This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Slow Cooker Chili is rich and hearty with intense flavour and turns out perfect every single time!

Take regular chili to whole other another level with our slow cooker chili recipe. Let your crock pot cook it for you and sit down to a bowl full of tender meat, beans, optional sausage and a luscious sauce! Serve with tortilla chips, or go all out and make a batch of Easy Buttermilk Cornbread or Cornbread Recipe.

Top view of Show Cooker Chili in a bowl

SLOW COOKER CHILI RECIPE

Hours of low and slow cooking in a crock pot creates the best chili! Why? All of the flavours and spices marry into each other and the meat becomes incredibly tender, just the way a GREAT chili should be.

This is one of our family favourite easy dinners. So much so that we make this chili at least once a week! The family love it so much they almost always use leftovers for breakfast the next day with buttered toast. I say almost always because it usually disappears the day I make it, it’s THAT good.

The bonus of slow cooker chili?

  1. All around comfort food
  2. Hearty and filling
  3. Packed full of protein.
  4. Easy to make
  5. Food for the soul.
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Spoon full of Slow Cooker Chili

HOW TO MAKE CHILLI IN A CROCK POT

This is not a ‘dump it all in your slow cooker’ recipe. As much as I appreciate the ease of that idea, you just miss out on the flavours created by browning your meat first and sautéing your aromatics. It truly makes all the difference! Yes, it’s an extra step, but it is so worth it. Once you’ve cooked your meat and veggies, you can dump everything into your slow cooker and let it take over. If you’re looking to explore more with the slow cooker try our Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

The aromas drifting through your house will just about drive you nuts. You’ll be tempted to dig in early (been there, done that), and you can do after about 5 hours of slow cooking if temptation wins. 6,7 or 8 hours though…they are the magic numbers. The longer, the better.

TIP: use a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Chili with nachos pieces in a white bowl

HOW TO SERVE CHILI

Well, usually, our slow cooker chili stays put in the kitchen and it’s every man, woman and child for himself (or herself).

The best way to serve it, though?

  • In individual serving bowls with complimentary toppings.
  • With a side of tortilla chips, corn chips, cornbread,  or even warmed up flatbreads.
Yummy sloe cooker chili with nacho in white bowl

SLOW COOKER CHILI TOPPINGS

There are so many options to top chili with. The BEST would have to be:

  • sour cream
  • shredded cheese
  • sliced green onions
  • fresh chopped cilantro (or coriander)
  • jalapeno slices
  • diced or sliced avocado

HOW CAN I USE LEFTOVER CHILI?

  • Chili Mac: Use leftover chili for our best Mac and Cheese recipe!
  • Chili Dogs: Pour over hot dogs.
  • Pasta: Boil your favourite pasta and add it as you would bolognese!
  • Baked Potatoes: spoon into potatoes and serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc.
  • Chili fries: over hot chips with melted cheese

MORE EASY CHILI RECIPES!

You might also like

Karina in a white and black dress with her hair blowing back, standing in front of her cooktop, cooking salmon in a pan

Get a free eBook!

Subscribe to Cafe Delites FOR FREE and receive recipes straight into your inbox!

5 from 18 votes

Slow Cooker Chili

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Slow cooker chilli with tender meat is rich and robust with intense flavours. An easy chili recipe that turns out perfect every single time!
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

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

Chili can be made 2 days ahead. After cooking, allow to cool completely, cover and refrigerate. On the day of cooking, take out of the refrigerator at least an hour before heating.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 1.036mg | Potassium: 1.344mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1.834IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this? Leave a comment below!
Slow Cooker Chili PIN
Karina eating butter chicken from a gold fork out of a bowl with a nann bread on the side.

Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!

5 from 18 votes

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

30 Comments

  1. Terry Foss says:

    5 stars
    Karina, you make me look good 🙂 We had an all Church-staff Chili Cook-off here in Minneapolis . I used your recipe and won! #1 out of 12 Chili’s! I claimed maybe 10% credit and told everyone, “I just followed directions from cafedelites.com” 🙂

  2. Caryn Webb says:

    5 stars
    This is the very best chili I ever made! It is my new go-to recipe. Since there are only 2 of us I cut the recipe in 1/2. I only used 1 lb of ground beef as we don’t eat sausage. I replaced the bullion cubes with 1/2 cup of no slat veggie broth. Since I am in the U.S I used tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. I made the entire recipe last time (sans sausage) I used 2 lbs of ground beef since I had my sister visiting and she loved it so much she asked for the recipe!

    If you haven’t tried this you are missing out.

  3. Cassidy says:

    I’m curious.. if I only wanted to use 1 pound of meat- beef – should I half the recipe?? Would it be too saucy if I made it as is but only used 1 pound of meat?
    Thanks!! I’d love to make this for supper tonight.

  4. Janice says:

    Is the beef sausage a ground meat? Or is it a processed sausage such as Hillshire?

  5. Linda says:

    Could this be adapted for the pressure cooker? If so, suggestions?

  6. Carolyn Wolvin says:

    What would you think about replacing the sausage with Chorizo Sausage in addition to the ground beef?

  7. Lorraine says:

    5 stars
    Wow! This slow cooker chilli recipe is absolutely amazing and just what we needed on a cold night. I love your suggestions on how to use the leftovers too so looking forward to some more tomorrow.

  8. Jeff says:

    5 stars
    This chili recipe is really good. So much better than buying a starter kit from the grocery store. It’s my new go to chili recipe.

  9. Ginnie says:

    This sounds great! Its supposed to be cold here this weekend so I think this will be perfect. I will have to do one tweak tho. Hubby wont eat beans so Ill either ave to leave them out (Texas style) or swap for elbow macaroni (chili mac).

    1. jane says:

      5 stars
      Why not just put some aside without the beans and add beans to the rest? The beans meake the Chili heartier and are a great source of Fiber and Protein. Just a friendly suggestion.

  10. Fee says:

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness this slow cooker chili recipe is everything I’ve been looking for! Your description nails it and my chili loving hubby loved it so much and had it for breakfast with poached eggs. He’s super picky when it comes to chili and he reckons this chili is the best he’s tried.
    YOU ARE A GEM!

    1. Karina says:

      I’m so so happy to hear this Fee! Yay thank you for sharing your feedback!