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This Crockpot beef chili recipe is hearty, stick-to-the-ribs, and makes a nice, big batch that’s great for leftovers or freezing!
Try my Easy Cincinnati Chili or Simple Chili Mac next.
Homemade chili is like a big hug in a bowl, and it’ll make your kitchen smell amazing as it cooks low and slow.
I’ve been into cooking with ground beef lately. My easy beef bowls are a new favorite of mine, and readers have been enjoying them too. I also have a cheesy taco pasta that’s made with ground beef and has similar flavors to this chili!
Beef chili ingredients
- Ground beef
- Onion
- Diced tomatoes and tomato paste
- Diced green chilies (you can find them in the Mexican aisle of most grocery stores)
- Kidney beans (I use red ones but feel free to use white if you prefer)
- Spice blend (I use chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, and optional cayenne pepper for some heat)
- Worcestershire sauce
How to make slow cooker beef chili
- Brown the beef and then drain the excess fat;
- Meanwhile, add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker;
- Add the beef to your Crockpot and give it a good stir.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
A few recipe notes:
- I like to use leaner beef so there’s less fat to drain, but this chili will work with any kind of ground beef. You may need to skim some fat off the top when re-heating the chili if you don’t drain enough of the fat prior to adding it to the Crockpot.
- Feel free to sauté the onions along with the beef if you wish. I find it easier just to do the beef, but either way works.
Can I make this chili in my Instant Pot?
Try my Instant Pot beef chili recipe.
Can I make this chili on the stove?
Yes. I’d follow the steps as instructed, but add the ingredients to a large pot instead of a Crockpot. I’d let it simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or so. Or try my quick chili recipe if you’re in a rush.
Toppings for Crockpot chili
- Shredded cheddar or Tex-Mex blend cheese
- Scallions
- Chopped avocado
- Chopped jalapenos
- Sour cream
- Tortilla chips/strips
…etc.
What to serve with chili
- I find the chili by itself with topping is plenty, but you could also serve it over rice or pasta, on top of a baked potato (my husband’s preferred method), or with cornbread even.
Other chili recipes you may like:
- Turkey White Bean Chili
- Easy Black Bean Chili
- Creamy White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Turkey Sweet Potato Chili
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Crockpot Turkey Chili
Will you make this slow cooker chili recipe?
Questions? Let me know in the comments!
Crockpot Beef Chili
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 (28 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 (4 fluid ounce) cans diced green chilies
- 2 (15 fluid ounce) cans red kidney beans drained
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Toppings (optional): sour cream, cheddar cheese, scallions, avocado, etc.
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef (about 10 minutes), breaking it up with your spoon as you go along.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion and prep the other ingredients. Add them to your slow cooker.
- Once the beef is done, add it to the Crockpot (make sure to drain the excess fat first).
- Give everything a good stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours (I did 8 hours overnight). You could also do 3-4 hours on high.
- Top bowls of chili as desired.
Notes
- I used mild green chilies. Only add the cayenne pepper if you want the chili to be spicy.
- You could use fire-roasted diced tomatoes for extra flavor. If you want to add some more veggies and color to this chili, I suggest chopping a red or green pepper and adding it too.
- If you're sensitive to salt, use low-sodium beef broth. The chili powder, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce contain salt so I don't add extra salt to this recipe, but feel free to add some if you think it needs it.
- This chili freezes well.
- This is the 7-quart Crockpot I used for this recipe.
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Easy to make, hearty, and lots of leftovers to enjoy later!
My husband likes spicy foods, so we definitely went heavy on all the spicy bits: “hot” diced tomatoes (they aren’t that hot), tablespoon of cayenne, and after cooking, fresh diced jalapeño on top. Not too spicy even for me. My husband added Tabasco sauce.
After cooking the meat and putting it in the Crockpot, I sautéed the onion then added all the spices into the pan to heat up until they bloomed a bit. I like the effect of opening up the flavor of spices.
Thanks for your recipes and super clear instructions, Natasha. I 💜love💜 your page and have shared it with my whole family!
You are very welcome, Janine!! 😀 I love how you kicked this one up a notch! And thank you for your kind review. I am glad you keep coming back here, and I really appreciate the shares! XO
That Chili looks delicious !
Iff I don’t have a crock pot, can you guide me how to do it in the oven ?
Thanks 🙂
Hi! I would just try this recipe: https://bit.ly/3tX4q2j
Used 2 pounds beef, an extra half cup of beef broth, and 2/3 of the called for spice amounts. It was absolutely delicious!
Excellent!
It has taken my husband and me YEARS to find a chili recipe we agree upon. This one is finally it! Delicious and hearty, we’re freezing it to bring on a camping trip soon 🙂
Haha that’s amazing!! 😀
Happy national chili day! This turned out really good. I also added 1/2 a bell pepper and a jalapeño to it, roasted them with the onion. I used a can of beer instead of the beef broth, so it needed salt. I also added an extra tbsp+ of tomato paste to give it more umami. It’s been cooking on the stove on low for a little over an hour and I’m just going to let the flavors continue to develop!
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, Travis!! 🙂 Thanks for your review!
After about 5 hours of simmering, the base got nice and thick. This is a silently amazing. Maybe the best chili I’ve ever had.
Yay!! That’s so great to hear.
Love it! I’m trying all the crockpot recipes for the nights I work and this was easy and delicious. It was my personal preference to add some garlic salt. I don’t usually add smoked paprika to my chili so it was a nice change.
So glad you liked it, Victoria!! Thanks for commenting. XO
Hi, can i make this chili with 2lbs beef?
Thank you.
Absolutely!
Can you make this with chicken? Boil and shred or shred a rotisserie chicken?
Sure!
I rarely eat chilli and I have never cooked it. This was the BEST tasting chilli I have ever had.
Ahh that’s awesome to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know!!
Just had this for supper with cornbread and it was SO GOOD! I added the cayenne and it was the perfect amount of heat without being overwhelming. Definitely worth the 6 hour wait! i will for sure be making this again soon:)
Yay! So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂