Chilli con carne will taste 'perfect' when 1 cheap cupboard ingredient is added to pot

Kitchen cupboards are often full of half-used or forgotten seasoning jars and sachets. The same goes for the back of the fridge, where many of us are guilty of placing half-used bottles of sauce that end up going off after a few weeks. However, a flavour expert says that these places are exactly where you may find the key to making our favourite dishes even better, including chilli con carne.

This Mexican classic can be prepared in countless ways, including in a slow cooker, oven, hob, or even an air fryer. The flavour of this beloved dinner favourite relies heavily on the spice combination used to enhance the tomato base and, traditionally, beef mince. Many home cooks reach for Worcestershire or brown sauce to give their recipe a distinctive twist, but Matt Webster, a culinary and flavour specialist from Seasoned Pioneers, proposes a different ingredient.

Commonly found in sweet treats, Matt argued that cinnamon has its place in savoury cooking as well.

Speaking previously to Express.co.uk, he revealed: "Enhance your chilli con carne into a restaurant-quality dish in the comfort of your home by adding a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon.

"Cinnamon is the perfect spice to add to this home-cooked meal, as it rounds out all the flavours in the dish, bringing warmth to the chilli con carne - without adding too much spice and overpowering other flavours in the dish."

Matt's chilli con carne recipe

Ingredients

• One tin of chopped tomatoes
• Two tbsp tomato puree
• 450g minced beef
• One onion, diced
• Two tbsp olive oil
• One tsp smoked garlic powder
• One tsp smoked paprika
• Two tsp ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 tsp chilli powder
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp pepper

Method

Turn up the heat to medium, add the beef, and cook for a further three minutes. Now sprinkle in the spices: smoked paprika, garlic powder, cinnamon, chilli powder, and tomato paste, giving it a good stir to meld the flavours together.

Chuck in the kidney beans next, followed by the tinned tomatoes, and don't be shy with the salt and pepper, giving it another thorough mix.

Then, drop the heat to a gentle simmer and let the chilli con carne bubble away for about 10 minutes until it's nicely thickened.

Matt recommended: "Serve with some sour cream, guacamole, cheese, and tortilla chips to create your own Mexican feast from the comfort of your home!".