A chili cookoff is a social event, similar to a barbecue, in which competitors prepare their own particular recipe for chili con carne and submit it for taste testing. A cookoff may be an informal gathering with the simple goal of sharing recipes and enjoying food, or it may be a large-scale event with an official panel of judges and substantial prizes for winners.

The Chili Appreciation Society International sanctions over 550 cookoffs annually that raise over $1,000,000.00 for charity. Corporate CASI, which has the function of sanctioning all of these cookoffs, doing the necessary work to tabulate cookoff results, and putting on the annual Terlingua International Chili Championship, has an annual income of approximately $250,000.00. Out of this annual income, not only were we able to cover all of the associated costs and expenses of the TICC, but we were able to contribute close to $60,000.00 to charity. Keep in mind that CASI is a 501(c)(3) corporation, which means that we have no compensated officers or employees. This allows us to channel all of our excess profits to charity.

The International Chili Society (ICS) organizes chili cookoffs as fundraisers. Its annual cookoffs are on a grand scale, with regional qualifying events around the world attracting tens of thousands of participants and a "World Championship" cookoff held in October. The ICS has raised millions of dollars for charity while still awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars to winners.

As early as 1970, many communities have hosted non-ICS cookoffs, leading to a competing "World Championship" cookoff in Terlingua, Texas.

Notable cookoffs include:

the Chilympiad in San Marcos, Texas (for men only)

the Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned cookoff in Luckenbach, Texas

the Chili Appreciation Society International Chili Championship in Terlingua, Texas

the Frank X. Tolbert/Wick Fowler World Chili Championships in Terlingua, Texas