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You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Crock Pot Chili – Easy and Delicious!

Main Dishes Recipes Slow Cooker
Published: January 2, 2020 | Last Updated: January 2, 2020 | Author: Lois

Crock Pot Chili – Easy and Delicious!

Crock Pot Chili – delicious, hearty, and perfect for cold winter months. It’s really easy to make and perfect for loading up with all your favorite toppings. Let me show you how to make this recipe that your whole family is going to love. 

Crock Pot Chili made with ground beef, red kidney beans, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2014 with new photos and a new printable recipe card that includes nutritional information. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them! 

Affiliate Disclosure:  This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, click here.

Crock Pot Chili

Awhile ago, I mentioned on my  Walking on Sunshine Facebook Page, that I had never made chili. There were quite a few surprised people.  And then the recipes started coming in.

I had a fun time reading all the recipes and comments and put together a really yummy recipe of Crock Pot Chili that I want to share with you today.  

Crock Pot Chili Ingredients

  • One pound ground beef
  • Small onion; chopped
  • Butter; 1 tbsp. 
  • Vegetable Oil; 1 tbsp. 
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • Small can chopped chiles; 4 ounce size
  • Kidney beans; 1 16 ounce size can, rinsed
  • 1 small can tomato sauce; 8 ounce size
  • 2 tbsp. sweetened cocoa powder

Tips for Making Homemade Chili

  • One of my favorite kitchen tools is the mix and chop. I originally purchased mine from Pampered Chef but you can get one now on Amazon, which means you can probably have it in your kitchen by the time you finish reading this post. 
  • It’s really important that you rinse the kidney beans before adding them to the crock pot. The cloudy liquid that’s in the canned beans is mostly starch and salt which can change the texture or taste of the chili. 

red kidney beans rinsed.

How to Cook Chili in the Crock Pot

In a heavy pan, I like to use my cast iron pan, over medium heat on top of your stove, brown the onion in the oil and butter. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.

Transfer the ground beef and cooked onion to your crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the sweetened cocoa powder. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

After 4 to 6 hours, add the sweetened cocoa powder and taste the chili for salt and pepper. Serve as suggested below. 

Homemade chili made in the crock pot served in white bowl with cheddar cheese on top.

 

 

How to Serve Chili

Enjoy chili served in a bowl with your favorite toppings.  Or you can try making bread bowls using frozen bread dough to serve the crock pot chili. You can check out my recipe for semi-homemade bread bowls for an easy way to make something different. 

Semi homemade bread bowls used to serve homemade chili.

Another way my family enjoys leftover chili is on top of a baked potato. This makes a great meal! Or you can create a fun appetizer by using the chili over nacho chips. 

Leftover chili served over baked potatoes.

Toppings for Crock Pot Chili

Chili is one of those recipes that really anything goes when tit comes to toppings. However, here are a few of our favorites: 

  • Cheese – it’s pretty obvious that most people enjoy cheese on top of their chili. Cheddar is a family favorite, but Monterey Jack is another favorite. 
  • Corn chips or tortilla chips – make sure you crush them! 
  • Ritz crackers – saltine crackers are pretty good as well, but I really enjoy the buttery taste of Ritz crackers. 
  • Jalapenos – chopped or thinly sliced. 
  • Green onions, cilantro or fresh chopped chives. 
  • Sour cream – I cannot have a bowl of chili without a spoon of sour cream. 

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @Lois_walkingonsunshinerecipes on Instagram and hashtag it #walkingonsunshinerecipes

Closeup of ground beef chili with red kidney beans in white bowl with cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

Easy Tips for Freezing Cooked Chili

  • Once the chili has cooled, you can freeze it in air tight containers for up to 3 months. 
  • You can defrost the frozen chili in the microwave, but it helps to run the container under hot water for about 5 minutes before placing the container in the microwave to continue defrosting and then reheating. 
  • It can also be reheated in a saucepan on top of the stove over medium heat until heated through and steamy hot.

More Easy Crock Pot Recipes

  • Crock Pot Salsa Chicken
  • Potato and Corn Chowder
  • Homemade Tomato Sauce with Meatballs
  • Easy Shredded Chicken Recipe

Here’s a Few More Chili Recipes

  • White Turkey Chili
  • Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
  • Creamy Verde Chicken Chili
Crock Pot Chili

Crock Pot Chili

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Crock Pot Chiliย โ€“ delicious, hearty, and perfect for cold winter months. Itโ€™s really easy to make and perfect for loading up with all your favorite toppings

Ingredients

  • One pound ground beef
  • Small onion; chopped
  • Butter; 1 tbsp.
  • Vegetable Oil; 1 tbsp.
  • 1 can diced tomatoes; 14.5 ounce size
  • Small can chopped chiles; 4 ounce size
  • Kidney beans; 1 16 ounce size can, rinsed
  • 1 small can tomato sauce; 8 ounce size
  • 2 tbsp. sweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. In a heavy pan over medium heat on top of your stove, brown the onion in the oil and butter.
  2. Add the ground beef and break apart the meat using the back of a spoon or use the mix and chop tool.
  3. Cook until no longer pink.
  4. Transfer the ground beef and cooked onion to your crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 
  5. Add the remaining ingredients, except the sweetened cocoa powder. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
  6. After 4 to 6 hours, add the sweetened cocoa powder and taste the chili for salt and pepper. Serve as suggested below. 

Notes

Freeze or refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.



Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 284Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 269mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 22g

The nutrition information is calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you, please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator.

© Lois
Cuisine: American / Category: Slow Cooker

Chili in white bowl with cheddar cheese, jalapenos and sour cream.

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

  

 
 


8 Comments

About Lois

Originally from Queens, NY, Lois now calls northeastern PA home. You can find her blogging over at Walking on Sunshine where she shares a little of her life, but more importantly whatโ€™s for dinner at her house tonight.

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Comments

  1. Donna @ Modern on Monticello says

    February 18, 2020 at 9:55 am

    Chili is one of the best meals during the winter and I like trying new recipes. Pinned this one too. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
  2. Love Keil says

    October 2, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    My family love chili soup and i cant wait to try this recipe, pinning! Thank you for sharing!!!

    Reply
  3. CJ Huang says

    October 9, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    I'm always a fan of slow cooker recipes, especially ones that only get better as the flavors mingle! I bet the cocoa powder adds some depth of flavor too. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  4. HeiLin (Heidy McCallum) says

    October 16, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    Thank you for attending the #PureBlogLove Link Party, just wanted to drop by and personally thank you for sharing your wonderful blog post with us last Thursday. I hope to see you tonight at 8 pm est- Sunday for week #6
    Have a great day
    Heidy
    http://www.themccallumsshamrockpatch.com

    Reply
  5. Kimberly Lewis says

    October 11, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    This looks fabulous! Pinned. We couldn't think of anyone better to party with! Thank you for stopping by. I hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/
    Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls

    Reply
  6. Vanessa says

    October 7, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    Lois this looks yummy. My fave food.

    Reply
  7. Joy says

    October 7, 2014 at 10:12 pm

    Lois, this sounds SO good! It's perfect for this football time of year, and crockpot, too? BONUS! Thank you for sharing this with us at Treasure Box Tuesday- pinned! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  8. J Trogstad says

    October 7, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    yes yes yes! I have been looking for a goos crockpot chili recipe for a while and this recipe looks spot on! Thanks for sharing! Stopping in from the link up today ๐Ÿ™‚

    J @ A Hot Southern Mess
    http://www.ahotsouthernmess.com

    Reply

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