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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
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” 🙂
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.
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.
Is the beef sausage a ground meat? Or is it a processed sausage such as Hillshire?
Could this be adapted for the pressure cooker? If so, suggestions?
What would you think about replacing the sausage with Chorizo Sausage in addition to the ground beef?
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.
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.
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).
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.
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!
I’m so so happy to hear this Fee! Yay thank you for sharing your feedback!