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Chili is the ultimate fall comfort food. Perfect for gameday or any chilly fall/winter day. I LOVE cooking meals in my Crock-Pot thanks to the set-it-and-forget-it approach. Dinner can be prepped and wrapped up around noon so you can be lazy for the rest of the day/evening. Plus your house will smell of pure deliciousness all day.
Serve chili on its own or over noodles, or I highly recommend some maple bourbon cornbread. One of my favorite meats to cook in a slow cooker is pork shoulder. And if you want a real showstopper that cooks hands-off, try out some beef short ribs in the oven.
Table of Contents
Chili Ingredients
My chili recipe uses your classic chili ingredients. My only real substitution is using Guinness/stout in place of beef broth plus a few tweaks here and there. The perfect chili should be fresh with whole ingredients, and smokey with a touch of heat and sweetness from some brown sugar. Some details and substitutions below.
- 85% lean ground beef: Can go leaner if you prefer or even use ground turkey for a healthier spin. Cook before as you would beef.
- Light red and dark red kidney beans: Be sure to fully drain and rinse. Do not add the whole contents of the can. I pour into a colander and rinse with cool water. I like a mix of light and dark but you can use all of one or the other.
- Canned diced tomatoes: Can also dice your own tomatoes, canned is just much easier.
- Canned chopped green chiles: These are pretty mild and really just add flavor.
- Yellow onion: Can also use red onion. I don’t precook the onion with the beef so it’s best to finely dice so it gets nice and tender in the slow cooker.
- Minced fresh garlic: Need I say more?
- Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce: 1 chili plus a little sauce is VERY mild. You’ll mostly taste the beautiful smokiness from the chilis. I would add 2-3 for hotter chili. You can always adjust towards the end so save the can!
- Guinness: I love Guinness/mild stouts in chili however any dark ale or IPA will work. Just avoid anything with the name light in it ;). You can substitute for beef broth as well.
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Brown sugar: Can substitute with table sugar.
- Optional, but not so optional toppings: Sour cream, Mexican blend cheese, chopped avocado, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, salsa.
Cooking Chili in a Crock-Pot
This is such an easy chili recipe because everything is thrown right in your Crock-Pot/slow cooker with the exception of the beef. The beef should be cooked/browned in a pan beforehand for best results. This can also be made as turkey chili by using 93% lean ground turkey instead of beef.
You can cook the chili on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Just don’t rush the cooking process or the flavors/ingredients won’t have time to meld together/really tenderize. After your chili is done, you can keep it warm on the “keep warm” setting for a few hours. It will only improve with time.
More Game Day Recipes
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Crock-Pot Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 2 15 ounce cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, finely chopped (see note below)
- 1 cup Guinness, any dark ale or IPA will work
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional toppings: Sour cream, Mexican blend cheese, chopped avocado, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, salsa
Instructions
- Heat a large pan with olive oil to medium heat. Cook ground beef until well browned and fully cooked through. About 10 minutes. Use the tip of a spatula to break the beef into small bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper all over.
- Transfer beef to a Crock-Pot or slow cooker using a spatula or slotted spoon. This is to help drain excess fat.
- Combine all remaining ingredients in the Crock-Pot (except toppings) and stir until fully incorporated. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat. Give a final stir and serve with toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
