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Slow Cooker Chili is rich, hearty, and packed with bold flavor—it turns out perfectly every single time!
This isn’t your average chili. Our slow cooker chili recipe takes everything you love about the classic and makes it even better. Let your crock pot do the work while tender meat, beans, and optional sausage simmer in a deeply savory sauce. Serve it up with tortilla chips, or go all out with a batch of Easy Buttermilk Cornbread or our classic Cornbread Recipe.
How To Make Slow Cooker Chili
- Sauté the Aromatics: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the chopped onions and green peppers for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker bowl
- Brown the Meat: In the same pot, fry the ground beef and sausage until fully browned. Drain off most of the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons in with the meat for flavor. Add the meat mixture to the slow cooker
- Add the Sauce and Seasonings: Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, beef bouillon, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, paprika, cocoa powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Slow Cook to Perfection: Cover with a lid and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours. This slow simmer allows the flavors to deepen and the meat to become tender.
- Stir in the Beans: Once the chili is cooked, gently stir in the kidney and black beans. Let them heat through for about 2 to 3 minutes until warmed and well combined.
- Serve and Enjoy: Ladle the chili into bowls and serve hot with your favorite toppings and sides. It’s especially good with cornbread, tortilla chips, crackers, or a dollop of sour cream.
This Slow Cooker Chili is a meal on its own, but the right side dishes take it to the next level. A slice of Easy Buttermilk Cornbread is perfect for soaking up all that rich, savory sauce. You can also serve it with Fluffy Rice for a hearty, comforting base.For a bit of crunch, try it with Homemade Tortilla Chips or buttery crackers on the side. And don’t forget the toppings—sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, and a dash of hot sauce make every bowl even better.
What Makes This Slow Cooker Chili Work
The magic of this Slow Cooker Chili lies in its low-and-slow cooking method, which allows all the rich flavors to deepen and develop without any fuss. The meat becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender, the beans soak up all the spices, and the sauce thickens into something truly irresistible.
Whether you stick to beef or add in sausage for extra flavor, this recipe is flexible enough to suit your taste. Plus, with the slow cooker doing all the heavy lifting, you can set it, forget it, and still end up with a comforting, crowd-pleasing meal every time.
What Goes Into This Slow Cooker Chili
This Slow Cooker Chili is made with a blend of pantry staples and bold spices that come together for deep, satisfying flavor. The slow cooker does all the work, letting the ingredients meld into something truly irresistible
- Lean Ground Beef: Adds heartiness and rich, meaty flavor to every bite.
- Beef Sausage: Use Angus or Italian sausage for an extra layer of savory depth and a hint of spice.
- Canned Tomatoes: A mix of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce creates a luscious, simmered base.
- Chili Powder: The key spice in this dish—adjust it to your preferred heat level for the perfect kick.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements
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Slow Cooker Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped or minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound beef sausage Angus beef or Italian sausage
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes canned
- 24 ounces bottle tomato sauce Passata for Aussies
- 4 ounces green chilies or jalapeños
- 2 cubes beef bouillon crumbled
- 2 tablespoons chili powder adjust to your tastes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (adjust to your tastes)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 15 ounces red kidney beans canned, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces black beans canned, drained and rinsed
Toppings:
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 handful cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon green onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and green peppers (or capsicum) for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (30 seconds). Transfer mixture into a 6-quart (litre) slow cooker bowl.
- Fry beef and sausage until browned. Drain off most of the fat, reserving about 2 tablespoons of fat with the beef; transfer meat into slow cooker bowl. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, bouillon, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, paprika, cocoa powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and sugar. Season with pepper to taste.
- Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours if time allows, (or high heat for 2 hours).
- Stir beans through and allow them to warm through (about 2 minutes). Serve with desired toppings and sides: cornbread, corn chips, tortilla chips, crackers.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes! You can use all ground beef or swap in ground turkey or chicken if you prefer a lighter version.
That depends on your chili powder and the type of chilies you use. You can tone down the heat by using mild chilies and less chili powder.
You can, but you’ll need to soak and cook them ahead of time. Canned beans are faster and more convenient for slow cooking
The best chilli ever!!! I’ve recommended it to everyone and they all agree.
Best chili recipe ever – didn’t want to stop eating it, was so amazing!
Thank you Karina for another perfect recipe – I’ve made so many and my family loves them!
This chili was perfect!
I made this today almost exactly. We don’t have beef Italian sausage so I just used all ground beef. I used 1 large jalapeño, without seeds and membranes. I used frozen tomatoes from the garden. It was delicious and it’s our new favorite. Thanks!
Hi Pam, I’m thrilled to hear that you made the recipe and adapted it to what you had on hand! Using all ground beef, jalapeño without seeds, and frozen garden tomatoes sounds like a fantastic twist. I’m so glad it turned out delicious and has become your new favorite. Thank you for trying it out and sharing your experience! If you ever explore more recipes or have questions, feel free to reach out. Happy cooking!
Absolutely love this chili recipe. I’m not a big sausage fan so I just use 1kg of beef mince, but even so it’s deliciously rich and hearty. I’ve shared the recipe with a lot of friends and they all love it too. And it makes heaps of chili so plenty of delicious leftovers! I especially appreciate the substitutions for Aussies – so many chili recipes online contain ingredients like Rotel tomatoes that are almost impossible to get hold of in Australia.
I made this tonight for dinner for my hubby who isn’t a big chili fan. After he finished his first bowl, he said, “That’s some good chili! I’ll be good with eating the leftovers tomorrow.” He doesn’t usually like leftovers, either. Also, my 16-year old daughter ate it with zero complaints. It’s the best chili recipe I have had. I followed the recipe as written and added all the suggested toppings. Then, I served it with a side of cheesy cornbread with some creamed corn added to the Jiffy mix for moisture. Delicious and comforting meal!
Made this yesterday; it’s delicious! It tastes like what I’ve always wished for my chili to taste like. Had it for lunch and I’m eagerly awaiting for dinner to roll around! Largely made it as instructed and it has incredible depth of flavor. I did add 2 extra garlic cloves (for a total of 6 though 2 were small), but otherwise I stayed true to the recipe and cooked it the full 6 hours on low.
To clarify some points in the ingredients list: for “1 lb of beef sausage” there wasn’t a lot to choose from at the store so I ended up using an Eckrich brand beef smoked sausage (found next to the hot dogs) and crushed it up with the ground beef when I cooked it. For my personal tastes, I feel next time I will try to omit it and possibly sub it w/ half a pound of ground chicken, but it was still delicious as-is. I saw another commenter had confusion about the tomato sauce; Passata brand in Australia is apparently an uncooked tomato puree while the standard USA tomato sauce is normally found in a can next to tomato paste and is cooked down. I used the Pomi brand of tomato sauce which was good. The tomato sauce is your liquid for your chili in this recipe and makes it fairly thick where as broth-reliant chilis I’ve had in the past were thinner, so I feel this was a good base, and I would be wary of adding much or any additional water or broth. Excited to try more Cafe Delites recipes!