This Crock-Pot Chili Recipe is perfect any time of year, not just on cold winter nights. Your family will thank you.
I love chili! Winter, spring, summer, or fall—anytime is the right time to make this crock-pot chili recipe. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Chili is an easy dish to make, and you can prepare a double or triple batch with plenty to freeze for future meals. You can also be sneaky and add finely chopped veggies like carrots and bell peppers when sautéing your onions and garlic to get the kiddos to eat more vegetables.
One of the reasons I love chili is its versatility. You don’t always have to serve it in a bowl. Chili goes great over tortilla chips, hot dogs, rice, spaghetti (Cincinnati chili), or baked potatoes. You can also mix your chili into cheese dips.
Toppings Take Chili To the Next Level!
I’m not finicky about chili. I can enjoy it plain or covered in toppings like shredded cheese, chopped avocado, onions, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), sliced jalapeños, cilantro, or crushed corn chips. It’s fun to make a topping bar and let everyone create individual chili masterpieces.
Why You Should Use a Crock-Pot or Slow Cooker for Chili
Some foods taste best when they have had plenty of time to develop their flavors. Chili is the ultimate crock-pot or slow cooker food. You want to let the spices, tomatoes, and beef simmer for hours so the flavors meld into a mouth-watering, soul-satisfying bowl of comfort.
You can use an Instant Pot or cook your chili on the stove. The result will be delicious. However, there is nothing like the aroma wafting in from the crock-pot in the kitchen as your chili cooks. While you can cook your crock-pot chili on high for 3 to 4 hours, I prefer cooking on low all day or overnight for 7 to 8 hours. That slow simmer gets me every time. When my kids were little, I once put the chili on to cook overnight, and we wanted some for breakfast. There’s nothing wrong with that! You can even serve it over scrambled eggs!
How to Make Ahead and Store
If you want to jumpstart your chili, you can cook the onions, garlic, and ground beef ahead of time and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 48 hours before putting everything in the crock-pot. Once you make your chili, it will remain fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. Because beef chili is one of those foods that tastes better the second day, making it in advance is never a bad idea. You can also freeze it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
This chili will surely delight whether in a bowl, stuffed in a baked potato, over spaghetti, or as nachos. Although chili is perfect alone, it is fun to layer it on top of a bowl of rice. I recommend trying these recipes for Easy Cheesy Mexican Rice and Cilantro Lime Rice to serve with the crock-pot chili.
I make chili in many different ways for variety, and some of my favorites are Texas Chili and Turkey Chili. This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili reminds me of one I used to get in a restaurant.
Crock-Pot Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 cans 15 ounces each kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can 28 ounces diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 can 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional for heat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup beef broth
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cooking until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned, breaking it apart with a spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
- Transfer the beef mixture to the crock-pot.
- Add kidney beans, black beans, diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to the crock-pot.
- Pour in beef broth and stir to combine all ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the chili is thickened and flavors are melded.
- Serve hot with your choice of toppings, such as shredded cheese, sour cream, or green onions.
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