Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili

This Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili is a nod to my home in Virginia and the flavors that come from around the state.

This post and recipe is sponsored by Mirum but all opinions are 100% my own.

If I think of everything that’s in this chili, I can pretty much link it all to my home turf of Virginia. When I was working on this chili recipe, I just kept thinking of what flavors reminded me of Virginia and our area.

There are three different types of pork in this chili and if you know anything about Virginia, you now that ham is one of the “flavors of the state”! So I knew I had to put some Virginia ham into this tasty chili recipe. Then I decided that it needed some bacon, because what chili wouldn’t be awesome with bacon. Now normally I would toss in ground beef to my chili recipes but hey, I was making this all about ham and bacon so I couldn’t add in beef! With my dad’s suggestion, I went with a sweet Italian sausage.

Now let’s talk about the parts of this chili that most of us Southerners have their in their pantry at all time.  We always make sure to stock up on these chili staples when we’re at Walmart.

I’ve got Hunt’s® Tomato Paste in this chili, which is what we always use for our chili recipe bases. Then you’ll find a few cans of baked beans in this chili too. What? Baked beans in the chili?

YES!

Baked Beans in chili is fantastic and it’s an awesome way to set your chili apart from all of the others. I used two different kinds of baked beans in this chili, first I used 1 (28 oz ) can BUSH’S® MAPLE CURED BACON BAKED BEANS and the second kind was BUSH’S® VEGETARIAN BAKED BEANS. (again a recommendation by my dad, he loves the vegetarian baked beans). 

Of course we also have a few cans of RO*TEL Chili Fixin’s in here for some extra flavor and a touch of heat. Also, as the title of this chili suggests, there is maple in this recipe too, so you’ve got a bit of heat with a touch of sweet.

 

Now, we don’t eat a ton of spicy foods, so the RO*TEL Chili Fixin’s was plenty of heat for us but if you want more heat in your life…I mean chili, you can totally substitute some of the spicier RO*TEL flavors in this chili recipe.

You can also change up the flavors of BUSH’S® BAKED BEANS but I really recommended the ones I used because they just go great with the bacon and maple that’s in the recipe.

So, let’s cozy up and whip up a batch of this Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili!!

Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili

 

Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili

Yield: 16 CUPS

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

This Maple Bacon and Ham Baked Bean Chili is a nod to my home in Virginia and the flavors that come from around the state.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound thick cut bacon
• 1 (28 oz ) can BUSH’S® VEGETARIAN BAKED BEANS
• 1 (28 oz ) can BUSH’S® MAPLE CURED BACON BAKED BEANS
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 cups water
• 2 (10 oz each) cans RO*TEL Chili Fixin's
• 1 (12 oz ) can Hunt's® Tomato Paste
• 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
• 1 pound Hickory Smoked Boneless Ham Stead, cubed
• 1 ounce Maple Syrup

Instructions

1. Dice Bacon and cook over medium heat in a large stock pot until slightly crisp.
2. Remove bacon from pot and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
3. Drain grease.
4. Add in the diced ham. Heat and brown ham pieces for 2-3 minutes until they are warmed and starting to crisp and brown on the edges.
5. Remove from pot a set aside.
6. Add in sausage and cook over medium heat until browned. Drain grease if needed.
7. Add in Hunt's® Tomato Paste and RO*TEL Chili Fixin's to the ground sausage in the large pot.
8. Pour in water and stir.
9. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, ground mustard, cumin and pepper.
10. Stir.
11. Pour in BUSH’S® MAPLE CURED BACON BAKED BEANS and BUSH’S® VEGETARIAN BAKED BEANS.
12. Stir in the bacon and diced ham.
13. Stir in maple syrup.
14. Bring chili to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
15. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
16. Cover and simmer 1-2 hours.

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