Hearty Crockpot Chili with Bell Peppers

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.

Do You Need to Make Chili for a Crowd?

This recipe also scales really well. Last fall we made two huge roasting pans 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.

Ground Meat

This chili tastes great with either ground beef 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.

If you have never cooked with dry beans before, check out this video from Everyday Food.

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.

Vegetables

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.

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.

Chili 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.

Brown the ground beef or turkey in a large skillet over medium heat until it is mostly cooked through.

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.

Drain the grease and pour the beef mixture into a 6-quart crockpot. Add the kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Favorite Chili Toppings

Set up your own chili bar by providing little bowls of a variety of toppings so that everyone can customize their chili. Toppings usually vary based on what I have in the fridge but here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
• Saltine Crackers or Oyster Crackers
• Corn Chips or Tortilla Chips
• Diced Avocado or Guacamole
• Jalapenos
• Raw Onion
• Sliced Green Onions
• Fresh Cilantro
• Hot Sauce

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.

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.

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.

1. Pour the completely cooled chili into a zip-top bag.
2. Label the bag with the contents and date.
3. Lay the bag flat in the freezer to freeze.

To Reheat:

1. Thaw the chili overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Reheat in a pot over medium heat.