Last Updated on December 8, 2023
Homemade chili is one of my family’s specialties. When my husband graduated from college, his mom gave him a handwritten notebook with recipes so he’d be able to cook some of the same things he’d grown up eating. We use that cookbook regularly, whether we’re making biscuits with homemade sausage gravy or creamed chipped beef over toast. One of our favorite recipes is for chili.
One of the things that makes my mother-in law’s chili special is that it calls for Bush’s Baked Beans. The baked beans add a touch of sweetness that hits the spot. We make the chili in our slow cooker, and it’s nice to be able to toss all the ingredients in and let it simmer all day. It’s great for evenings when we’re busy with school events and we want to come home and have dinner all ready.
Our homemade chili is so good — and so easy to make — that I rarely buy ready-made chili. The only exception might be if we’re going camping and need simple food we can heat easily on a camp stove with a minimum of pots and pans that need washing afterward. That’s when I might be likely to buy canned chili from someplace like Aldi or a dollar store.
But sometimes you can find ready-made chili that’s sold frozen rather than in a can. That was the case recently at Aldi, where I picked up a single-serve package of frozen chili from the Aldi Find freezer aisle.
Bremer Bistro Beef & 3 Bean Chili is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a limited time. Each store receives one shipment, and after that sells out, it’s gone unless Aldi decides to bring it back at a later time. You can’t order this chili online from Aldi if it’s sold out at your local store.
Bremer Bistro Beef & 3 Bean Chili cost $3.99 for an 11.8-ounce package at the time of publication. That comes out to about 34 cents per ounce.
If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk and soy.
This contains traditional chili ingredients including beef, tomatoes, tomato juice, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, diced green chilies, and seasonings, along with corn, cilantro, and cheese. I even spotted cocoa on the ingredients list. However, its lengthy ingredients list also includes a lot of processed ingredients such as natural flavor, dextrose, xanthan gum, and an antifoaming agent, to name a few.
Nutrition information, ingredients, and heating directions. (Click to enlarge.)
Besides that, this meal is loaded with sodium (so is the Aldi canned chili, and probably any ready-made chili). It does have a good amount of dietary fiber and protein, though. One package contains one serving, which has 330 calories, 7 grams of total fat (9% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 60 mg of cholesterol (20% DV), 880 mg of sodium (38% DV), 39 grams of total carbohydrates (14% DV), 11 grams of dietary fiber (39% DV), 9 grams of total sugars, no added sugars, and 30 grams of protein.
The box has directions for heating this from frozen in a microwave. Take the chili out of the freezer. Leave the film top in place but poke holes to vent. Place the tray in the microwave and heat on high for 3 minutes. Remove from the microwave and carefully remove the film. Use caution, as the steam will be hot. Stir and heat on high for an additional 2-3 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute before serving. Stir and enjoy.
Ready to serve.
This came out of the microwave piping hot. It is a lot of plastic to go in the microwave, between the film and the plastic tray. Some people might prefer to empty the contents into a microwave-safe dish before heating. You could also empty the contents into a small pan on the stove and heat it that way.
In terms of taste, first of all, this is medium spicy. Second, the addition of corn kind of makes me look at this as more of a spicy beef and vegetable stew instead of chili. I don’t think it has a classic chili flavor, and it doesn’t taste how I expected it to. It doesn’t taste like any canned chili I’ve had, nor does it taste like Wendy’s chili or other restaurant chili. It also doesn’t taste at all like the chili (usually canned) that restaurants or diners will spoon over your chili dog.
But it’s not bad. It does contain plenty of beans, corn, and beef. It has a very thick consistency almost like tomato sauce or tomato paste. The cheese shown in the photo on the box melts into the chili, and you don’t really taste it. Adding some crackers or Fritos-style corn chips is a nice touch, though they won’t make an already salty dish any healthier.
This chili is all right, but it didn’t impress me enough to make me want to buy it again. I still like my homemade chili better.
The Verdict:
Bremer Bistro Beef & 3 Bean Chili features ground beef, beans, corn, and plenty of spices. This is medium spicy, and it has a thick consistency. It’s high in sodium and kind of tastes more like a spicy beef and vegetable stew than chili, but the flavor is all right if you like food with a kick.
Agreed as to the superiority of most homemade chili over the ready-made stuff. I do use beanless canned chili as a topping for chili dogs, and I’ve occasionally tried Hormel turkey chili for a quick lunch (not for a long while lately, though). I order chili instead of French fries at fast food restaurants: DQ’s was OK but not great (and is no longer available locally); Wendy’s was pretty good, but has gone downhill locally; Culver’s chili has been consistently good.
The best option for chili would probably be to buy the ingredients for homemade chili at Aldi, instead of settling for a ready-made product.
I would love to get your family chili recipe!
Here you go: https://www.awelladvisedlife.com/how-to-make-slow-cooker-chili/
I usually add some chili powder and cumin to the slow cooker as well, and if I have any diced bell pepper or jalapeno in my freezer, I toss some of that in, too.