Chili Colossus! Texas Smothers World Record in 4,800 Pounds of Glory

Texas has a record bowl of chili, and it sounds delicious.

Not Texas Chili

I'm going to have to get something out of the way right now. While hunting for facts on the "biggest bowl of chili in Texas", Google-The Great & Powerful, decided to give me facts on the biggest bowl of chili in Pullman, Washington. They have an annual lentil festival and make 300 gallons of lentil chili. Now, let me rephrase that, in Pullman, Washington they make 300 gallons of lentils and call it chili, 'cause that ain't chili.

Mouthwatering Chili

The champion chili in Texas is made like real chili. The ingredients were beef, onions, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, minced garlic in oil, and chili powder. Though a few might dispute the bell pepper, that's a pretty standard chili recipe. I'm going to go on record as saying you don't call something the biggest bowl of chili, and put something weird in it.

Read More: Exploring Texas Chili: Tradition, Ingredients, And The Terlingua Cookoff |

A Tale Of Two Chili's

So here's where all of these thoughts converge and why we may have a bit of a problem. The largest serving of "chili con carne" was set in College Station in 2027. It weighed in at 4,800 pounds (it also had no beans). The lentil mess in Pullman that was called chili came in at 300 gallons. This is where we have to do some fuzzy math. A gallon of water is 8.34 pounds, so 300 gallons should be around 2,502.  I suppose chili is a lot heavier than water, but this would still mean that Texas, with it's REAL chili, comes out as the winner!