any Mexican-inspired feast. 

Why not serve it up along with our nachos for a slimming-friendly flavour fiesta?

Chilli Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins

Freshening up a batch of chilli con carne doesn’t get much simpler than with our Chilli Stuffed Potato Skins. By using sweet potato skins as nifty, edible bowls to bake our chilli con carne recipe, we’ve created an irresistibly crunchy midweek dinner everyone will be looking forward to. 

We don’t waste an inch of sweet potato! While we scoop out the flesh to make room for our comforting chilli filling, we make sure to layer it over our chilli meat before they go back in the oven. Don’t forget a sprinkling of cheese on top for good measure, of course!

Fancy a break from meat? You can always whip up a chilli ‘non’ carne version of this recipe by using leftovers from our Vegan Chilli as an alternative filling.

Chilli Meatball Orzo

Chilli con carne inspired meatballs, anyone? Using a combination of ingredients you’d expect to find in a classic chilli con carne, our Chilli Meatball Orzo calls in the risotto-like consistency of orzo to create a deceptively indulgent dish. By rolling our reduced-fat mince into juicy, pan-fried meatballs, you can serve up the signature flavours you’d find in a classic one-pot chilli to the whole family, with a delicious difference they’ll love.

At only 358 calories per serving, we’d say it’s well worth trying something different…

It’s best to rustle up this dish in a hob-safe casserole dish, so your chilli flavours can bubble away nice and evenly. 

Enchilada Lasagne

As far as places to put your chilli con carne leftovers go, you won’t find a much tastier space than the layers in our Enchilada Lasagne recipe. By using low-calorie tortilla wraps instead of pasta sheets as our tasty foundation, we’ve cut the calories without losing out on filling satisfaction. Stack the chilli filling and oven-friendly veggies on top of the tortilla wrap base and repeat until you’ve got a full tin of chilli-filled lasagne goodness.
There’s nothing more disappointing than lovingly baking a lasagne that falls down at the final hurdle. When you bake lasagne in a springform tin, it’s easy to serve up neat, tidy-looking lasagne wedges every time.

Simply run your knife around the edge of your lasagne, after it’s had a little time to cool, and carefully lift the tin away. How good does it look?

The (delicious!) gift that keeps on giving, there are countless ways you can get creative with those chilli con carne portions you’ve got sitting in the freezer. 

Which chilli recipe will you make first?

We’re so excited to see which of our chilli-based dishes you rustle up first! Tell us over in our Facebook group, where there are almost 1 million members sharing ideas and inspiration. 

Your pictures never fail to make us hungry! Our PON gallery is loaded with drool-worthy submissions from our fab community. Outside of swapping recipe photos, you can also share tips and be in with a chance of grabbing some PON SWAG.