Easy Crockpot Chili
This Easy Crockpot Chili is a hearty family dinner you can get started earlier in the day and have ready by dinnertime. There is nothing to chop and nothing to babysit. You open a few cans, shake in a seasoning packet, and come home to a thick, spoon-coating chili that is already begging for cheese.
This recipe is a spin-off of my husband’s Famous Vegetarian Chili, the recipe that won my heart—by way of my stomach—all those years ago. The main difference is that it’s now made in my favorite appliance, the crockpot.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground beef: Brown the beef first and drain off the excess grease before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Dark kidney beans: Drain the beans before adding them.
- Tomato sauce: Adds the tomato base for the chili.
- Diced tomatoes: Use a 14.5-ounce can and add the tomatoes without draining them.
- Chili seasoning: Use your favorite packet of chili seasoning.
- Water: The original recipe uses 2 cups.
- Toppings: We love shredded cheese and corn chips, but sour cream is another great option.
For this recipe, I recommend browning the ground beef first. Drain off the excess grease before adding the beef to your slow cooker. It helps keep the finished chili from becoming greasy and gives the beef a better texture.
Cook this chili on LOW for 6–7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Since the ground beef is browned before it goes into the slow cooker, the longer cooking time is mainly giving the ingredients time to cook together and develop the finished chili.
Take the lid off for the last 30 minutes and run the cooker on HIGH so the extra liquid evaporates. If you need it thicker faster, stir in a tablespoon of cornstarch whisked into cold water and give it 10 more minutes. A reader named Nancy thickens hers with cornstarch and milk, which also makes it a little creamier.
Yes, and it scales cleanly. The only rule is that your slow cooker cannot be more than about two thirds full or the heat will not circulate, so size up the crock rather than packing it. A much larger batch may need an extra hour on LOW.
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Yes. Let the chili cool and store it in freezer-safe containers. USDA storage guidance lists soups and stews for about 3–4 days in the refrigerator or 2–3 months in the freezer for best quality.
Skip the beef and the browning step completely. Stir in a bag of frozen soy crumbles straight from the freezer, or leave the protein out altogether and add a third can of beans instead. Morning Star Starters is the brand we have used for years, though any plain, unseasoned crumble works.
Crumbles are already cooked, so they only need to heat through and can go in at the beginning with everything else. If you want them to hold more texture, stir them in during the last hour instead.
One thing to check if you are cooking for an actual vegetarian: some chili seasoning packets include beef bouillon or milk solids. So make sure to check your packets
How Long to Cook Chili in a Crockpot
- After beef is browned, and grease drained, place in crockpot. Add in kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili seasoning and water. Stir until well combined.
- Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as cheese, sour cream or corn chips!
More Chili Recipes We Love!
- Crockpot Chili Con Carne
- Crockpot Cincinnati Chili
- Green and White Crockpot Chili
- Crockpot Chili Mac
Easy Crockpot Chili
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef browned
- 30 oz canned dark kidney beans, drained
- 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
- 14.5 oz can tomatoes
- 1.25 oz packet of chili seasoning
- 2 cups water
- cheese for topping
- corn chips for topping
Instructions
- After beef is browned, and grease drained, place in crockpot. Add in kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili seasoning and water. Stir until well combined.
- Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as cheese, sour cream or corn chips!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Originally Posted: October 2015
Posted Updated: August 2026
Corey, thank you for the chili recipe, trying it out today, but the only thing I changed was I added bell peppers instead of canned tomatoes and added a link of sausage to the chili. I usually stove top but I lost everything to a divorce, and lately do a lot of slow cooking foods these days, to last me for awhile .
My chili has an hour and 20 minutes left and it’s still really watery will that get better in an hour?
This is what happened to me too. I added 15 oz cans of tomatoes though…not sure if this would matter. Any tips?? Not very good in the kitchen so any help would be great!!
I don’t know if either of you still need help but generally anytime I need to thicken something (soup, chili, stew, gravy, sauces etc) I just take a tablespoon or two of flour and mix it in a small Tupperware with some cold milk or water or broth and shake it til there’s no lumps. Then add it to the chili or whatever and simmer a bit longer. Do make sure to cook it until you’re sure any flour taste is gone. You can always repeat if you still want it a bit thicker. 🙂
Hi Rachel:
Thanks for that suggestion! I do run into that issue quite frequently where I need to thicken one thing or another. So I just went out and bought a bag of Organic Flour and will keep it handy in my cabinet.
I assume it would work for spaghetti sauce too. It is generally recommended to use tomato paste, but I don’t always have tomato paste handy.
This is a delicious recipe but this time I left out the water. It was just too soupy with the 2 cups of water.
I made this recipe and it was fabulous! I just wanted to say that I added a jar of salsa and it was awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
I made the today, and doubled the recipe exactly!! But it’s so watery and cooked it on high for almost double amount of time. Am I doing something wrong?
I’ve never had a problem with this being watery Natalie. Maybe check your ingredients again? If you still feel it’s too watery, would could simmer stove-top to cook off some of the liquid.
Mine came out soupy as well. I’m quite disappointed. I think next time I’ll either use half a cup or just use extra sauce. We never used water before I actually didn’t intentionally mean to. I was just so excited and got carried away.
Also I cut out the canned tomatoes and diced up a fresh tomato. I also added an onion and used the Chili-o packet. My boyfriend LOVES garlic so I also added some minced garlic for a sense of garlic.
When you are cooking something in a crock pot and it’s too watery normally turning it up to high and taking the lid off for the last 30 mins will cook the excess water off. I’ve done it with a few different recipes.
Cut back on the water. There will be enough juices with the other ingredients. Believe me. 2 cups is over kill
Oops. I meant to give a 3 star rating! If I can fix it I will!