This is the best slow cooker chili recipe! It is a contest winner, total crowd pleaser and the best version you’ll find. It is packed with flavor, texture and color. Make it for your next gathering, large or small, and you will get rave reviews. Add jalapenos for extra spice or go mild!
Why This Recipe Works
You have just found THE BEST chili recipe your lips will ever taste. That is a massive claim, I know, but you will soon agree! You are about to have either a very happy tummy, a very happy family, very happy guests or all of the above.
My husband and I have been making this delicious soup for years. Together we have tweaked it many, many times and it is absolute comfort food perfection.
We make this recipe frequently to enjoy on cold, snowy days and we also make it for larger gatherings like game-day parties or holiday feasts. We’ve never thrown a single morsel of it away because it always gets gobbled down in its entirety.
It has the most perfect consistency and the flavor is beyond explanation (gotta taste for yourself!). This is a GREAT quick and easy comforting soup!
If you absolutely cannot find a chunk of time to make this delicious dish, consider trying my Easy 5-Ingredient Chili for a much-condensed version. ENJOY!
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More Ground Beef Recipes
If you have extra ground beef on your hands, browse through this comprehensive roundup of delicious ground beef recipes!
Recipe Ingredients
Ground beef – To keep this chili on the leaner side, use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef. To add a delicious flavor, replace 1 pound of ground beef with 1 pound of ground sausage.
Jalapeno peppers – Although the end result is not “spicy,” omit the jalapenos and cayenne pepper to ensure a totally mild soup.
Tomato juice – For a thicker chili, use half the amount of tomato juice in the recipe.
Beans – While kidney and pinto beans are super tasty inside, feel free to swap out any variety of beans.
Toppings – Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cilantro, chopped red onion or crushed saltine crackers.
Check out our web stories to see Pip and Ebby “recipes in action!”
Delicious Dinners
How To Make The Best Crockpot Chili
Step 1
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain the excess fat from the skillet, but do not clean it out.
Step 2
Add the olive oil to the skillet and reduce heat to medium. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
Remove the pan from the heat and add the following to the beef mixture: chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
Step 3
If you are cooking it on the stove top, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If you’re using a slow cooker, add the meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker.
Add the tomato juice (replace a portion of the juice with beef broth to add a kick of flavor, if desired), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using.
On the stove top, bring to a boil, dial the heat back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours (stir occasionally). In the slow cooker, cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours.
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What To Serve With Chili
Cornbread is a great option to serve alongside this bowl of comfort. Dinner rolls, chopped salad and garlic bread taste delicious, too!
Appetizer Ideas
Chili dinners are the best in those cold winter months! If you are looking to round out your meal, peruse this roundup for ideas about what to serve as appetizers for chili dinner.
How To Thicken Chili
If you make a delicious batch and find that it is not thick enough for your liking, we have some simple methods that will fix it! Read on for tips about how to thicken chili.
Recipe Notes
- Serve warm with cheese and sour cream! Other great topping options include sliced green onions, avocados, crushed tortilla chips or minced jalapenos (give your meal a nice kick!).
- To thicken, replace the diced tomatoes with crushed tomatoes and reduce the amount of tomato juice by half.
- For a different flavor, replace some or all of the beans with black beans.
- Make the dish heartier by adding diced potatoes or another hearty vegetable such as carrots.
How To Make Chili In An Instant Pot
This comforting meal turns out like absolute perfection when made in an Instant Pot. Head over to my Instant Pot Chili post to get the full instructions!
FAQ About Chili
The ingredients in chili that typically make it spicy are chili powder, peppers and pepper (or cayenne pepper). To decrease the amount of heat in the recipe, reduce the amount of chili powder used and omit peppers (aside from bell peppers, which are very mild) and cayenne or black pepper.
A bowl of chili is the perfect template for delicious toppings! Consider any or all of the following: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions or oyster or saltine crackers.
Serve chili warm with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. A few good options to serve alongside it include chopped salad, dinner rolls and cornbread.
Chili lasts up to 5 days in the fridge after it has been cooked and cooled. Beyond this timeframe, chili will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Store in an airtight container or double-bagged freezer bags.
What To Do With Chili Leftovers
If you have leftovers (and it’s very possible that you will because this makes a large batch), please check out these delicious recipes to help use them up:
- Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Best Ever Chili Dogs recipe
- Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Chili-Topped Baked Potatoes
How To Make Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Don’t use any old chili recipe to pile on top of hot dogs. This delicious recipe details how to make hot dog chili sauce so the consistency is just right!
More Chili Recipes
Chili Dinner Ideas – Recipes and Sides!
Click over for chili dinner recipe ideas with a variety of recipes and side dish recommendations, as well. Or use this post as your guide for dinner ideas using leftover chili so nothing goes to waste.
Mac and Cheese Recipes for Thanksgiving – 13 Delicious Ideas!
Mac and cheese is a Thanksgiving staple! Read on for some scrumptious mac and cheese recipes for Thanksgiving that you can make this year! You’ll find a ton of options to choose from in this roundup.
What People Are Saying About This Recipe
“I will NEVER make another chili recipe in my life again!! This is so good! I absolutely hate cooking and all the prep so the first time I made this I told myself I would never again do it. It was so good that it was worth the chopping up of a few veggies and measuring of a bunch of spices. I make it at least 2-3 times every fall/winter now!“ ~ASHLEY
“This IS THE BEST Chili! This recipe has been on rotation in my home for awhile now. Everyone raves about how it IS the BEST chili they be ever had! Thank you for sharing this with us! “ ~SARA
Slow Cooker Chili Recipe
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers finely chopped (optional)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 46 oz tomato juice
- 28 oz diced tomatoes
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 16 oz kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 16 oz pinto beans drained and rinsed
- Shredded cheese and sour cream for topping
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
- Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
- If cooking on the stove top, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using.
- On the stove top, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours (stir occasionally). In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.
Notes
- Serve warm with cheese and sour cream! Other great topping options include sliced green onions or minced jalapenos (give your meal a nice kick!).
- For a thicker chili, replace the diced tomatoes with crushed tomatoes and reduce the amount of tomato juice by half.
- To keep this chili on the leaner side, use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef.
- To add a delicious flavor to the recipe, replace 1 pound of ground beef with 1 pound of ground sausage.
- For a different flavor, replace some or all of the beans with black beans.
First of all, the chili is delicious. I have used this recipe numerous times and it never disappoints!!
However. I am so sick of seeing PREP times that are absolutely impossible to achieve. ( I’m sorry you get Ty hear me rant because almost every recipe I try has these PREP times that are unrealistic!!!).
Maybe, this can be achieved if your meat is already cooked and your veggies ready. Please help me understand how you came up with 20 minutes to prep for this recipe!!
Hi Billie – I can completely hear your frustration and understand there’s a balance between being realistic and prepping differently from each other. So thank you for sharing that. When I’m prepping, I have my meat thawed, ready to go so cooking the meat is no time and if you have all your ingredients ready to go, it’s a breeze to chop and measure. As I’ve made this recipe so many times, I’m proficient at it but also when I calculate these times, I’m only prepping. I don’t have to think about a kid in the background asking for help to distract or a husband who’s talking to you. I am starting from go with a focus on prepping. That definitely varies from personality to proficiency in the kitchen person! Have some grace with yourself and know that those times are just a starting point. Everyone cooks so differently and chops and cleans up in between steps differently. Enjoy the process! Thank you for reading and I”m always glad to consider a point of view so we’re all real with each other.
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I’ve been using it for years and I’m making it again tonight. My family loves it.
You are welcome, Jen. Thank you for sharing!
This is my go to recipe!! I’ve made it many times, adding a mix of hot and mild chili powder, extra jalapeños, and adding Italian seasoning for a kick. Love it!
Those all sound delicious. I love a little extra heat, my family, not so much. Thanks for sharing!
I randomly stumbled upon this chili recipe searching for a new one back in 2018 and fell in love with it immediately! I’ve been using it ever since and I don’t think I’ll ever try another at this point. I really love the flavors as well as the consistency of the chili. It’s more soupy than most other chilis I’ve had in the past but that’s part of why I love it so much! Plus it’s easily adjustable if you want it thicker or want to play around with any of the ingredients. The first time I made it I did 2lbs of ground beef but I love to mix the meat up or even play around with the tomatoes I throw in it (give smoked diced tomatoes a try sometime, you won’t regret it!). That said, this recipe also is great as is so don’t feel like you have to change a single thing!
Thank you for this gem of a recipe!
Thank you Courtney! It is pretty versatile and a great base.
Love this only thing I do different is half Italian sausage half beef and I cut up 3/4 stalks of celery to add and that it super yummy
That’s a great way to serve it too! I’m glad you enjoy it. Thanks Melissa!
I found this recipe years ago, probably when you first put it on your blog. I have used it ever since, never straying away from the original recipe. It has become one of my husbands favorites meals, and it’s requested at every work potluck and family gathering. I’m on here, again, today, for the Christmas party tomorrow and I see it is still circulating around!l! (2021 comments!) much deserved, it’s soooo good. Thank you for sharing!
Love that Katrina! It is a good one – we still eat it regularly!
It’s a hit! Has become a regular meal in our house. Thank you
My family ask for this chili every year when the temperature fall. Love it! How many will you say it feeds? I’m expecting on inviting a larger crowd. Lol!
Hi Kim,
This recipe serves 12 so if you’re anticipating more, I would double it!
It’s is “One of a Kind” perfect delicious 😋 When cold days come around – it’s always requested at my house.
Excellent! Cooked on the stove top. Garnished with sour cream and cilantro. My wife loved it. Thanks.
Thank you Billy! I appreciate you sharing that!
I make this recipe all the time! Actually making it today too. It’s our very fave 😋
Thank you for the recipe!
Love to hear it! So glad it’s filling everyone up. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made this over a handful of times, and it is always a good hit! I generally follow the recipe as is but have mixed up the meats, per your suggestion, depending on what I have on hand. Leftovers freeze beautifully! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
So great to hear, Allison! So glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for sharing!
Weather has cooled and I was looking for a new chili recipe. Made this recipe and it was delicious and will replace my old recipe. Loved using the crock pot and enjoyed the smell of it cooking all day! My husband said it is a keeper. Thanks!
This is great to hear Lori. Thank you for sharing! I agree it’s a great smell throughout the house.
I have been making this recipe for years. I do tend to make it in my instant pot, cut the tomato juice in half, and it turns out amazing every time. I do half a can of black beans and half pinto with a full can of dark red beans. I also use one pound of lean ground beef and one pound of chorizo. Mmm! So yummy and everyone always raves about it. Also depending on my crowd I’ll cut the amount of jalapeños in half since I use chorizo as well.
I love that version! Chorizo is a great addition. Thank you for sharing!
Best chili recipe ever!!This is my go to chili recipe!
I make this every year Halloween weekend, it’s like the kickoff to the “chilly” weather!
I use kidney beans in chili sauce because I like the flavor and the market down the street sells a taco chili steak and I will use a pound of that and a pound of ground beef! So good!
Thank you Melissa! I love the sound of taco chili steak and mixing it with beef. Kidney beans are a fav here too. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been making your chili recipes for years, everyone loves it.
Thank you Deborah! I love hearing from people about meals being enjoyed together.
This is the best chili EVER! And my go to chili it’s that good!!
Hello, I look forward to trying this recipe, thank you for sharing!
Can I make a suggestion tho’? It’s regarding a most annoying ad that consistently pops up when one is trying to read your recipe. I get it that this is a source of income for you but for one to have to constantly close an ad to read your post is a reason to back out of here and never return.
I like some of the recipes you’ve posted but the ads, ugh.
Thank you TJ. I appreciate the feedback. As I provide free recipes and photos as well as recipe creation and development, I spend a lot of time providing a quality recipe with step by step instructions. Ads are one way that I help pay for all the time and materials as a professional. However, I try to be sensitive to the amount of ads as well as placement and keep it a minimum. We also constantly are changing how they lay out when they become apparent they are hindering you, my audience. Enjoy your day!