Effortlessly Add More Flavor To Chili With One Juicy Ingredient

A comforting winter classic that's as easy to make as it is to devour, chili is a warming, one-pot masterpiece. At its most basic, the spoonable meat or veggie and broth-based dish features stewed chiles, and, unless you're in Texas, tomatoes and beans. Although it doesn't take Michelin-star chef skills to make a great batch of chili, if your pot lacks flavor, you might as well feed it to the dogs. To make a chili that's truly noteworthy, you'll need some secret ingredients. But if you don't quite have that passed-down heirloom kitchen wisdom, we'll clue you in on one unsuspecting must-try ingredient that will send your stew into the stratosphere: V8.

Made with seven vegetables, the original V8 recipe is a 100% juice blend made from tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach that is deeply savory with hints of rustic earthiness. It's almost surprising that chili recipes don't already call for the stuff. The beverage's tangy vegetal notes complement the meatiness of ground beef, culminating in a more dynamic and well-rounded flavor profile. Although the original V8 recipe works great in chili, the brand offers various vegetable juice blends, giving you plenty of options for jazzing up your recipe. From spicy chipotle to hot honey and pickle-infused blends, there's a V8 for every chili formula. And because chili is already steeped in spoon-sippable broth, introducing a juice blend won't disrupt the consistency of the dish.

Other than browning and seasoning the meat and knowing when to add your ingredients, making chili is notoriously easy, even for foodies new to cooking. Luckily, introducing V8 doesn't have to complicate the process, regardless of whether you're making slow cooker spicy turkey chili or a basic three-bean vegetarian chili, but keeping a few simple tips in mind can help you get the most out of your vegetable juice-infused chili.

When introducing V8 into a chili recipe, consider how the extra liquid will affect the ratios of your chili. Reduce the amount of broth, water, or other liquids in the recipe to account for the V8, ensuring the chili doesn't become too soupy. To maintain agency over the salt content of your chili, consider using low-sodium V8. If you can't locate a low-sodium option, introduce table salt gradually and taste as you go to ensure that it's not too salty. Although V8 is an easy way to bolster the flavor of your chili, spices and seasonings are still essential. Don't add V8 as a chili finisher – let it simmer with the rest of the ingredients to let its flavor deepen into the pot. This unsuspecting chili upgrade isn't just for the homemade stuff, so don't hesitate to use V8 to upgrade canned chili, which often needs a little jazzing up in the flavor department.