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Slow Cooker Beef Chili – Comforting, DELICIOUS, and warm beef chili packed with beans, vegetables, and spices, and cooked in the crock pot. It’s a great choice for a weeknight dinner, but just as good for a crowd-pleasing tailgate dish! Football season, we’re ready for ya!
SLOW COOKER BEEF CHILI
EASY, classic Slow Cooker Beef Chili that takes VERY little effort and makes a perfect meal for the entire family. You can even call up the neighbors and extended family for this recipe because it makes a TON!
This set-it-and-forget-it beef chili takes comfort and flavor straight to your bowl. Making chili in a slow cooker is one of the easiest ways to make this traditional dish. With a low and slow preparation take on Beef Chili, the ingredients meld together into a perfectly delicious and hearty dish.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER CHILI
Beef Chili, how I love thee. I think I know the secret to a really, really good chili – it takes time, patience, and a whole lotta love.
Sure you can make this chili in your beautiful dutch oven in an hour or so, but why bother. Just throw it all in the crock pot, put a lid on it, and forget about it. Come back in 6 hours and serve.
- But first, we have to start with browning the meat in a skillet, as well as the onions.
- Then, you will want to add the onions and beef to your slow cooker.
- Stir in some tomatoes, beef broth, and spices. Plus sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. TRUST ME. Keep in mind, if you like a spicier chili, definitely kick up the spices and add more chili powder.
- Cover with a lid and let it go. For about 5 to 6 hours on LOW.
- Stir in the (canned) beans at the end, heat through, and that’s it.
Best chili on the planet. I promise! …I think. Okay, agreed, taste is subjective, but still…this chili is damn good.
CAN I PUT RAW GROUND BEEF IN THE SLOW COOKER
Yes, you can. You don’t have to brown the meat nor cook the onions if you don’t want to. Just add everything to the slow cooker, cover, and cook for 6 hours on LOW.
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS
- Store completely cooled chili leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
HOW TO FREEZE CHILI
- Store chili in freezer bags and remove air from bags before sealing. Place the bag of chili flat in the freezer and keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- To reheat, remove from freezer and set in the fridge overnight. Transfer thawed chili to a soup pot or dutch oven and reheat over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
MORE SLOW COOKER BEEF RECIPES
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Mozzarella Stuffed Crockpot Meatloaf
- Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
- Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce Italiano
ENJOY!
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Slow Cooker Beef Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion,, diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic,, minced
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes,, undrained
- 1 red bell pepper,, diced
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper,, to taste
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 2 cans (16 ounces each) dark red kidney beans,, rinsed and drained
Toppings
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- sliced green onions, , for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and cook for 1 minute. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in ground beef and cook until browned, stirring occasionally to break up the meat.
- Remove from heat, drain, and transfer beef mixture into the pot of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker, except beans and toppings.
- Cover with a lid and set slow cooker on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove lid and stir in kidney beans; cover and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.
- Ladle into bowls; top with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Garnish with green onions and serve.
Notes
- Store chili in freezer bags and remove air from bags before sealing. Place the bag of chili flat in the freezer and keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- To reheat, remove from freezer and set in the fridge overnight. Transfer thawed chili to a soup pot or dutch oven and reheat over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Everyone loves this! I swapped out 1/2 ground Italian sausage. So 1 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb Italian sausage. I used only 1 can of tomatoes and added more beef broth. Delicious!!
The best chili. But you say sugar is in the recipe but I didnt see it listed in the ingredients and what does cocoa add?
This is a good recipe. I added brown sugar for more flavor depth. It worked well. Thanks for posting!
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I’m doing this recipe today HOWEVER, it states on nutritional facts the facts “per serving” BUT doesn’t state how much a serving is….. is it 1/2 cup or 1 cup or what??
I mixed 2TB masa with 2TB water and added it to the pot in the last half hour to make it a little thicker. Thanks for a great recipe!
I think Cinnamon in the chili is great.
I added green beans instead of the carrot. And I didn’t find pintobeans here in The Netherlands so I replaced them for limabeans.
Everybody loved my chili! I tought I made enough to put some in the freezer, but the pot was empty end of the night 🙂
Excellent recipe! My hubby & I aren’t fans of kidney beans, so I substituted them for just plain old baked beans, and switched the carrot to corn to add a little bit of cruch. Best recipe ever, we were both going back for seconds!
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks, Melanie, for sharing!
I need to work on making good chilis. As my family (minus me) is not into beans, I have been avoiding cooking food with beans (otherwise I’d end up with eating all the beans!). I crave for chilis, and this looks so good – when I come home from a long day of activities etc, I want this to be on the table… ah, nice dish!!!
I agree this is one yummy looking bowl of chili-your photos are so vivid and beautiful 😉