Best Crock Pot Chili
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Crock Pot Chili is an easy slow cooker recipe that is one of my favorite comfort food recipes! There’s nothing like sitting down to a big bowl of chili on a cold winter night. This recipe is loaded with ground beef, beans, tomato sauce and seasonings. So much flavor after slow cooking all day!
This Crock Pot Chili will warm you up and save you time on a cold day. Try topping it with cheese or enjoy it over tortilla chips for a delicious winter treat.
I love that it’s a mostly “dump and go” recipe that can cook all day long, just like this Crockpot Italian Chicken.
Simply brown the hamburger, mix everything together in the crockpot and then let it simmer to develop the flavors. If getting it ready in the morning stresses you out a short cut is to prep everything the night before. Then just pull it out of the fridge and pop it in your slow cooker!
Another one of my favorite twists on this recipe is Crock Pot Chili Mac! The kids LOVE this because it include noodles! Or, if you have a pressure cooker, you might like to try my Instant Pot Chili.
Why You’ll Love this Crock Pot Chili Recipe!
The longer you cook chili, the better it tastes. Simmer it all day long in your slow cooker for the best, most flavorful chili ever. Here’s why you’ll love it!
- Win your time back! With this recipe, you can set it and forget it once your chili ingredients are in the crock pot.
- Prep is quick. Just add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans, and you’re cooking.
- Savory ground beef makes this chili filling and satisfying.
- Cumin, oregano, chili powder, and garlic salt bring all the bold flavor you want in a hot bowl of chili.
- Top it off with your favorite Tex-Mex toppings for a well-rounded meal.
Is Chili Better In Slow Cooker?
We believe it is! The longer you chili cooks the more the flavors meld together. That’s why slow cooking it all day long results in the best, most flavorful chili!
Crockpot Chili Ingredients
- Hamburger – Ground beef adds extra protein, texture, and flavor to this chili. Be sure to drain it once it’s browned to keep that extra grease out.
- Canned diced tomatoes – Pre-diced tomatoes are a breeze to use, and you won’t have to chop them yourself. We use petite to sneak them by the kids but plain diced tomatoes will work fine too.
- Onion – Onion adds a nice dose of flavor, especially as it slow-cooks with the rest of the ingredients.
- Tomato sauce – Canned tomato sauce helps make a base for your chili with minimal effort.
- Chili beans – Prepared chili beans often have extra seasoning added. So you’ll have a variety of beans and an extra dose of flavor in your chili.
- Chili powder – The essential spice in the chili, you can use less chili powder if you prefer, but I wouldn’t leave it out.
- Garlic salt – This adds a savory flavor and aroma that’s impossible to resist.
- Cumin – An essential chili spice, cumin brings a warm, earthy flavor.
- Oregano – Oregano’s pungent, lightly floral taste adds dimension to this dish.
Toppings For Crock Pot Chili
Here are a few of our favorite chili toppings!
- Shredded Cheese
- Chopped onions
- Jalapenos
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped avocados
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Sour Cream
- Fritos
How to Make Slow Cooker Chili
- Brown the hamburger and onions in a skillet. Drain the excess grease off once it’s cooked.
- Stir all the ingredients together in a large Crock Pot.
- Cook on high heat for 3-4 hour or low heat for 6-8 hours.
- Once the chili is ready, top it off with sour cream, cheese, green onions, or whichever toppings you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
If you want more comforting sides with your Crock Pot Chili, say no more. Pour it over a big slice of warm Cornbread, or have a slice on the side with real butter.
For some lighter sides, air-fryer Corn on the Cob is super easy to make and a treat to eat. Finally, a traditional Seven Layer Salad can be made ahead of time for the easiest dinner ever!
The best way to tone down a chili that’s too spicy is by adding more beans or tomatoes. Topping it with dairy products like sour cream or cheese will also mellow out the spice.
We like to make things easy, so we chose to use canned chili beans because there are spices mixed into the beans. If you’d rather mix in more of your own spices, kidney beans are also a great option.
Yes, you can. We recommend cooking it on high so the internal temperature comes up to 140 degrees F within 2 hours, which is a safe temperature
Here’s the Instant Pot Chili recipe with directions!
If you don’t have a slow cooker this can also be made on the stove top. Brown the onion and ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat. Drain off excess fat. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 2 hours over low heat.
How to Store Leftover Chili
This is a large batch chili recipe so you will have leftovers unless you are serving it at a party!
Refrigerator: Let the chili come to room temperature and then place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer: To further extend the life of chili it is freezer friendly. Freeze any leftovers in a freezer friendly container or heavy duty freezer bags for up to 6 months.
WOW I’m glad I tried this Crockpot Chili again. It’s simply amazing. It will quickly become your family’s go-to recipe for chili! The secret….cumin.
Curl up in front of your fireplace with a big bowl of this easy crockpot chili and warm up!
More great chili recipes!
- Nothing beats the flavor of this Crock Pot White Chili recipe!
- Can’t decide between chili and pasta? Make this Crock Pot Chili Mac for the best of both worlds!
- Need a smaller batch? This Stove Top Chili is the perfect size for feeding a family for dinner.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Crockpot Chili
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground beef
- 2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz each)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 30 oz can tomato sauce
- 15.5 oz can chili beans
- 2 cups water
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 4 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat sauté ground beef and onion until it's cooked through. Drain off any excess grease.
- Transfer ground beef and onions to a 6 quart slow cooker. Add the rest of ingredients and stir to combine.
- Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.
- Top with sour cream and cheese if desired.
Tips
After a hour add chili powder, garlic salt, cumin and oregano. Simmer for an additional 2 hours. Top with sour cream and cheese if desired.
Peggy says
Looks good, going to make this tonight.
Says this serves 12, how much is a serving size?
Thanks so much!
Michelle says
Good recipe, but had no flavor.
Abbey says
I give this a 3 out of 5 star rating. The recipe was very simple and easy. The one thing that I didn’t like about it was it was very thick not liquidy at all. It was lots of hamburger meat than liquids. I would add more variety of beans as well.
Jada says
I made this chili for culinary class and it was okay. I would probably give it 3/5 stars. We tried to serve ours over noodles because it wasn’t liquidy enough. It didn’t have that much flavor, but I think thats because we did not use a crock pot and we did not let it simmer for an hour.
Shae says
I’d give this a 3/5 star rating because ours was practically Mac and cheese with some beef. We added noodles and I don’t think we added enough seasoning because ours was a little bland.
Natalie says
Do you cover on the stove while simmering?
Julie Evink says
You can do it either way Natalie! I did not.
Alison says
Hi can I cook on high for 4 hours instead ? 🙂
Julie Evink says
Yes that would work just fine!
Diane says
Thanks for the great recipe. Just making it for supper and with my first taste test I know it’s the recipe I’ve been looking for. We eat ours over rice and top with sour cream and cheese. Leftovers are mixed in and put into tortillas. Yum, from Minnesota 🙂
jazmine says
how would you suggest freezing this and reheating?
Julie Evink says
Hi Jazmine! I just freeze mine in containers the portion size of what I want and then either let it thaw in the fridge or heat it on the stove top from frozen!
Dori Pan says
Absolutely love this recipe! Have made it many times! Easy recipe & my family loves it! I add chopped red pepper and serve over rice.
Julie Evink says
I’m so glad you enjoy it Dori! Thanks for coming back and letting me know!
Zoe says
How many does this serve?
Julie Evink says
I would say 12-16!
Janice says
could this be converted to a crockpot recipe?
lck says
I made this chilli yesterday it was so good. Entering it in a chilli cookoff tomorrow. But I tweeked it a little and instead of the second xan of chilli I added a can of rotel. It is awesome.
Amber says
Hello Julie,
This recipe looks great! I am going to try it on Friday. I am having about 6 people coming over. Is it okay if I just make it with 2 pounds of meat? If I do, do I need to reduce all of the other ingredients?
Julie Evink says
You can add less meat but the chili won’t be as thick and hearty. I’ve had other people adjust to just the two pounds of hamburger before and it’s fine!
Kym says
If I brown the meat first, can I just throw everything else in the crockpot for a few hours instead of stove top??
Julie Evink says
Yes you sure can! I do it all the time!