Slow Cooker Chili

 I made a basic chili with this recipe (warning - when I opened this page in FireFox, it ate up about 8MB memory), omitting several ingredients (cocoa, broth, paprika, green chiles, cumin, sugar, and coriander), and it still came out well.

What Ingredients go into Crockpot Chili?

• Olive oil: use for sauteeing. Vegetable oil will work too if that’s what you have on hand.
• Ground beef: I recommend using 85% lean. It has a good ratio of fat for browning but not too much.
• Yellow onion and garlic: aromatics that add lots of flavor. Use fresh garlic for best results.
• Canned tomatoes with green chilies: if you can’t find the size listed then you can use 2 (14.5 oz) cans of tomatoes then add a 1 (4 oz) can of diced green chilies.
• Tomato sauce: this gives it a nice tomato flavored base and makes it stew-like.
• Beef broth: this thins it out, if you don’t want it soupy at all then you can omit it. If you want it more soup add a little more.
• Spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, sugar, coriander, S&P): the key to great chili. This recipe isn’t skimpy with them.
• Cocoa powder: this secret ingredient adds depth. Don’t worry it’s not going to taste like chocolate.
• Dark and light kidney beans: if you don’t have both shades just use two dark

 

Ingredients 

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies*
• 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving

How do You Make Slow Cooker Chili?

This chili is so easy to make, the slow cooker does most of the work! Here’s how you’ll prepare it:

• Saute aromatics, add to slow cooker: Heat olive oil in a large and deep non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
  Add onion and saute 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Pour onions into a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker (I have several and prefer this one HERE).
• Brown beef: Return skillet to medium-high eat, add beef and cook stirring occasionally until beef has browned.
• Drain fat, add beef to slow cooker: Drain most of fat from beef, leaving about 2 Tbsp in with beef (this is optional, I think it ads flavor but you can drain it all if you’d prefer). Pour browned beef into slow cooker.
• Add liquids and seasonings: Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cocoa powder, sugar, coriander and season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook low and slow: Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 5 – 6 hours.
• Stir in beans: Add in dark and light red kidney beans and allow to heat through, about 2 minutes.
• Serve warm with desired toppings.

 

Tips for the Best Crockpot Chili:

• Don’t skip sautéing onions before adding to slow cooker. If you do you’ll end up with crunchy onions in the chili.
• Use good quality ground beef. I like to use 85% lean Angus beef. Avoid the beef in the tubes is this is poor quality beef.
• For even more flavor you can bloom the spices before adding them to the chili. To do this just saute them with the onions during the last 1 minute.
• If you have time cook beef in two batches. Cooking 1 pound of beef at a time allows more room for it to brown rather than just steam. And of course browning adds incredible flavor.
• Avoid cooking on high heat. Cooking this low and slow allows time for those flavors to develop and meld together, and it makes the beef more tender.
• Wait to add the beans until the end. Canned beans are already cooked so if you add them in the beginning they end up way too mushy.

Possible Variations:

• Add a diced red or green bell pepper along with the veggies when sautéing.
• If you like spicy chili add a seeded jalapeno or two along with the veggies.
• Serve with grated cheddar, sour cream, diced avocados, tortilla chips or saltine crackers.
• Always use airtight containers.