Crockpot Chili Recipe

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword crockpot-chili-recipe, easy-crockpot-chili

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 10

Servings servings

Calories 363kcal

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 cups low sodium beef stock or beef broth
1 6 oz tomato paste
2 15 oz cans light red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 medium poblano or green bell pepper seeded and diced (You can also use jalapeno)
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup dark chili powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
sour cream, green onions plus shredded cheddar cheese for serving

Instructions

In a medium skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat for 8 minutes or just until no pink remains. Drain excess grease from skillet. Set aside.
Add ground beef, tomato sauce, beef stock, tomato paste and beans to a 6 quart crockpot. Stir to combine.
To the crockpot add diced poblano, onion, minced garlic, chili powder, light brown sugar, ground cumin, seasoned salt, oregano, lemon pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder and cinnamon. Mix to combine.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8.
Serve hot with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, diced peppers or with any of your favorite toppings.

Notes

Protein - This recipe will also work with ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or venison. You can also use a combination of any of the aforementioned.
Beans - You can swap out kidney beans and use pinto beans or black beans in their place. You can also stretch the servings adding an additional can of kidney beans.
Mexican Oregano - You can replace Mexican oregano with 1 teaspoon of classic Italian oregano.
Bell Peppers - You can use green bell pepper in place of poblano pepper or jalapenos for a milder level of heat. When dicing the peppers and onion think small diced pieces not huge chunks. Unless, you enjoy big chunks then go for it!
Liquid - You can use beef stock or beef broth or replace some of the beef stock with beer.
Thicken at the End of Cooking - At the end of cooking, test the thickness of the chili. If you'd like it thicker, add tomato paste one tablespoon at a time, stirring it into the chili until melted. You can repeat as needed, until your desired consistency is reached. Likewise, you can thin the chili using additional beef stock.
Set Up a Chili Toppings Bar - You can set up a bar with your favorite chili toppings bar and let each person personalize their chili.
Cheese - You can top this chili with your favorite shredded cheese. Sharp cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese, spicy pepper jack cheese or cotija cheese.
Other Suggested Toppings - In addition to cheese, a dollop of sour cream, chopped peppers and green onions or red onion, fresh cilantro, avocado, pickled jalapenos, fritos, tortilla chips, croutons and more. A side of Cornbread Muffins is perfection. You can also serve this chili on a baked potato.

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