This Hearty Crockpot Chili with Bell Peppers is the perfect blend of ground beef, kidney beans, green peppers, onions, and just a little spice.
Top this chili with all of your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, and corn chips.
This is the best chili I have ever eaten. I have been making it for years, and it's always a hit with my family. Everyone I have served it to has asked for the recipe and when I give it to them they can't believe how simple this chili is.
If you accidentally create chili that is too spicy, check out this post on How to Fix Chili That is to Spicy.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This slow cooker chili recipe is one of those perfect hearty meals that are great for cold winter months.
- This chili is so easy to make and uses basic everyday ingredients. Ground beef, green peppers, and onions are quickly sauteed and then dumped into the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. Set the temperature to low and walk away for 6 to 8 hours. That's it.
- This hands-free cooking method allows all of the chili flavors to meld together into a bowl of deliciousness.
- Plus it freezes really well. Which means you can have a quick and easy dinner ready in the freezer.
Do You Need to Make Chili for a Crowd?
This recipe also scales really well. Last fall we made two huge electric roasters full of chili to serve at our son's baptism. Feel free to double, triple, or even quadruple this recipe. The only limit is the size of your cooking vessel.
Recipe Ingredients
This easy crockpot chili has just a few main classic ingredients along with plenty of herbs and spices.
Ground Beef: This chili tastes great with either ground beef, I usually use 80/20, or if you want to reduce the calories use ground turkey or ground chicken. There are so many herbs and spices that I usually can't tell the difference.
Beans: In this recipe, I use canned red kidney beans to keep it as simple as possible. But feel free to soak and cook a bag of dry beans and use them instead. You can also try different varieties of beans like black or pinto beans.
Tomatoes: I like to use fire-roasted diced tomatoes to add a little extra flavor. Adding tomato paste also adds a rich concentrated tomato flavor.
If you have fresh tomatoes, you can substitute 2 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes for each 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes.
Bell Peppers and Onions: Chili is a great way to sneak in a few extra vegetables. Typically I add yellow onion, green bell pepper, and garlic. But you could also try adding whatever you have in your fridge like zucchini or mushrooms.
Tip: If you do add additional veggies that have a higher water content your chili will naturally have a little bit more liquid so you might want to precook them or leave the lid off the slow cooker for the last bit of cooking.
Spices: There are no spice packets here just a couple of common pantry spices.
Using multiple spices gives this chili a nice depth of flavor. For heat, I use not just chili powder but cayenne pepper and paprika too. This recipe also calls for lots of ground cumin which I believe gives it that quintessential chili flavor.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Beans: Use black beans instead of red beans to create a delicious black bean chili. Or try a version with white beans and shredded chicken.
- Vegetables: Chili is a great way to use up leftover vegetables. I often add, zucchini, corn, mushrooms, and additional peppers. There are already green peppers in the recipe but why not add red bell peppers or another color pepper too.
- Protein: There are so many delicious protein options when making a batch of chili. Try substitution ground turkey or chicken, shredded chicken, stew meat, or venison. You can also substitute sweet potatoes, mushrooms, or ground veggie meat substitution to create a vegetarian chili.
- Heat: Add additional chilis such as green chilis, adobo chilis, jalapenos, poblanos, or chipotle chilis to increase the heat level.
Step by Step Directions
Step 1: Brown the ground beef or turkey in a large skillet over medium heat until it is mostly cooked through.
Step 2: Add the onion and bell pepper. Saute until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the chopped garlic cloves and saute for an additional 30 seconds.
Tip: Browning the beef before adding it to the slow cooker will add flavor to your chili and prevent it from being too greasy.
Step 3: Drain the grease and pour the beef mixture into a 6-quart crockpot.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Step 4: Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over pasta to make chili mac or cook some hot dogs and make chili dogs. You can also ladle chili over tortilla chips and top with cheese to make amazing nachos.
This hearty chili also makes a great topping for a baked potato, French fries, or macaroni and cheese.
My family's favorite way to eat homemade chili is alongside peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
There are also so many delicious topping you can add to this chili to make it your own.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
- Saltine Crackers or Oyster Crackers
- Corn Chips or Tortilla Chips
- Diced Avocado or Guacamole
- Jalapenos
- Pickled Red Onions
- Raw Onion
- Sliced Green Onions
- Fresh Cilantro
- Hot Sauce
Tip: I tend to keep my chili mild and always include hot sauce as a topping option so that anyone who enjoys spicier chili can kick up the heat.
Storage
One of my favorite things about this easy crockpot chili recipe is it tastes even better the next day. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
To Freeze: This easy slow cooker chili freezes and reheats really well. I usually have a bag or two in my freezer for a quick and easy emergency dinner. Chili will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Pour the completely cooled chili into a zip-top bag.
- Label the bag with the contents and date.
- Lay the bag flat in the freezer to freeze.
To Reheat:
- Thaw the chili overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat in a pot over medium heat.
For even more freezing tips, check out this post on the best way to freeze beef stew?
Recipe FAQs
Cover the chili with the lid and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Yes! If you don’t have a slow cooker this chili can also be made on the stovetop. After you have browned the beef and cooked the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 2-3 hours over low heat. Stirring occasionally.
I don't recommend adding raw meat to a crockpot for three reasons.
1. There are some safety concerns when cooking raw meat. If the meat is not brought up to the proper temperature quickly enough there is the potential for bacterial growth.
2. Browning meat in a skillet helps to develop flavor. Browning meat creates a delicious caramelization known as the Maillard reaction, which happens as the heat caramelizes the sugars in the meat.
3. I prefer to drain some of the excess fat after cooking the ground beef. The chili would be too greasy if the raw ground beef was cooked along with the other ingredients.
Spiciness is of course a matter of opinion. I don't think this is an overly spicy chili and my toddler seems to agree.
Expert Tips
- Don't skip sauteing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauteing adds a nice caramelized flavor and makes sure you don't end up with crunchy vegetables in your chili.
- You can substitute ground turkey for ground beef to reduce the calories. I have even used leftover shredded pork, which created some really yummy results.
- Cooking the chili low and slow gives all of the different flavors time to develop. I have left this chili to cook in the slow cooker for as long as 10 hours on low and it tasted great!
- Don't lift the lid of the slow cooker until you are close to the end of the full cook time. Every time you lift the lid heat is released increasing the cooking time by about 15 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. Individual tastes will vary. This crockpot chili might need a bit more heat or salt to make it your perfect chili. Start with the minimum amounts listed in the recipe and add additional seasonings to your desired preference at the end of the cooking time.
- This is not a very spicy chili which makes it a crowd-pleaser. When I serve the chili I like to offer a couple of different hot sauces for people who like their chili spicier.
More Comfort Dinners
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📖 Recipe
Hearty Crockpot Chili with Bell Peppers
Equipment
- saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 green bell peppers diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 - 15 oz cans of red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 2 - 14.5 oz cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups of beef broth
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Brown the 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef or turkey in a large skillet over medium heat until it is mostly cooked through.
- Add the 1 large yellow onion and 2 green bell peppers. Saute until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the 2 cloves of garlic and saute for an additional 30 seconds.
- Drain the grease and pour the beef mixture into a 6-quart crockpot. Add the 2 - 15 oz cans of red kidney beans , 2 - 14.5 oz cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 3 cups of beef broth, 2 teaspoons cumin, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Don't skip sauteing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauteing adds a nice caramelized flavor and makes sure you don't end up with crunchy vegetables in your chili.
- You can substitute ground turkey for the ground beef to reduce the calories. I have even used leftover shredded pork, which created some really yummy results.
- Cooking the chili low and slow gives all of the different flavors time to develop. I have left this chili to cook in the slow cooker for as long as 10 hours on low and it tasted great!
- Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. Individual tastes will vary. This crockpot chili might need a bit more heat or salt to make it your perfect chili. Start with the minimum amounts listed in the recipe and add additional seasonings to your desired preference at the end of the cooking time.
- This chili is only a little spicy which makes it a crowd-pleaser. When I serve the chili I like to offer a couple of different hot sauces for people who like their chili spicier.
Margy says
It has been so long since I had Fritos type chips. They were a mainstay of my childhood lunches. - Margy
Erica @ Raspberries and Kohlrabi says
They are my go-to topping for chili. I love the extra flavor and crunch they add. Thanks for stopping by.