The Genius Chili Topping We Wish We’d Known About Sooner

In the fall and winter, a bowl of chili is our go-to when we're in need of cozy comfort food. The dense stew is a complete meal and inherently an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink situation. You can keep it simple or load it up with beans, corn, ground beef, spices and an array of veggies and proteins—and that's before you get to the toppings. We've always liked to sprinkle on shredded cheese, sour cream and fresh herbs, but we recently discovered a new (and surprising) chili topper we can't wait to try.

Related: 50 Best Homemade Chili Recipes for Easy Dinners

Why You Should Add Chocolate Chips to Your Chili

The chili topping you probably haven't thought about? Chocolate chips. It can take some tasting and tinkering to properly season a big batch of chili. Try as you might, your final bowl of chili might still taste a bit lackluster sometimes and that's where chocolate chips come in. 

"Dark chocolate chips...adds real depth and a velvety savoriness," to chili says the legendary British cookbook author Nigella Lawson. The chocolate chips melt into the chili, adding a little bit of sweetness and some deep, earthy flavor, which adds complexity to your chili. And no, it's not going to taste like dessert. You just add a small amount of chocolate chips to enhance the flavor. One of our favorite steak rubs, a combo of cocoa powder and coffee, uses similar logic.

Related: The French-Approved Way to Eat a Chocolate Bar

The Best Types of Chocolate Chips to Add to Chili

As mentioned, Nigella Lawson likes to use dark chocolate. Depending on your taste and what you have on hand, you can feel free to use semisweet or milk chocolate chips. You can also cut up part of a dark chocolate bar and use that instead.

Related: People Love Aldi Chocolate Bars. We Ranked Our Top 10

How Much Chocolate Chips to Add to Chili

To a bowl of chili, add 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips and stir. Looking to add more fun to your bowl? Take the lead of Maya Rudolph (yes, the comedian extraordinaire and the lady playing Kamala Harris right now on Saturday Night Live). "If I didn't love Maya enough already, I fell head over heels in love with her all over again because of her chili. Anyone who combines chocolate chips and Fritos is a hero," writes rapper Questlove about Maya's chocolate-topped chili recipe featured in his cookbook, Mixtape Potluck Cookbook: A Dinner Party for Friends, Their Recipes, and the Songs They Inspire.

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If you want to further harness the power of chocolate in chili, cooks like Nigella recommend that you add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips as the last step of cooking any chili recipe. Give the chocolate chips a good stir so they melt into the chili, then let everything simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can meld.

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