12 Big-Pot Game-Day Chilis and Stews That Keep Everyone Full Until the Final Whistle

We’ve got spicy and complex stews and chilis to keep you warm this Super Bowl season, including chili con carne, veggie chili, tortellini soup, and more.

By
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily has worked as a food writer and editor for ten years, across publications such as Lucky Peach, Epicurious, Bon Appétit, and The New York Times Cooking.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published January 26, 2026
Overhead view of chili con carne

Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

It’s OK if you haven’t really thought about the main you’re going to serve at your Super Bowl Party. The Super Bowl is all about loading up on appetizers, many of them involving cheddar cheese on cream cheese on sour cream. But, if you’re hosting, it’s nice to have a pot of chili on hand for people who, sensibly, want to fill up on something that resembles a more balanced meal, rather than just chips and gooey dip. We have a chili recipe for every kind of eater: the purist Texan,  the vegetarian, the New Mexico pork-over-beef sensualist, the beans-go-in-chili contrarian, and the vegan. We’ve also got some other hearty soup and stew ideas for people who want to think a little outside of the box, including a creamy tortellini soup and a vegan baked potato soup. And if you’re reading this a few hours before people come over for kickoff, check out our pressure cooker recipes that give you long-simmered flavors in just one hour.

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  • The Best Chili Ever

    A white speckled ceramic bowl holding chili topped with corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream, sliced jalapenos, avocado, and scallions. There are saltine crakers on the plate underneath the bowl of chili, and the periphery of the image has small bowls of additional toppings.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Okay, so the Best Chili Ever is always going to be a debated title. But this one is the product of hours and hours of testing and perfecting—ready for you to keep the experimentation going, to make the best even better. A few things make this one really good: Toasting dried chiles and using whole spices to make your own spice blend will lead to an astronomically better flavor than a pre-made blend. Cooking kidney beans from dried requires a bit more effort than using canned—but it comes with serious rewards. And using whole short ribs, then chopping them after they’ve stewed for a long time, will pay dividends in flavor.

  • Fully Loaded Vegan Baked Potato Soup Recipe

    Three bowls of fully loaded vegan baked potato soup.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Even versions of this dish that don’t cater to dietary restrictions can be disappointing. The soup can be gluey, and the “fully loaded” can simply end up meaning a sprinkle of bacon and a glop of sour cream on top. Here, former Serious Eats editor Kenji set out to make not only an excellent vegan baked potato soup, but one that earned the title fully-loaded all around. If you prefer your potato soup loaded with dairy, bacon, and cheese, check out Genevieve's take on loaded baked potato soup as well.

  • Original Texas Chili Con Carne

    Overhead view of chili con carne

    Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

    If you were annoyed by the fact that the recipe above labeled “the best chili ever” contains beans, we’re glad you didn’t stop reading and have made it to this genuine Texas chili recipe—absolutely no beans or tomato included. They key is using a variety of dried chiles that bring different flavors to the table, including heat, sweetness, fruit-forward flavors, and smokiness.

  • Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken and Black Bean Stew Recipe

    2 mugs of chicken and black bean soup with a bowl of limes on the side.

    Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

    If you’re entertaining last-minute this Super Bowl Sunday, the pressure cooker is your best friend. In this easy and quick soup, the pressure cooker will give you fall-off-the-bone tender chicken and fully cooked dried black beans in just one hour.

    Continue to 5 of 12 below

  • The Best Vegetarian Bean Chili Recipe

    A large bowl of vegetarian bean chili topped with sliced avocado, scallions, cilantro, and white onion. The periphery of the image contains a wide variety of plates and bowls holding tortillas, sliced limes, and additional chili.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

    To make a good vegetarian chili, you must treat it with the same care and importance as a long-stewed chile con carne. That means harnessing the combined power of multiple types of chiles to deliver a layered flavor profile—not just heat—to the stew. Chickpeas feature here, and while they may not feel obvious in a chili, they linger in the background and add nutty flavor and make the stew creamy, while the typical kidney beans can more obviously shine. A long stew time and a splash of liquor at the end ensure complexity here.

  • Carne Adovada (New Mexico-Style Pork With Red Chiles) Recipe

    20121127-carne-adovada-pork-chili-stew-20.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    Chile con carne’s New Mexican counterpart, the pork-based carne adovada, may require more patience to get right, but when you finally nail it, the result is soul-deep satisfying. As with the con carne, you’ll brown only one side of the pork to balance flavor development with the moisture retention crucial for tenderness. Raisins and orange juice lend fruity sweetness, while canned chipotle peppers and fish sauce bring serious complexity and heat.

  • Jamaican Beef Stew With Rice Recipe

    040313-246922-Sunday-Supper-Jamaican-Beef-StewB.jpg
    Jennifer Olvera

    In this classic and hearty Jamaican dish, habaneros lend formidable spice, but also beautiful fruit flavor. As always, browning your meat on the stovetop will build depth of flavor, while a slow cook in the oven ensures that it’s extremely tender. This dish is arguably even better the next day, so it's the perfect make-ahead recipe for your party.

  • Vegan Sweet Potato and 2-Bean Chili With Hominy

    20140202-vegan-sweet-potato-chili-beans-recipe-16.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    This vegan chili recipe borrows many key flavor-building techniques from the vegetarian chili above, including the use of whole dried chiles, toasted to deepen their complexity. It also incorporates liquor to add depth and help bloom other flavors, while orange juice, raisins, and soy sauce balance sweetness and saltiness. Here, sweet potato and hominy give the chili a creamy texture and subtly sweet flavor profile.

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  • Creamy Tortellini Soup

    Overhead view of lifting up a spoon of tortellini from soup

    Serious Eat / Amanda Suarez

    Chili may get all the attention on game day, but creamy, hearty tortellini soup is just as crowd-pleasing—and, depending on the chili recipe, much easier to make. This version features Italian sausage, fresh fennel, and fennel seeds, ensuring a fragrant broth with subtle hints of anise. A finishing touch of pesto and Parm makes each bite nutty and herbaceous.

  • The Best White Chili With Chicken

    3 blue bowls of chicken, on a chambray textile with 2 glasses of sparking water

    Serious Eats / Greg Dupree

    If your Super Bowl table is already packed with rich appetizers, you might not feel the need to serve a main dish. But white chicken chili is worth considering—it delivers the protein and balanced substance of a full meal, without the weight of its beef and pork-based counterparts. In this version, green chiles, onions, and garlic are browned under the broiler to build smoky flavor. Puréeing these aromatics with fat-bloomed spices and broth creates a robust base, similar to a curry paste. A final splash of lime juice and pickled jalapeño brine keeps the flavors bright and punchy.

  • Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Chili With Cornbread Dumplings

    Overhead view of pulled pork chili

    Serious Eats / Morgan Eisenberg

    Pork shoulder becomes meltingly tender and juicy in the slow cooker, while a mixture of dried chiles and fresh peppers lends nuance to the stew. But the real star here is the cornbread topping: Make a drier-than-usual batch and it will form perfect dumplings that float atop the chili, adding satisfying sweetness and texture.

  • Spicy Chorizo and Pinto Bean Chili

    20140430-chorizo-chili-4.jpg
    J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

    When it comes to shortcuts that still yield deeply flavored chili—the kind that tastes like it’s been simmering all day—store-bought fresh Mexican chorizo is your best ally. It’s so potent that the principle we’ve emphasized throughout this collection—that mixed dried chiles beat chili powder—can be set aside here. Boost the spice mix with a bit of extra onion, garlic, cumin, and oregano, and deploy the umami secret weapon: fish sauce. The stew simmers for only about 30 minutes, but it tastes like it’s been cooking all day.

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