Canned chili has been getting increasingly expensive. So much so that I began to wonder if home canned chili was less.
I can chili using the chili recipe in Ball Blue Book: guide to preserving but I use less salt and use a jalapeno instead of a hot red pepper. It includes ground beef, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, chili powder, salt, jalapeno, and cumin seed. My price comparisons consider the ingredients of that recipe.
One recipe of chili using ground chuck yielded 7 pints and a little more. The total cost for 1 recipe of chili was $20.06 because I was able to get the ground beef for $3 per pound. (I didn’t add the insignificant cost of the garlic, salt, and cumin seed into the total.) So, the cost of 1 pint is $2.87. Using leaner beef will yield 8 pints but at an increased cost per pint.
I checked the prices of 15-ounce cans of chili without beans at my local HEB. The price range was $2.28 to $4.98 for 6 different brands, both house brands and national brands. My home canned chili was less than 3 of the 6 brands, including my preferred brand Hormel.
So, what about chili with beans? To make home canned chili with beans you just add a can or pint of beans to the home canned chili.
HEB pinto beans were .92 per 15-ounce can. Home canned pinto beans using dry pinto beans that are $1.24/lb. would be .35 per pint. Add either of those to the price of the home canned chili to get the price of chili with beans. Both versions are less than all 6 brands of chili with beans. Even with $4 ground beef, the chili with beans would be less than 5 of the 6 brands using purchased canned beans and less than all 6 with home canned beans.
The cost effectiveness of home canned chili depends primarily on the price of the beef. If the price of ground beef can’t justify canning chili, in your mind, consider that there are no added fillers (like soy products) and no other additives. Also, you control both the salt and the heat level of the chiles and spices. Those advantages of home canned chili may sway your decision to can chili at home. Plus, home canned chili is not subject to national recalls!
For the details and numbers, click here.
