Comforting Crockpot Chili

A bowl of crockpot chili topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, and corn chips, served with cornbread and extra corn chips on the side, on a wooden table. Perfect comfort food for any crockpot chili recipe lover!.

5 from 2 votes

A hearty, slow-cooked beef chili loaded with beans, warm spices, and rich tomato flavor—perfect for an easy, comforting meal.

Prep Time20

Cook Time4

Total Time4 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: american food, american recipe, comforting crockpot chili

Servings:

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef
1 large onion chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 15-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth or stock
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon optional, recommended
Pinch of cayenne pepper optional
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Garnish optional
Shredded cheddar cheese
Corn chips
Thinly sliced green onions

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and chopped onion. Cook, breaking up the meat, until the beef reaches 160°F and the onion softens; this may take longer than 4 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Stir the tomato paste into the beef mixture and cook for 1 additional minute to deepen the flavor.
Transfer the beef mixture to a large slow cooker. Add the kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, cinnamon (if using), and cayenne pepper (if using). Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Use the drained canned kidney beans listed in the ingredients; do not substitute raw dried kidney beans directly in the slow cooker.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese, corn chips, and green onions if desired.

Notes

Use drained canned kidney beans; do not put raw dried kidney beans directly into the slow cooker.
Brown the beef and onion first and drain excess fat for a richer, cleaner-tasting chili.
Add crunchy chips and fresh green onions to the bowls at serving time.

Estimated per one-sixth recipe using 85/15 beef and a USDA reference drained yield for the rinsed beans. All beef fat is conservatively counted before draining. Optional cinnamon, cayenne, toppings and unquantified salt and pepper are excluded.

Nutrition