Venison Chili Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jun 27, 2025 
Our Easy Venison Chili Recipe features lean yet meaty ground venison (deer meat) and is easy to prepare on the stovetop, complete with a blend of vibrant spices and vegetables, for a bold, delicious, and hearty dish. It’s the perfect cozy dinner for fall and winter!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
We have several different chili recipes on the site, ranging from traditional variations like chili with steak and beer and creamy white chicken chili to more intriguing dishes like buffalo chicken chili, pumpkin pork chili, and chunky vegan chili, which even meat-eaters love.
Why You’ll Love Venison Chili
Today, we are mixing things up with an old/new twist on a classic dish! This Venison Chili Recipe features many of the same ingredients and easy steps as beef or poultry chili, but with an irresistibly unique taste of deer meat.
When making chili with venison, AKA deer meat chili, it’s important to remember that the meat is extremely lean, and can have a slight gamey or wild flavor. To enhance the flavor of the venison in the best possible way, we’ve added tons of fresh vegetables and spices to the chili. The result is a deeply delicious and hearty stew that you’ll make all season long!
Ingredients You Need
- Olive oil – or other high-heat cooking oil, like avocado or canola oil
- Venison – ground deer meat (or finely chopped)
- Onion – peeled and diced
- Bell pepper – seeded and diced
- Celery – diced
- Carrots – shredded and diced
- Garlic – minced
- Cilantro – chopped
- Jalapeños – seeded and diced (optional)
- Spices – chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, salt, and cinnamon
- Crushed tomatoes – low sodium if available (or diced tomatoes)
- Kidney beans – drained (or pinto beans)
- Water – for the chili base
How to Make the Best Venison Chili
Find the full Venison Chili Recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, video tutorial, and cook tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Protein Pointer: For an even higher percentage of protein per serving in the meaty recipe, omit the beans and add a double portion of venison.
Serving Suggestions
Set up a chili bar for one or to feed a crowd! It’s handy to have everything ready to grab in individual bowls. Here are a few favorite chili toppings for you to consider:
- Cheese – shredded cheddar cheese, Colby or Monterey jack, or spicy pepper jack
- Green onions – chopped
- Cilantro – chopped
- Avocado – sliced or diced
- Jalapeños – fresh slices or pickled jalapeños
- Sour cream – or Greek yogurt
- Hot sauce – your favorite kind
- Crushed chips – corn tortilla chips or Fritos
We also love to have tortilla corn chips on the side, or homemade cornbread for a super hearty meal.
You can even use venison chili to make other classic comfort food recipes… Try it on chili cheese fries, Frito pies, a Frito chili burger, or chili dogs!
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s important to remember that the gamey flavor in venison is created by how the deer was killed and processed. A clean kill shot and proper draining/processing produce a lovely, unique, meaty flavor.
However, if you still find the meat tastes a bit “wild” cooking the ground venison meat with plenty of robust spices helps to cut down on the gamey flavor. Allowing the chili to rest for an hour also really brings the seasonings to the forefront.
Start with steps 1-3 as directed in the original recipe, wherein you brown the venison and saute the veggies on the stovetop. Then add all of this goodness and the other ingredients into the crockpot, stir, and cover. Cook the venison stew on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Yes, you can make venison chili in an Instant Pot! Use the Saute function to brown the meat and cook the veggies in the pressure cooker liner. Add the remaining ingredients and lock the lid into place. Pressure cook for 15 minutes, then do a Quick Release.
Cool leftover chili entirely before transferring it to an airtight container. Keep venison chili in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Yes, venison chili freezes very well! Transfer cooled leftovers to an airtight container, and wrap the container in a layer of aluminum foil for extra protection. Store leftover chili in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thaw in the fridge overnight.
Looking for More Easy Soup Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
Venison Chili Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 – 2 ½ pounds ground venison or finely diced venison
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 2 bell peppers seeded and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 carrots shredded and diced
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1-2 jalapenos seeded and diced (optional)
- 4 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 – 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 – 15 ounce cans kidney beans drained
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Set a large 6-8 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the pot. Once hot, add the ground (or finely chopped) venison. Stir and brown the meat, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon.
- Meanwhile, prep and dice all the fresh vegetables and herbs.
- Once the venison is cooked through, add the diced onion, bell pepper, celery, carrot, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeños to the pot. Stir and sauté the vegetables for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the ground chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and cinnamon to the pot. Stir well. Then pour in the crushed tomatoes, drained kidney beans, and water.
- Stir and bring to boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to keep the chili at a simmer. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly, so the venison and beans don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the chili has cooked, it’s a good idea to allow the chili to rest for at least one hour before serving. This allows the flavors to deepen. When ready to serve reheat the chili and serve warm.
I’ve been making venison chili for years and really liked your version. It had a really nice texture, thicker than I’m used to. The splice blend was just right.