Slow Cooker Chili made as a cozy, dependable bowl with balanced seasoning and practical prep.
A Slow-Simmered Chili for Weeknights That Need Dinner Done
Set it up in 20 minutes, let it cook for six, and come back to a deeply flavored, crowd-pleasing chili that tastes like it took all day.
When your day is full but dinner still needs to be impressive, this slow-cooker chili is the kind of reliable answer that actually tastes like effort. Browning 80/20 ground beef first gives you caramelized bits and a meaty backbone, while a quick sauté of onion, garlic, and red bell pepper adds a sweet, savory base before everything goes into the slow cooker to mellow and meld.
A short step of stirring tomato paste and spices—chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano—into the hot skillet blooms the flavors so the long simmer doesn’t leave them flat. Once combined with crushed tomatoes, beef broth, kidney and black beans, the pot goes quiet for about six hours; the slow heat rounds acidity, softens beans to tender-but-Intact, and turns the broth silky and thick.
This chili is great for batch cooking: it makes six generous servings, keeps for days in the fridge, and freezes beautifully in portions for grab-and-go meals. Finish with a pinch of brown sugar or a splash of Worcestershire if the sauce needs balancing, and season to taste at the end—the flavors concentrate as it cools.
Serve bowls steaming with shredded cheese, scallions, a dollop of sour cream, or a side of warm cornbread. Little swaps—mashing a cup of beans into the pot to thicken, or simmering uncovered for the last hour—let you tune the texture to your liking, so every spoonful hits exactly where you want it.
Ingredients
How to Make Slow Cooker Chili
- Prepare aromatics: peel and halve the onion, mince the garlic, and core and dice the red bell pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil; add the ground beef and cook until well browned, breaking it up with a spoon (6–8 minutes). Drain off excess fat, leaving a little for flavor.
- Add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper to the skillet with the beef and cook 3–4 minutes until the onion begins to soften and garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne; cook 1 minute to bloom the spices.
- Transfer the beef and spice mixture to the slow cooker; add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, drained kidney beans, and drained black beans. Stir to combine and season with the salt.
- Cover and cook on Low for 6–8 hours or on High for 3–4 hours, stirring once midway if possible; longer low cooking will deepen the flavors.
- Taste and adjust seasoning at the end of cooking: add more salt, a pinch of sugar, or a splash of Worcestershire to balance acidity, and simmer uncovered on High for 10–15 minutes if you want a thicker chili.
- Serve hot with optional toppings such as shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, or tortilla chips. Leftovers keep refrigerated up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Chili
Slow Cooker Chili made as a cozy, dependable bowl with balanced seasoning and practical prep.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 6 hr
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare aromatics: peel and halve the onion, mince the garlic, and core and dice the red bell pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil; add the ground beef and cook until well browned, breaking it up with a spoon (6–8 minutes). Drain off excess fat, leaving a little for flavor.
- Add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper to the skillet with the beef and cook 3–4 minutes until the onion begins to soften and garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne; cook 1 minute to bloom the spices.
- Transfer the beef and spice mixture to the slow cooker; add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, drained kidney beans, and drained black beans. Stir to combine and season with the salt.
- Cover and cook on Low for 6–8 hours or on High for 3–4 hours, stirring once midway if possible; longer low cooking will deepen the flavors.
- Taste and adjust seasoning at the end of cooking: add more salt, a pinch of sugar, or a splash of Worcestershire to balance acidity, and simmer uncovered on High for 10–15 minutes if you want a thicker chili.
- Serve hot with optional toppings such as shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions, or tortilla chips. Leftovers keep refrigerated up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Carbohydrates
- 23
- Saturated Fat
- 9
- Sodium
- 900
- Fiber
- 6
- Unsaturated Fat
- 16
- Protein
- 25
- Fat
- 25
- Cholesterol
- 80
- Trans Fat
- 0.5
- Calories
- 445
- Sugar
- 9