Hearty Crock Pot Chili is packed with beef, beans, tomatoes, and spices with just 15 minutes of prep. Perfect for lazy Sundays, game-day spreads, or freezer-friendly meal prep!
Chili is something my family looks forward to and this classic slow cooker chili recipe is exactly what they want. It is the perfect and easy winter recipe.
Quick, easy, inexpensive, and delicious! Perfect meal for busy families on-the-go and easy on the budget.
– Helena
Now that I brown my ground beef or turkey before I freeze it, making it in the crockpot is a breeze. I know your family is going to love this Winter Crockpot Recipe too. This really is a great recipe. Also check out Slow Cooker Brisket Chili, Chili Con Carne or Texas Chili Recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Set it and forget it. Brown the beef, dump everything else in the crock pot, and let it simmer all day.
- Budget-friendly comfort food. This whole pot costs about $17.31, so you can feed a family of six for less than the price of one fast food meal.
- Freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and freeze half for a night when cooking is the last thing you want to do.
- Game-day ready. It holds beautifully on the warm setting, so it’s perfect for parties, potlucks, or a lazy Sunday at home.
Ingredients
- Lean Ground Beef – You can use ground turkey or ground chicken
- Diced Tomatoes – Crushed tomatoes work great or you can use a can of each.
- Chili Seasoning – Try making your own. We love using my homemade chili seasoning
- Garlic Salt – See The Best Garlic Salt Substitute if you are out
- Onion – If you are out, check out Best Onion Substitute
- Kidney beans – You can also use pinto beans or chili beans
- Shredded cheese or Sour Cream to serve
Budget Tip: To stretch this recipe further and save even more money, use 1 pound of ground beef instead of 2 and add an extra can of drained beans. You’ll still get a hearty, filling pot of chili for a fraction of the cost.
How to Make Chili in a Crockpot
Step 1 – Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it apart as it cooks, until it’s no longer pink and reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 6-8 minutes. Drain off any excess grease.
Step 2 – Place the browned ground beef in the bottom of a crock pot.
Step 3 – Place all the remaining ingredients except for the shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream in the crock pot.
Step 4 – I cook this easy chili recipe on low for 6-8 hours or cook high for 3-4 hours.
Step 5 – This chili recipe is pretty thick as I love a thick chili in the winter time. Once it has cooked, if you would like it to be thinner, I recommend adding 1 cup of beef broth to the crock pot for approximately 30 minutes.
Step 6 – Stir occasionally until the chili is the consistency that you would prefer.
Step 7 – After this cooking time, top this chili with cheese, sour cream, and even some chopped green onion. Yummy!
A Note on Spice Level: This chili has a warm, mild heat from the chili seasoning and garlic salt — it’s not a spicy chili as written, so it’s safe for kids and spice-sensitive eaters. If your family likes more kick, stir in a diced jalapeño or a splash of hot sauce with the tomatoes. For an even milder pot, use half the chili seasoning called for and add more to taste once it’s done cooking.
Recipe Tips
- Chopped Onions – We like to sauté onions prior to putting them in the crock pot. But it isn’t necessary. You can also add in the spices to really enhance the flavors.
- Cook on Low – Cooking the chili on low in the crock pot helps the flavors to blend well together.
- Stove Top Chili – You can cook this chili on the stove top as well. We cook it on low and if the sauce gets to thick, we add in a little water. See How to Thicken Chili for tips.
Variations Ideas
- Pepperoncini – Have you tried adding in some pepperoncini juice? It adds really good flavor and can be your secret ingredient.
- Spicy Chili – Adding in a chili more chili powder or slice jalapenos really adds an additional kick to the chili.
- Add in Bell Peppers – Add in Bell Peppers or Red Peppers for some textures. The peppers are healthy and the kids won’t know they are eating them.
- Beans – I usually have a variety of beans in my pantry. So I tend to mix and match the beans and use what I have.
- Picky Eater Friendly – If your kids aren’t fans of visible beans or onion, mash a portion of the beans before adding them so they blend into the sauce instead of standing out, and dice the onion extra small so it disappears into the chili.
Favorite Chili Toppings
Chili is delicious but the chili toppings is what really makes chili go from good to delicious! Here are a few of the best chili toppings.
- Sour Cream
- Cheddar cheese (or any kind of shredded cheese. Pepper Jack is delicious too)
- Saltines or Ritz Crackers
- Fritos or any kind of chips – Some like to use tortilla chips or Doritos
- Diced onion – Green onion or red onion is a personal favorite
- Hot Sauce – a quick splash will spice it up.
- Cornbread – crumbling cornbread on top of a hot bowl of chili is also delicious.
- Lime Juice – My friend loves topping her chili with this.
- Check out What to Serve with Chili for more ideas.
Ways to use Leftover Chili
There are so many different ways to use leftover chili. Here are some of our favorites:
- Top a Baked Potato
- Chili Mac and Cheese
- Top on a Hot Dog for the Best Chili Dogs
- Chili Cheese Easy Homemade French Fries
- A Frito Chili Cheese Wrap
- Crock Pot Frito Pie
Best Sides for Crock Pot Chili
I love serving this easy crockpot recipe with some homemade cornbread. Here are a few delicious side dish options that you can choose from.
- Easy Homemade Cornbread Recipe
- Sweet Honey Cornbread Recipe
- Corn Bread Muffins
- Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread Recipe
- Gluten Free Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Recipe
- Top with Green onions
Did you know that I also make my own homemade cornbread mix to make preparing cornbread even easier? I love having these cornbread mixes on hand so I can whip up some delicious cornbread in no time at all!
How to Add in Vegetables
One of the best things about crock pot beef recipes is that they’re easy to customize to fit your family’s needs, and this chili is no different.
If you’re looking to add more vegetables for your family, it’s simple to sneak them into this chili. I’ve added green peppers or shredded carrots when I have them on hand — they cook down and blend right into the sauce, so picky eaters won’t even notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can! We love using out instant pot any chance we can. It has been a game changer for my family. You can easily brown your meat, saute your onions and vegetables and then add the rest of your ingredients.
Cover and set your pressure to about 20 minutes. Once it is done cooking set your pressure to release naturally before opening the lid.
Your chili is done quick and everyone has a warm bowl of chili to end their day. For even more details, see Easy Instant Pot Chili Recipe.
For this recipe, I generally do not drain the kidney beans that are used in this easy crock pot chili as I find that it does not change the recipe or flavor if they are drained or not.
However, if you are going to use black beans instead of kidney beans (which would taste great too), I recommend that you drain and rinse the black beans prior to adding them to your slow cooker.
Store leftover chili in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The leftovers last about 4-5 days and we think they taste even better the next day.
We love to freeze chili. It freezes great and reheats really well. We think it actually taste better the next day.
I like to freeze small batches for quick lunches or for the kids to grab for an after school dinner. Chili is the perfect meal to make a double batch so you can freeze for dinner the next week. Check out Crockpot Freezer Meals for more tips and tricks.
No, as written this chili has a mild, warm heat from the chili seasoning. It’s kid-friendly as is — see our note above if you’d like to turn up the heat.
Yes, this recipe doubles well as long as your crock pot is large enough to hold it (look for a 7-quart or larger slow cooker). The cook time stays about the same, though it may take an extra 30 minutes to heat all the way through.
A 5 to 6-quart slow cooker is perfect for this recipe as written. If you double the recipe, use a 7-quart or larger.
More Easy Chili Recipes
We love to hear from you. If you make this Crock Pot Chili Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Crock Pot Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 (28) oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
- 14 oz can of tomato sauce
- ¼ cup chili seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 2 cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
For Serving:
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
- ½ cup sour cream
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add the cooked ground beef to the crock pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the cheese and sour cream. Stir until well combined.
- Cover and cook on Low for 6–8 hours or High for 3–4 hours, until heated through and the flavors are well combined.
- Serve warm topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and additional chopped onion, if desired. Enjoy!
Come on Fall! It’s still too hot in South GA, but when it gets here, i will be ready with this recipe.
Tracey – I know! This weather has been so hot! I’m glad you plan to make it and I can’t wait to hear what you think.
How about using fresh tomatoe ?
Hi Susan! Fresh tomatoes will work. Chop them and use the same amount called for in the recipe. Since fresh tomatoes can be less juicy than canned, you may need to add a small splash of broth if the chili seems too thick.
Can’t wait for the first cool front! We will be making this delicious pot of chili.
Looks incredible! Printed off this Chili recipe, along with your Turkey White Bean chili. Cant wait to make them both! Thx
Elizabeth – Thanks so much! I’m excited that you plan to try both!
I will be using all your Chili recipes! It takes a little bit longer to cool off here in South Texas but when it does your Chili’s will top the menus!
LaRue – I understand that. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Sounds so easy and yummy. Can’t wait to try it.
Linda – Thank you! I hope you enjoy this easy chili recipe.
Such a good, basic chili recipe for the crockpot. Smells so good. Nice to have crock pot revipes for those busy, cool days. Thanks a bunch.