Easy Slow Cooker Chili
by Chungah
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This slow cooker chili is so easy, cooked low and slow for 8 hrs. Simply set and forget, and come home to the coziest, flavor-packed chili.
Featured Comment
Outstanding! Made this tonight and my family loved it. My picky husband even went back for thirds. I added a jalapeño and a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes (my husband doesn’t like them) and the flavor was so good. Served it up with green onions, cheese and sour cream with a side of corn bread. Will put this in the rotation this Winter. Thank you for the recipes Chungah!!
Why you’ll love this slow cooker chili
- Crowd-favorite. Chili is simply a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, great for big crowds and family gatherings, tailgating, or game day. And the leftovers taste even better the next day, and the day after that.
- True set-and-forget recipe. All the ingredients get thrown right in the slow cooker, really letting the flavors fully meld and marry for 7-8 hours on low heat. Set it in the morning and come home to the coziest chili for the entire family.
- Budget-friendly. Homemade chili is incredibly affordable and a great budget meal, relying on inexpensive shelf-stable pantry staples such as canned beans and tomatoes. You can also portion and freeze the leftovers up to 3 months, perfect for a rainy day.
- For all the corn chips. A big pot of chili is the most perfect excuse to open up a bag of corn chips for topping or snacking.
How to make slow cooker chili
- Brown the meat. Crumble the ground beef in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, draining off any excess fat and grease. Stir in the garlic, onion, and poblano chili until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add to slow cooker. Transfer the mixture to a 6-qt slow cooker and stir in the remaining ingredients – beef stock, kidney beans, black beans, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Cook. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.
- Garnish and serve. Garnish with sour cream, corn chips, and green onions, and serve warm.
chili toppings
Chili is incredibly customizable! Feel free to add in some of your favorite toppings below.
- Dollop of sour cream, plain Greek yogurt or Mexican crema
- Shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
- Corn chips or crushed tortilla chips
- Fresh or pickled jalapeño slices
- Diced red onion or sliced green onions
what to serve with slow cooker chili
Tools For This Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker Chili: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to use ground beef?
Not at all! It is very common to use different types of meat, or even use a combination of ground beef with Italian sausage for a richer flavor. You can also stretch the meat and substitute a portion (or all) of the ground beef with inexpensive cuts such as ground turkey or ground chicken.
Do I have to brown the meat first?
For the best flavor and texture, yes, it is highly recommended to brown the meat before adding to the slow cooker. This will build a much deeper flavor base rather than having steamed meat in the slow cooker.
How can I store leftovers?
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating gently on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through.
Is this freezer-friendly?
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thawing overnight and reheating gently on the stovetop.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
Absolutely! You can try the Instant Pot recipe here.
Easy Slow Cooker Chili
This slow cooker chili is so easy, cooked low and slow for 8 hrs. Simply set and forget, and come home to the coziest, flavor-packed chili.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 poblano chili, minced
- 2 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 (16-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup corn chips
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, onion and poblano chili until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place ground beef mixture into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in beef stock, kidney beans, black beans, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.
- Serve immediately, garnished with sour cream, corn chips and green onions, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Lean ground beef is ideal. The best ground beef has some fat – 80/20 or 85/15 are both excellent options, ensuring that the meat stays juicy and tender during the long cook time. Extra lean meats can be drier (and blander).
- Brown the meat first. Browning beforehand is key, deepening its rich, meaty taste.
- Use a blend of beans. Using different beans will add contrasting textures and flavors. Using a blend of pinto beans, kidney beans, and black beans offers even more variety whereas cannellini beans and kidney beans will be slightly milder.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your chili. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
- Add garnishes. Garnishes are always optional but a fresh sprinkle of green onions or some corn chips will certainly take your chili to the next level, adding more flavor, texture and contrast.
- Freeze in individual servings. This will allow for faster, consistent thawing overnight and give you perfectly portioned grab-and-go meals for the busy week.
Did you make this recipe?
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perfect recipe. I make this a couple times a year!
Is there any alternative I can use for the poblano chili, I can’t find it anywhere in my Canadian city
I used baby sweet peppers instead
Poblano is a fairly large pepper, but I find it to be also fairly mild. Anaheim peppers are comparable. I feel like the amount of chile peppers is up to the cook and their guests.
I made this exactly as written and it came out perfectly! My family has requested this chili be made a few times a week! Aside from my rice cooker I’ve also made this in the instant pot under pressure cooker and it comes out perfect.
Idk y but my garlic has a overpowering nasty taste. How can I fix this? I did your whole recipe correctly. It’s this darn garlic.
If you’re having issues with fresh/jarred garlic, you can always use Garlic powder.
Amazing chili & so easy. I make this at least once a month for my family, because they love it so much. Absolutely delicious
This was very tasty. I like a bit of water with my chili and I used oyster crackers instead of corn chips. Other than that it was spot on for me. I do not sauteed the onions either. I just brown the meat, my crock 4 hours on high 2 hours on low and it’s done. You can smell the spices and everything coming through. Great job on this one. I don’t know if I’d do it stove top. The slow cooker always works for me.
Any way to make it thicker?
You can add a slurry of corn starch to make it thicker, or even a little flour.
To make it thicker when it’s done I cook it on high for 2 hrs with the lid off!
Something you might want to try if you have issues with your chili being runny besides cornstarch and flour is adding in a small can of Tomato paste. It’s used to inexpensively thicken, color, and enrich the flavor of tomato sauces and other semi-liquids such as soups and stews. I normally add in a can and use water or a mixture of bud light vs beef broth.
Can you adapt this to make on the stove top??
I would like to start off by saying i have never been good at making homemade chili, although it seems pretty easy to make there is a difference between easy and tasting good. Not only was it simple to make it was awesome tasting as well. This is the first time i ever wrote a review on a recipe Ive tried off the net, that should say something. I have tried several different recipes from different chefs and a simple yet delicious chili recipe WON me over. I am excited to try the others recipes that Chef Chungah provides.
Really easy and tasty. Will make chili enchiladas with leftovers.
I’ll admit I wasn’t 100% convinced when I put it all together as it seemed very watery but oh my, what a tasty surprise. I kept it on warm in the crockpot for about 15 minutes and it was perfect. Not too watery and so tasty. Thanks!
my go to chili! I substitute brisket cubes for the ground beef, and modified for the instant pot…..so good!!!
thanks big chungah
Made this today and we loved it. I didn’t use the pepper or hot sauce, as we don’t like super spicey, but it had plenty of flavor. I made cheesy garlic cornbread to go with it and it was a hit.
I did not have pablano chili or the paprika so maybe that’s why iT tasted bland, was watery which was disappointing. Not sure if I would try this again. I’m going to look for another crock pot chili recipe and see.
You can add a slurry of corn starch to make it thicker, or even a little flour.
“I didn’t add any of the flavouring stuff, why was my chili bland?”
C’mon man… Don’t leave a review if you didn’t actually make the recipe properly.
I enjoyed this I just cooked it down a bit longer as I enjoy mine a bit thicker. Flavour was good as is but the second time I made it I added chipotle in adobo as well for personal tastes.
Recipe “reviews” which talk about all of the changes the reviewer made, the omissions, the substitutions, the add-ons which are not part of the original recipe, the changes in the amount of an ingredient used, are a pet peeve of mine, ubiquitous though they may be. I want to read about how THIS recipe turned out, not the recipe the reviewer decided ahead of time wasn’t right and then re-wrote, or the one the reviewer ended up making because he or she didn’t have the correct ingredients on hand and couldn’t be bothered to obtain them.
I’m cooking this today, it sounds delicious! Did you roast the poblano pepper before chopping?
can this be made with dried beans instead of canned ones? for example, after adding in the meat, could I add dried beans with a sufficient amount of stock and all the other ingreidents? Usually I cook dried beans in the slow cooker anyway, but it would be nice if I could cook the meat at the same time.
You can use dried beans but you need to soak them overnight before using in the crock.
First time making without tomato juice your DAM GOOD definitely make again
First time love it your right dam GOOD
It was excellent chili. I showed my sample to family members and they love it better than their own. I’m curious can I use this same recipe with turkey chili instead of beef chili and come out the same way? Just curious!
Good. Can I skip the sautéing step?
I take back what I said earlier I made a few adjustments and it nearly turned out perfect. I replaced the chili pepper with a sweet green pepper and added in less Chili powder and it turned out almost amazingly delicious 🙂 Will be definitely be adding this recipe into my collection.