Crock Pot Chili Recipe
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Every Southerner has a signature chili recipe and this Crock Pot Chili, loaded with meat, beans, and flavorful seasonings, is ours.
Looking for a simple, flavorful chili recipe that’s perfect for busy days? This Crock Pot Chili combines convenience with classic Southern taste, making it an excellent option for feeding a crowd or enjoying a cozy family meal. Made in the slow cooker, it eliminates the need to hover over the stove, allowing the flavors to develop perfectly while you focus on other tasks.
This hearty chili is packed with two types of beans, fresh veggies, and a mix of spices for that rich, comforting flavor everyone loves. Brown your meat ahead of time and freeze it for an even easier prep—just toss everything into the slow cooker, turn it on, and let it work its magic. By the time you’re ready to eat, your kitchen will smell incredible, and a warm, satisfying dinner will be ready to serve!
What You’ll Need to Make Crock Pot Chili
Ingredients
- canned kidney
- canned chopped green chiles
- onion
- ground beef
- tomato sauce
- tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes/)
- celery
- cumin
- chili powder
How to Make Crock Pot Chili
Brown ground beef in a skillet. We love this meat masher to break up ground beef while it’s cooking!
Chop the celery and onion and tomatoes. (If you’re using canned tomatoes, just add them with all other canned ingredients.)
Now, dump all canned items, liquid and all, into the crock pot.
Add the celery and chopped onion to the slow cooker.
Add the ground beef and add the cumin, chili powder, and salt.
And the chopped tomatoes and water.
Stir all the ingredients for Crockpot Chili together and cover. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
When the chili is cooked, onions will be translucent and your house will smell amazing!
Serve Crock Pot Chili up in a big bowl. We love to serve ours with crackers, shredded cheese, and sour cream. A bowl of crock pot chili also goes great with cornbread.
Storage
- Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- This chili freezes and reheats so well too. Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before simply reheating in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- For turkey chili, simply substitute the ground beef for ground turkey. You can also use ground pork or ground chicken.
- It’s easy to adapt this to make a . Instead of the meat, add another can of beans or even lentils.
- For added flavor, instead of simply adding water, dissolve 2 beef bouillon cubes into the 2 cups of water to make beef broth.
- Want to add more veggies? You can definitely add a diced red or green bell pepper.
Crock Pot Chili FAQs
Can you put raw ground beef in the slow cooker?
Yes, you can place raw beef in the slow cooker. However, if you have the time, I recommend quickly browning the beef beforehand to enhance the dish’s flavor.
How long can chili cook in the crock pot?
Your bean chili can cook in the crockpot all day, or for up to 8 hours, on low.
Should I drain canned beans for slow cooker chili?
This is totally up to you. For this slow cooker chili recipe though, I recommend not draining both cans of beans and adding them in, liquid and all, directly to the slow cooker.
Can I make chili ahead of time?
Absolutely! This crockpot chili recipe is a great dinner to make in advance, as leftovers will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. When it’s time to serve, just reheat the chili in the microwave.
What do you serve with crock pot chili?
I love to serve my crockpot chili with tortilla chips or crackers, shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado or guacamole, and sour cream. You can also garnish with chopped green onion, fresh cilantro, or sliced jalapeno for added heat. It tastes great with cornbread, homemade dinner rolls, homemade tortillas, or buttermilk biscuits to soak up the delicious stew-like broth too. Another option is to serve the chili in a baked potato for a delicious main dish.
Other Crock Pot Recipes You’ll Love
- Crock Pot Beef Burgundy
- Crock Pot Lasagna
- Chicken Fajitas in Crock Pot
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Southern-Style Crock Pot Pulled Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 can kidney beans with liquid 29 ounces
- 1 can pinto beans with liquid 29 ounces
- 1 can tomato sauce 29 ounces
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced green chiles
- 3 medium tomatoes or one large can of diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup diced celery
- 2 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef until done.2 lbs ground beef
- In a large pot (or crockpot), combine the beef plus all remaining ingredients. If in a pot, bring to a simmer over low heat and cook, stirring a few times an hour, for two to three hours (you can avoid this by using the crockpot).2 lbs ground beef, 1 can kidney beans with liquid, 1 can pinto beans with liquid, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced green chiles, 3 medium tomatoes, 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 cups water, 2 tsp salt, 3 tsp chili powder, 1/4 cup diced celery, 2 tsp cumin
- In a crock pot, stir the ingredients to combine and cover. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
Wow! Christy, have you been reading my mind? I recently realized how good Wendy’s chili is and have been looking for a similar recipe. AND the food processor you have is THE one I’ve had my eye on for a couple years now. AND we have the same crock pot now! LOL My mom is flying up from GA for a visit (I’m so stinkin’ excited!) and I’ll be making this for us to have. Thank you!
Love the new format, by the way. :o)
Hey Sharon! Thank you so much for all of your kindness!!!! I always look forward to your comments so much! Its nine o’clock in the morning but you talking about cheese and sour cream just determined that I’m having chili for breakfast! LOL
Julie Haha, that is SO funny about your daughter!!!! They do the strangest things!! When my son was little, he LOVED corndogs, BUT he wanted me to “take the corn off” before he’d eat them!
Jillybean hehe, Cheapies of the world, unite!!! I have a lot of those “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” moments, myself! I love it when I find a way to use a shortcut and save money to boot!!!
🙂 I’m excited today, playing with my new web page design! Isn’t it neat? I’m gonna write about it more in the newsletter!
Christy 🙂
Ok, using the left-over hamburger patties is such a great idea…I would never have thought about it.
Your chili looks great..sounds like your son agreed! My little girl just likes to pick the meat out, the little carnivore.
This looks good. I love chili with cheese and sour cream. I grew up eating chili all the time. That was big thing with my dad.:) Guess that’s where I got from. Hope you are having a great night.:)Thanks for all your hard work!!
Sharon:)
StephanieHey!!! I am SO GLAD you like the old patties idea, too! I was kind of afraid some of y’all might think it was gross – thereby proving me frugal and cheap to the point of being…well..gross!
lol
I’ve heard far too many stories in my lifetime of past generations going hungry as kids, I just can’t stand to let food go to waste if I can help it!
I’m so glad my kids have never known hunger. Folks just don’t know how lucky we all are!
Hehe, wasn’t that precious? He is such a sweetie.
I’m so excited tonight! My washing machine went kaput two weeks ago and I’ve been sending loads to my mother’s house. TONIGHT, I HAVE A NEW WASHING MACHINE!! WOOOHOO!!
I never had so much fun doing laundry before!!!
Christy 🙂
It’s the simple things that brings joy, isn’t it?
It’s still a little hot here in SE Texas for me to start craving chili. Probably by Halloween . . .
That looks really good! I love Wendy’s chili too, and I also thought that using the old patties was a brilliant idea – saves food waste which saves the consumers (us) money!!
I love the little conversation between you and your son at the end of the post, that is just too cute!
This recipe looks great to me and I will be making this tomorrow, Yum. Now onto the leftover patty deal. I think that was a rumor although it is a brilliant idea. From my understanding, all chili is processed and packaged for Wendy’s and is frozen in cup before they zap it for ya’all to enjoy. I do like the idea of saving the hamburger patties though and will add that to my money saving pocketful of ideas.
It wasn’t a rumor. My friend was a manager at Wendy’s for years, and she told me they used the leftover cooked burgers to make the chili. She made often herself. I expressed a little dismay over it, and she assured me it was good beef…not left out too long…and I know to this day she still eats Wendy’s chili, s o I trust it enough to eat it too. It’s really a no-brainer for Wendy’s to do it that way…saves a lot of money! Better to use leftover beef in a chili than to simply discard it. That was probably Dave Thomas’ brilliant way of using leftover beef…make chili out of it. Probably how it ended up being a year-round menu item…most places only sell it in the winter. Very smart!