We May Have Started An Internet War Over Whether Or Not Beans Belong In Chili (2024)

Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner, which means it's time to celebrate with some of our favorite game day foods. Team Delish loves to dig into creamy dips and massive trays of nachos, but the real star of the show is a pot of homemade chili.

Whether you like to serve it atop a hot dog, add it to a cozy queso dip, or just eat it on its own, the Super Bowl is like an unofficial chili holiday. And each corner of the country has their own signature version that they believe reigns supreme. Chili can come in so many different forms, but no chili ingredient is as controversial as the humble bean.

Who would have thought that a simple legume would stir up so much drama on the internet? We posed a question on our social media feeds—do beans belong in chili, or on top of it? The answer: nobody can agree on an answer. And people will go to the ends of the earth to defend their position.

On Facebook, one user was decidedly pro-bean, even arguing that chili isn't chili without them. "In. It’s not chili without beans. It’s meat sauce," they wrote. Others cosigned this take, even self-described bean haters.

"Well I’m not a huge bean fan but for chili I think they should be in it!" one person said.

"I use two kinds of beans and both go in with chili," another wrote.

Other commenters, on the other hand, have a different opinion.

One user presented a pretty convincing argument: "Chili is a stand alone dish. If you add beans, it becomes chili bean soup. Same with chili spaghetti, chili and rice, or chili and whatever else you want to jack it up with. I like to put chunks of cornbread in navy bean soup. That doesn't mean cornbread belongs in navy bean soup."

Someone even said that chili without beans isn't the real kind. "Real chili doesn't have beans!" they wrote.

We asked the same question on our Instagram story, and followers were more in agreement. Nearly 90 percent of voters believed that beans DO belong in chili, but that's still not a clean sweep.

To get to the bottom of the issue, we took the question to the best food experts we know: our team of Delish editors.

The majority of us believed that beans are an essential part of our favorite chili recipes, but there were a few caveats. According to our Associate Culinary Producer Justin Sullivan, "BEANS GO IN CHILI unless it's specifically called 'Texas' chili."

Associate SEO Editor Allie Arnold and Director of Photography Chelsea Lupkin both agree that if you're planning to top your hot dog with chili, keep beans out of it.

I, as a proud New Mexican, take an arguably more controversial stance. Chile (with an e, thank you very much) has neither beans NOR meat. It should be a smooth sauce to spoon over a bowl of beans, hominy, and your meat of choice.

What kind of chili are you making this weekend, and what's your stance on Beangate? Let us know in the comments!