Slow Cooker Chili
This Slow Cooker Chili recipe has been in my family for years! It’s an easy, homemade chili that’s cooked in the crockpot and packed with flavor. Garnish with your favorite toppings for all the delicious fun!
Our Favorite Slow Cooker Chili
Everyone should have a go-to chili recipe. Don’t you agree?
For a long time, I struggled to find a chili recipe that both Blake and I wanted to call “ours”.
Then about five years after we were married, I made this Slow Cooker Chili recipe. Blake said, “Never make chili any way but this way again!” He loves that this recipe is heavy on the ground meat (I use a combo of ground beef and turkey), not-so-heavy on the beans, and loaded with layers of rich chili flavor.
It might seem that this was a monumental moment of our relationship. If chili can really make that happen for a couple, I’m not completely certain.
All I do know is that this homemade chili recipe has continued to be our family’s go-to. And I get requests for the recipe whenever I make it for guests. That’s a sure sign the recipe’s worth keeping around!
For fun chili recipes that wander a bit from the classic, be sure to try these recipes: My Creamy Enchilada Chili gives you all the flavors of enchiladas, without the tortillas. And End of Summer Chicken Chili is chock-full of fresh garden veggies and herbs – I especially love the fun pops of sweet corn kernels!
Recreating My Mom’s Chili
I still think that Mom makes the best chili in the world. She seasons it just right. And I’ve always liked how she sprinkles in a little brown sugar to give it the slightest hint of sweetness.
But there’s something else that makes her chili so wonderful, and it took me a long time to figure it out. Mom adds her fresh canned tomatoes to chili, and this puts her chili over the top. All those years growing up, I sadly took this for granted. How I still yearn for her chili filled with summer-preserved goodness!
While I simply don’t have the time or desire to can tomatoes at this stage in my life, it’s still pretty darn easy to find great canned tomatoes at the grocery store – I personally love Red Gold tomatoes!
So I’ve modeled this Slow Cooker Chili to match my mom’s chili as much as possible! >>> You’ll find great seasoning and beautiful tomato flavor with this “dump all the ingredients in the Crockpot and walk away” recipe. The Crockpot melds all the flavors together in a magical way!
How to Make Chili in the Slow Cooker / Crockpot
It’s easy to make chili in a slow cooker.
And I especially like this recipe because it makes a large quantity. It’s great for feeding a larger group or for freezing half for a future meal. Because, yes, this chili can be frozen with great results.
Here’s how to make it:
Brown the ground beef: Start off by browning ground beef or a combination of ground beef and ground turkey in a multi-cooker slow cooker. If your slow cooker doesn’t have a browning function, brown the meat in a skillet and transfer it to the slow cooker.
Add everything else to your slow cooker: Then add all the remaining ingredients – some of which are diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, beans, chili powder, and cumin – and stir to combine.
Set to cook and walk away: Set the heat to “high” and let the chili simmer away for six hours or so, stirring every couple hours if convenient. It’s really that easy!
What Goes with this Beef Chili?
I like to make a batch of Honey Cornbread Muffins to serve with chili. The muffins are the perfect chili dippers, with a bit of sweetness that contrasts with the savory chili.
And the bonus that goes with making honey cornbread muffins? Our girls love when there are leftover muffins for breakfast the following morning. Hatti and Tessa warm them up and eat them with a little butter and jam. It’s pretty fantastic!
So what else goes with chili?!
I grew up eating chili with saltine crackers. But our family also really, really, REALLY likes Fritos corn chips with chili. Sometimes I buy the regular ones (shown in my photos). And sometimes I buy the “scoops’ variety, which are awesome for just scooping up the chili, no spoon needed. So much of our fun with food deals with dipping and scooping, don’t you agree?!
I also recommend adding a good sprinkle of cheese – it’s a classic chili topping. Cheddar, Monetary Jack, Pepper Jack – whatever your favorite kind of cheese is, odds are it will be fantastic all melted on top of a bowl of steaming chili.
More ideas for you: Top your chili with a spoon of sour cream, freshly chopped green onion or red onion, and/or diced avocado. If you like fresh lime (like I do!), squeeze a lime wedge over the top of your bowl. Delish!!
And what can you do with leftover chili? To create a whole new kind of meal, top perfect baked potatoes with chili. Offer shredded cheese, sour cream, and green onions for extra topping fun. We love this chili makeover meal!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
This slow cooker chili can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
To reheat, scoop the desired amount of chili into a small saucepan and reheat it on the stovetop, and stir regularly. However, you can also reheat it in the microwave. Just make sure to pause the the timer and give the chili a good stir about halfway through – otherwise the chili will not be heat evenly.
Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Chili
- Use good quality beef and turkey. Always keep in mind that your finished dish is only as good as the ingredients that you use to make it!
- Use the best canned tomato products you can find. I use and recommend Red Gold Tomatoes.
- Be sure to drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the chili.
- Adjust seasonings to suit your tastes. If you like heat, increase the quantity of chili powder or add a spicier chili powder. You could also add a seeded, minced fresh jalapeno pepper along with the onion and garlic!
- I recommend the 6 hours of slow cooker time to achieve the best melding of flavors.
Can I Make this Chili on the Stovetop?
If you don’t have a slow cooker, then use a large heavy-bottomed pot on the stovetop.
Sauté the onion over medium heat in a tablespoon of oil until onion is softened; remove onion to a plate. Then add ground meat(s) to the pot and brown. Drain fat. Then add the sauteéd onion and remaining ingredients to the pot, stirring to combine. Stir occasionally, until chili is thoroughly warmed. Then turn heat down to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
Can I Freeze Crockpot Chili?
Yes! This chili freezes REALLY well. I do it all the time!
Just let the chili cool completely, then place it in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. Make sure you leave about an inch of space on top so that the chili has room to expand as it freezes.
When you’re ready to eat your chili, simply thaw it in the fridge and reheat as described above.
Like this recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
Slow Cooker Chili
This easy recipe simmers all day to give you bowls of fantastic classic chili flavor. Garnish with your favorite toppings for all the delicious fun!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. lean ground beef
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 (14.5-oz.) cans tomato sauce
- 3/4 c. ketchup
- 2 c. low-sodium beef stock
- 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 c. yellow corn meal
- 3 to 6 T. medium chili powder, to taste (will depend on the heat of your chili powder and your own heat preference)
- 2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
- 1 T. ground cumin
- 3 T. brown sugar
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I like a good amount of black pepper!)
Instructions
- Brown beef and turkey in a slow cooker with a browning function. Drain fat. If you don't have a browning function on your slow cooker, then: In a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a slow cooker. Pour out any fat left in the saute pan. Add the ground turkey to the saute pan, brown it, and transfer it to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon.
- While meat is browning, prepare and portion remaining ingredients. Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to blend. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.
- Ladle chili into bowls and garnish with sour cream, chopped onion, grated cheddar cheese, and chopped cilantro. I also like to serve this chili with wedges of fresh lime, Fritos corn chips, and fabulous cornbread muffins.
* Please note that this recipe is highly adaptable, and I encourage you to play around with the kinds and quantities of herbs and spices to fit your own tastebuds.
* And...this recipe makes a large quantity. You will need a slow cooker with a minimum capacity of 5 quarts.
Notes
Heavily adapted from a recipe I tore out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog many years ago.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 521Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 155mgSodium: 762mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 7gSugar: 11gProtein: 49g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
This post was previously published in 2012. Some of the photographs and some of the text were updated in 2019.
This is absolutely delicious, I just lessened the sugar amount and halved it, put only beef in and left out the tomato sauce. Absolutely delish
This looks yummy,I make beef chili, and turkey chili but never combined the two. I will give this a try for sure. Thank you.
This recipe is a keeper. I’ve made many different chili recipes and this one is perfect. I actually used 3 pounds of ground bear meat and otherwise didn’t change a thing. I think the beef stock is what makes this chili so good and hearty.
That’s wonderful to hear, Tara. I get so many compliments on this chili, and think the beef stock is a big contributor to its greatness, too. Bear meat? Now that’s something I don’t think I’ve ever ate. How did you get it?
This sounds so good. I love chili but in my case, I’d have to cut the recipe in half (for a single gal like me) and cook it low and slow over a burner since I don’t own a slow cooker. That still ought to work and come out just as yummy, don’t you think? I hope!
Yes, you’ll be fine Elizabeth. Enjoy!!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I found it two nights ago on a google search for a hearty thick chili recipe. I made it yesterday in the slow cooker. Now, I’ve made A LOT of slow cooker chilis in the past 6 years, but both my husband and I agree that this recipe far exceeds any other recipe we’ve ever tasted. Reminds me of my favorite pub chili. Thanks again. I pinned this. ;)
I’m so glad you enjoyed this chili, Kendall! It’s a big pot of yum that I always look forward to. Sometimes I scoop out a meal’s worth right away, into a bowl and freeze it. Makes for a super quick meal on a cold day when I’m running short on time. Thank you so much for coming back to comment, I appreciate it!
i made this today and it was a hit! i had never made chili before, and I have to say it turned out awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
That’s awesome to hear, Janelle – thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Hi Thanks for the recipe, I’ve been looking for a good chili recipe.
Do you think I could do this in Low heat setting instead of high and cook for longer? 6 hours is too long to make this after work, not long enough for me to put it on in the morning to have it ready by dinner time.
Has anyone tried this? I too am wondering with the same dilemma.
Yes, cooking on low for longer would definitely work, too.
I made this tonight and only made a few additions of my own – I added a can of corn and 1 tsp Nutmeg. I used about 5 T chili powder and the heat was pretty good, if not a little too mild (might add some Sriraca next time). Thanks for the recipe, me and my boyfriend loved it!
Try using (any) beer instead of beef stock and add chopped cilantro…float 1 or 2 whole jalapenos in your chili while it cooks (don’t break open!) and you get the flavor without the heat. I’m famous for my chili and it is a LOT like yours!
Thank you for the tips – they both sound excellent, and I’ll definitely give them a try!
Heavily adapted? They’re both in a crockpot for 6 hours.. I think it ends there.
Hey lady, this chili looks delicious! I am a big proponent of the crock pot – put everything in the morning and ready by dinner! Plus, the volume you can make is awesome for leftovers. I love the recipe, thanks for sharing!
Hi Julia, nice to meet you! I live for leftovers, so this is a great recipe for that!
Chili is a complete comfort food!! and simmering for 6 hours – – well I can just imagine the intensity of taste. I must make this … and soon :)
Hope you like it, have a great day! :)
This looks like a delicious chili for a blustery day!
Thanks, Robyn! :)
That quote from your hubby is so sweet! That same type of reaction from any of my family guarantees that I make a recipe again… and often! :) And the chili looks YUM!
Well HELLO, my dear! So nice to hear from you! :)
It does look amazing! Do you think this would work with vegetarian mince? I live with a vegetarian and because its cheaper for us all to eat together we just have vegetarian mince in everything, in lasange and in spagetti bolognaise. But we haven’t had it in chilli before.
So, you had me looking up “vegetarian mince”…I’m sure it would work just fine in this chili. Let me know how it goes, please!
Yeah its a funny kind of substance, mycoprotein I think. I wouldn’t eat it on its own but it tastes no different than minced beef when its in a lasange so we just have it cos its cheaper and easier!
Well, I’m always learning something from you over there!! :)
I’m such a fan of chili. This just sounds so hearty and looks delicious!
Thanks, Cassie!
I love the fact that you still have this page of the magazine after 8 years! Your adapted chili looks wonderfully warm and hearty.
It’s been my process, since I started blogging, that I get rid of any associated recipes in their paper form (minus ones from cookbooks, etc.). But I can’t quite throw this one away yet. ;)
This looks delicious, and the pictures of it are just beautiful. A thumbs up from the hubs is always a good sign of absolute recipe perfection. :)
My husband’s pretty black-and-white, so when he says something like that, I know he means business. ;) Thanks, Natalie.
Perfect for a chilly day! Love that it is made in the slow cooker too!
Nothing better than a snowy winter day, with a slow cooker of chili simmering away! Have a great weekend, Maria!
Thanks for sharing this. It looks yummy and I will definitely give it a try. I make chili a different way every time I make it….a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I’ve never added cornmeal, but I bet it makes a difference. Pinning as well….
Even with a recipe, mine still tastes a little different each time, too. Just depends on my mood…sometimes spicier, sometimes sweeter, sometime more beans…but always yum! Thanks for sharing!