Easy Crockpot Chili
There’s no doubt about it…fall is in the air. The trees are putting on their annual show, all dressed up in red and yellow. The nights are growing longer, and there’s a distinct nip in the air by the time everyone comes in for supper.
Which means, of course, that it’s a perfect time for chili. Isn’t it funny how something so warm and cozy is pronounced just like “chilly”? On the other hand, maybe that makes perfect sense, since it goes so well with chilly weather.
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. With the help of this go-to kitchen tool, you can now put a pot of chili on to cook in the morning and have a hot meal ready and waiting when everyone comes home in the evening.
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The other tweak on the recipe is that I’ve created a heartier, meaty version of the chili for all my non-vegetarian readers. It’s just a little bit more work than the veggie version, since you have to brown the beef with a touch of seasoning before you toss it into the crock, but it gives this dish a definite stick-to-your ribs boost. But vegetarians needn’t worry…you can still make this a veggie-friendly dish by substituting your favorite brand of soy crumbles.
Serve it up hot, with your favorite toppings. We love it with corn chips and cheese, but sour cream is good too. And if there’s any left over, don’t worry—it will keep beautifully in the freezer, ready to be thawed out on a day when you were too rushed even to load up the crockpot in the morning.
Easy Crockpot Chili
- 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!
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TOOLS USED FOR THIS EASY CROCKPOT CHILI
Slow Cooker: Here is one of my favorite crockpots!
Slow Cooker Liners: Do you love easy clean-up jobs? Give these liners a try.
Easy Crockpot Chili
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Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef browned
- 2 15 oz cans dark kidney beans, drained
- 1 14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1 14.5 oz can tomatoes
- 1 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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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!