Slow Cooker Beef Chili
on Feb 07, 2020, Updated Jan 18, 2025
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A super classic, soul satisfying chili, made in the crockpot.
This classically seasoned ground beef chili is one for the ages. There is no fancy footwork, esoteric ingredients, cutting-edge flavors, or surprises. Which in my decades of chili making, is really what I think people want from a bowl of chili.
You could 100% make this chili on the stovetop if you don’t have a slow cooker, or aren’t in a slow cooker frame of mind. Instead of cooking it on low for 8 hours, just simmer it for 1 on the stovetop. The slow cooker advantage, of course, is that you can (in the immortal words of I have no idea who) set it and forget it. Make it early in the day, leave it safely bubbling away in the slow cooker, and come home to a comfort food dinner.
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This Slow Cooker Beef Chili will go perfectly with Roasted Garlic and Tomato Bread, Garlic Bread, or Bacon, Fresh Corn, and Oregano Cornbread.
Table of Contents
A super classic, soul satisfying chili, made in the crockpot.
Slow Cooker Beef Chili Ingredients
- Ground beef – I suggest using a cut that is 85% lean as the fat will enrich the flavor.
- Vegetable oil – For Sautéing.
- Onion and Garlic – Form the aromatic base for the chili.
- Bell pepper cored seeded and diced (green, red, orange, or yellow, your choice)
- Tomato paste – Offers a rich depth of umami and sweetness.
- Chili powder and Cayenne pepper – For a slight kick. Feel free to adjust accordingly.
- Ground cumin and dried oregano – Provides earthy flavors.
- Beans – I used kidney beans (classic) in this chili, but you can use any beans you like, such as chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans, pinto beans, or a combination.
- Can crushed tomatoes – Adds a rich tomato flavor and helps create a thick consistency.
- Salt and pepper – To taste.
Chili Toppings
Chili begs to be served over rice. Brown or white, your choice. It also begs (I am once again anthropomorphizing a food) to be topped. Cheese, scallions, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, guacamole, or as many as you see fit to pile on. A loaded bowl of chili is a thing of beauty.
Chili Variations
Chili is imminently flexible. Use any color of bell pepper you like, use any type of onion you have (or shallots), leave out the meat, and add two more cans of beans for vegetarian chili. If you don’t have fresh garlic, use garlic powder.
This is not a very spicy chili, just moderately spicy, so if you are interested in more heat, add more chili powder and garlic powder, a shake or two of cayenne, a squirt of hot sauce, or maybe some minced jalapeños (leave some or all of the seeds in. Just remember more seeds means more heat). You can also offer sliced fresh or jarred jalapeno peppers as a topping choice for those looking for more bites of spiciness.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Sauté the beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat sauté the beef.
- Mix the remaining ingredients and cook: Wipe out the skillet and add the oil and sauté the onion and bell pepper. Add the garlic followed by the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker followed by the browned beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, cayenne, salt, and pepper, and stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Finish and serve: Serve in bowls with the desired toppings.
Storage and Freezing
Did you end up with too much chili and very, very full and satisfied tummies? Freeze those leftovers! Nothing beats a container or zipper-tip bag of ground beef chili in the freezer.
You can load the chili into plastic or glass containers with lids — just make sure to leave 1/2 space between the top of the chili and the lid, as the chili will expand a bit when it freezes, and you want the lids to stay securely on. Use smaller containers or ziplock baggies so you can defrost it fairly quickly, and you can take out just what you need.
This beef chili will last, properly frozen, for 4 or 5 months. The chili will also stay good in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
What to Serve With Beef Chili
More Chili Recipes
- Game Day Ground Beef Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Beef, Black Bean, and Jalapeño Chili
- Buffalo Chicken and White Bean Chili
- Barbacoa Beef Chili
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Slow Cooker Beef Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (cored, seeded, and diced; green, red, orange, or yellow, your choice)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, chickpeas, or pinto beans (drained and rinsed; or a combo, or whatever beans you prefer)
- 2 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
To Serve
- Hot rice (brown or white)
- Crumbled queso fresco or cojita cheese (or shredded cheese)
- Sliced or minced scallions
- Sour cream
- Diced avocados or guacamole
- Chopped fresh tomatoes
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the beef and sauté, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula into crumbles, until it is browned throughout. Drain in a colander.
- Carefully wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Add the oil, and then add the onion and bell pepper and saute for 4 minutes until the vegetables have started to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until you can smell the garlic. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, stir to combine, and then turn the mixture into a slow cooker. Add the browned beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, cayenne and salt and pepper and stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Serve in bowls with the desired toppings.
Notes
- I used kidney beans (classic) in this chili, but you can use any beans you like, such as chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans, pinto beans, or a combination.
- This beef chili will last, properly frozen, for 4 or 5 months. The chili will also stay good in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
Lol, Ron Popeil (RIP) coined those immortal words ‘set it and forget it’ in his many many infomercials.
I remember that well!
People in TX wouldn’t dare make or eat chili with beans of any kind!!