Super easy to make, and one of the best homemade chilies you will ever have. This versatile chili is perfect in a smaller crock pot and can easily be adjusted to your taste and needs.
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Introduction and My Rating
Who says everyday chili needs to be blah? This wonderful hardy red ground beef chili recipe made in your crock pot. Great for every day, a tailgate, or family get together.
I have a lot of chili recipes, 16 at last count, and I love them all. But my wife (Wifo) asked for plain red chili. Just an “everyday” red ground beef chili. Not chicken, black bean, or anything else “special’. Just a “plain chili” as she calls it. An “all-American” chili, so to speak.
It needed to be ground beef, with kidney beans and tomato-based. A nice medium heat was mandatory. Not hot, read that as no jalapeno, although it would be a nice addition to this recipe.
I had an older chili recipe, Crock Pot Red Beef Chili, that was published only in the second month of this blog and had a fair amount of heat. A little change here, a little tuck there, and I had a recipe that I really could eat every day. I have “retired” the previous recipe.
My Rating
A very solid 5, and yes, I could survive on this alone. I suggested an all chili diet. I got slapped down, but she did love it.
🐄The Meat
This recipe is based on ground beef, but you can use any other ground meat. Each will have a slightly different taste profile, but the spices and tomato products will even things out.
So this is a good place for ground turkey or ground chicken if you want.
Precook the ground meat.
Ground meat needs to be precooked for crock pot recipes. This is not a safety thing but a texture thing. While the meat will cook well past the 165 safe temperature in the cooker, it will cook in clumps and not broken apart, which you want for a good chili texture.
♨️Crock Pot Size
This is scaled for a smaller crock pot. A 2 1/2 quart is the smallest you should use. A double recipe needs 4 quarts or larger. And a triple recipe fits in a crock pot of 6 quarts or larger.
This is an easy recipe to adjust. Use the serving adjustment just below the ingredients in the recipe card area. That will do the math for you. It will not adjust to numbers in the instruction section, however.
The serving size is about 1 1/2 cups. It will freeze well and is good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
👨🍳Tips
This is a great recipe for what it is. It is an everyday ground beef red chili. And this is now our standard beef chili, and I’m sure it will be yours.
You can make it as a crockpot turkey chili if you want.
You can make it hotter with a minced jalapeno pepper or a bit more cayenne pepper.
If you want, you can modify the beans, take out the bell pepper, or other changes.
This is a thick chili. Add more water some beef broth if you like your chili more like soup.
🧂A Sodium Note
Chili can get out of hand on sodium content. I rinsed the beans that help the sodium. I always use low sodium beans any more. And if you add broth to thin the chili, use low sodium broth.
❄️Storage
It will be good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and will freeze well for 3-4 months.
📖Crock Pot Chili Recipes
Ultra Simple Crock Pot White Chicken Chili – This is the easiest and best chicken chili ever.
Crock Pot Three Bean Turkey Chili
Low Fat High Taste Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
Tailgate Chili and Nachos
Crock Pot Stew Meat Chili
🖊️Instructions
NOTE: Images are for a double batch. The instructions and ingredients are for a single batch.
The ingredients are what you would expect.
Start by browning one pound of ground beef. After 3-4 minutes, add one small onion chopped. Add minced or crushed garlic near the end of browning—about 8 minutes in total. Drain and add to a small crock pot.
Chop half of a green pepper. Rinse and drain one can light kidney beans.
Add one 14 oz can diced tomatoes, a half of 6 oz can tomato paste, 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste), 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional and adjust to taste).
Cook on low for 8 hours or 4 hours on high.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, the pleasure of a rating on the recipe card below is requested.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Chili
Super easy to make and one of the best homemade chilies you will ever have. This versatile chili is perfect in a smaller crock pot and can easily be adjusted to your taste and needs.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time8 hrs
Total Time8 hrs 20 mins
Servings/Adjust Amount: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion – small chopped
- 1 clove garlic – minced or crushed
- 14 oz light kidney beans – low sodium, rinsed, and drained.
- ½ green pepper
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 3 oz tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper – optional and adjust to taste
Instructions
-
Start by browning one pound of ground beef. After 3-4 minutes, add one small onion chopped. Add minced or crushed garlic near the end of browning. About 8 minutes in total. Drain and add to a small crock pot.
-
Chop half of a green pepper. Rinse and drain one can light kidney beans.
-
Add one 14 oz can diced tomatoes, a half of 6 oz can tomato paste, 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste), 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional and adjust to taste).
-
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- This is scaled for a smaller crock pot. A 2 1/2 quart is the smallest you should use. A double recipe needs 4 quarts or larger. And a triple recipe fits in a crock pot of 6 quarts or larger. I always do a double batch.
- Substitute other ground meat if you want. Use ground turkey or chicken if you wish.
- Precook the ground meat since uncook ground meat will clump.
- Rinsing the beans will decrease the sodium load.
- Add salt to taste only.
- This is a thick chili. Add more water or some beef broth if you like your chili more like a soup.
- Serving size is about 1 1/2 cups.
- An easy recipe to double or triple. Use the serving adjustment above. It will change the volume in the ingredients but not the wording in the instructions.. Cooking time will remain the same.
- Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and will freeze well for 3-4 months.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Crock Pot Chili
Amount Per Serving
Calories 350 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 638mg27%
Potassium 1216mg35%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Fiber 10g40%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 31g62%
Vitamin A 2300IU46%
Vitamin C 29mg35%
Calcium 116mg12%
Iron 7mg39%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Editor’s Note: Originally published January 19, 2015. The text and options have been expanded. I have published it now as a smaller recipe. I generally make a double batch, and that was initially published. I have also refreshed all the photos and added a table of contents to help navigation. Please enjoy this excellent chili.
