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Published: by Brigette on October 16, 2025 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This chili with cornbread dinner is a family-friendly, budget-conscious meal that’s easy to prepare and packed with flavor. It’s the perfect go-to recipe for busy weeknights or simple weekend meals.

This post is part of our $10 Dinner Ideas series, brought to you by Brigette on our team! Each week, she will be sharing easy, delicious, and affordable family-friendly dinner ideas that cost less than $10 to make, use everyday ingredients, and are super quick meals.

Three-Bean Chili and Cornbread

This is the perfect meal for a chilly fall evening! And anytime I can make a large pot of chili and an entire pan of cornbread that my entire family likes for less than $10 – that’s a win in my book!

The soup recipe is SO flexible. I threw in an extra half can of garbanzo beans that was sitting in my fridge and an extra cup of chicken broth to stretch it a little further.

Another easy addition would be corn. The topping possibilities are pretty much endless… think shredded cheese, corn chips, sour cream, chopped cilantro, green onions, black olives, etc.

In fact, if you’re really short on time, you could skip making the cornbread and serve this with a bag of tortilla/corn chips instead. It’s about the same price comparison. But I recommend the cornbread if you have five extra minutes to stir a few things together. 🙂

A pot of three-bean chili sits on a dark table, with a bowl of shredded cheese and a rectangular baking dish filled with freshly baked cornbread.

Three-Bean Chili Chowder and Cornbread Dinner Menu:

A variety of ingredients for a chili and cornbread recipe are laid out on a dark table,

Ingredients for Dinner with Three Bean Chili Chowder and Cornbread

Three Bean Chili Ingredients

2 cups cooked, diced chicken (this is equivalent to 3/4-lb uncooked chicken) (Aldi — $2.49/lb) – $2

1 large onion (or two small) (Aldi) – $0.30

2 Tablespoons oil (Aldi – $2.89 for 48oz) – $0.06

2 cans of diced tomatoes (Aldi – $0.75 per can) – $1.50

1 cup chicken broth (Aldi – $1.79 for 25 bouillon cubes. I used 2 cubes and 2 cups water) – $0.14

3/4 cup salsa (Aldi – $1.99 for 2.5 cups) – $0.60

3 cans beans (Aldi – $0.77 per can) – $2.31

Shredded cheese (Publix – $1.99 for 8oz) – $1.49

Salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and other spices, as desired

Total for Chili: $8.40 (serves 6)

Cornbread Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (Harris Teeter — $1.97 for 5lbs) – $0.15

1 1/4 cups cornmeal (Aldi – $2.85 for 15 cups) – $0.24

1/2 cup oil (Aldi – $2.89 for 48oz) – $0.25

2/3 cup sugar (Aldi – $2.86 for 4lbs) – $0.20

2 eggs (Aldi – $2.68 per dozen) – $0.44

1 3/4 cups milk (Aldi – $3.05 for 16 cups) – $0.33

baking powder

salt

Total for Cornbread: $1.61 (serves 8-10)

Grand Total for Dinner: $10.01 (serves 6+)

How to Make Three Bean Chili Chowder and Cornbread

1. Follow the directions here to make World’s Easiest Cornbread.

A bright green mixing bowl filled with easy 5-minute cornbread batter sits on a dark kitchen counter.

A white baking pan is filled with cornbread batter sitting on a kitchen table.

A freshly baked pan of golden cornbread sits in a white ceramic baking dish on a dark countertop.

2. While cornbread is baking, follow the directions here for the Three Bean Chili recipe. (Oh, and be sure to add the extra step of blending the salsa and diced tomatoes together with a stick blender before putting them into the pot if your family is like mine and hates chunks of tomatoes and other vegetables in their chili. Haha!)

A red immersion blender is mixing a bowl of blended tomatoes on a black granite countertop for chili.

A green colander is filled with beans in a stainless steel sink.

3. Shred the cheese.

A bowl of three-bean chili topped with shredded cheese, served on a blue plate with two thick slices of cornbread.

Recipe

Three-Bean Chili Chowder with Cornbread ($10 Dinner Idea)

Author Brigette

Course Bread, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
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Three-Bean Chili Chowder Ingredients

2 cups cooked diced chicken (this is equivalent to 3/4-lb uncooked chicken) (Aldi — $2.49/lb) – $21 large onion or two small (Aldi) – $0.302 Tablespoons oil Aldi – $2.89 for 48oz – $0.062 cans diced tomatoes Aldi – $0.75 per can – $1.501 cup chicken broth Aldi – $1.79 for 25 bouillon cubes. I used 2 cubes and 2 cups water – $0.143/4 cup salsa Aldi – $1.99 for 2.5 cups – $0.603 cans beans Aldi – $0.77 per can – $2.316 oz shredded cheese Publix – $1.99 for 8oz – $1.491 teaspoon cumin pepper, garlic, cumin, and other spices, as desired1/4 teaspoon salt