An easy slow cooker chili recipe with Ground Beef, beans, tomato sauce, and the best homemade chili seasoning. It putters away in the slow cooker for the juiciest beef and rich flavor.
Thank you to on behalf of the Beef Checkoff for sponsoring this Slow Cooker Chili recipe. I received compensation, but all opinions are my own.
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The Best Way to Cook Chili:
Slow Cooking chili is a classic way to cook chili. It’s the easiest chili because you can set it and forget it and this is how the award-winning chilis are achieved. The low and slow cooking process melds the flavors of the chili seasoning into every bite and the beef becomes so tender, juicy, and irresistible. You can slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high heat for 3-4 hours.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Chili:
- Ground Beef – no other protein does it quite like beef and tastes amazing. We use lean (90/10 or 93/7) to eliminate the need to spoon out excess fat. If yours has a higher fat content, you can spoon out the excess fat when it renders in the skillet.
- Onion – we love a generous amount of onion because it adds amazing sweet notes to the chili and disappears into the chili as it slow cooks.
- Beans – you can change up the beans based on what you have on hand, but the classic beans for chili are kidney beans (we love dark red), and black beans. Be sure to rinse and drain the beans in a colander for the best chili consistency and color.
- Tomatoes & Tomato Sauce – We love the combination of canned diced tomatoes (with their juice) as well as tomato sauce to give the chili a saucy consistency with great texture. For added flavor, we add a can of diced tomatoes and green chilis.
- Chili Seasoning – we make a simple homemade blend with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Do you Prefer a Spicy Chili?
To keep it kid-friendly, this classic chili is mild and not spicy. If you prefer a spicy chili, you can either add hot sauce to your bowl when serving or if you want the entire batch to be spicier, add an extra tablespoon of Chili Powder and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper to give it a spicy kick.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chili:
Making chili in the slow cooker doesn’t get any easier. It’s as simple as browning the beef and onions then adding all of the canned ingredients to the slow cooker and turning it on. If you have a multicooker with a slow cooker function, you can saute and slow cook all in the same pot.
- SAUTE the beef and onions in a skillet then add garlic and seasonings to the pan.
- TRANSFER the beef mixture to a 6 Qt Slow Cooker.
- ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS – rinsed and drained beans, diced tomatoes with their juice and tomato sauce.
- SLOW COOK – cover and set slow cooker on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours then season more to taste if needed.
Our Favorite Chili Toppings:
We love to serve this family-style where everyone can build their own chili bowls with the toppings they love. Toppings can vary based on what we have in the fridge, but these are our favorite toppings for chili –
- Cheese – mild cheddar is the classic choice, but Mexican shredded cheese works equally well
- Onion – chopped green or red onion adds a fresh pop of color and flavor
- Avocado – because we can’t help putting avocado on everything, especially chili.
- Cilantro – for garnish and adding fresh flavor
- Sour cream – balances the dish (especially great when chili is served over a baked potato)
- Sliced jalapenos – you can use any hot pepper for a spicy kick
How to Serve Chili:
Chili keeps really well in the refrigerator so we love to get creative with leftovers. There are so many ways to serve classic chili and really it can be served almost any time of day. Some of our favorites include:
- Chili Cheese Dip – Sprinkle chili with cheddar cheese and serve as an appetizer with tortilla chips.
- Chili Dogs – Top a hot dog with chili and shredded cheese to transform it into a chili cheese dog.
- Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes – topping a baked potato with hot chili is a delicious gluten-free option and fun way to serve a crowd.
- In a Bowl – loaded with all of the toppings and tortilla chips or pita chips on the side (this is our family favorite)!
Why We Love This Family Friendly Dinner:
With so many families staying home together now, juggling homeschool, and cooking more than ever, it’s a great time to get kids in the kitchen and teach them through cooking. This slow cooker beef chili is a great way to teach your children cooking skills. Children can learn:
- Food safety tips like washing hands after handling raw meat
- The importance of using separate plates and utensils for raw and ready to eat foods to prevent cross-contamination
- How to measure spices and weigh ingredients
If you let kids help with preparing the meal, they are more likely to enjoy eating it. It also makes for a memorable photo-op moment!
More Beef Recipes You Will Love:
- Juicy Burgers – the secret to perfect burgers
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry – with the best sauce
- Quick Beef Chili – an easy 30-minute recipe
- Beef Stroganoff – classic and packed with flavor
- Beef Tenderloin – incredibly juicy and tender
- Easy Meatloaf – with the best glaze
Get the print-friendly recipe below for this Classic Slow Cooker Beef Chili.
Classic Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

Ingredients
- 2 lb lean Ground Beef, (90/10 or 93/7)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 30 oz kidney beans, two 15oz cans, drained and rinsed
- 30 oz diced tomatoes, with their juice
- 10 oz diced tomatoes and green chilis, with their juice
- 30 oz tomato sauce
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté beef until it releases fat (4-5 minutes), breaking it up with a spatula.
- Add onion to the skillet and sauté until tender (4-5 minutes). Add minced garlic and seasonings: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another 30 seconds stirring constantly. Transfer to a 6 Qt slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients into the slow cooker: rinsed and drained beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, diced tomatoes and green chilis with juice and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Season to taste if desired and serve warm.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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This recipe is amazing I personally I love chilli and this will definitely do for my chilli collection dishes
Instead or ground beef would ground turkey work in this recipe.
Yes, ground turkey will work too! It is milder than beef though so you might want to adjust the flavor and seaon it a bit more. Hope you love it!
used bison and rest as guided…everyone loved it
What type of tomato sauce? I usually use Classico sweet basil marinara??
That could be a tad too sweet. Try looking for a tomato sauce that’s more neutral and a little savory to complement the other chili ingredients. I use plain tomato sauce or you can use crushed tomatoes.
Do I drain the burger before adding ingredients
Hi Bryan, no need to drain the burger.
Could this be made in a Dutch oven on the stove? Would you recommend a low simmer for like 3 hours?
Hi Katie! You can reference our stovetop Beef chili recipe
I have made this chili twice now and it turned it delicious both times. I made it as the recipe directed, but I added one cup of water as we don’t like it thick also added less chili powder and about 1/4 tsp. salt only as my husband needs to watch his salt because of diabetes and heart problems. The flavor is out of this world. My husband says it is the best I’ve ever made.
Can someone tell me the serving size. Also can I substitute ground venison for the beef?
Hi Laurel! This recipe makes 10 servings. Sorry I didn’t measure each one out to know exactly how much. If I were to take a guess, based on the ingredient amounts, it will yield about 1.5 cups per serving.
this is my absolute favorite Chili recipe. It always turns out perfectly and is easy to adjust to taste ( like adding more veggies or jalapenos) great flavor. Love this recipe so much
I also put chopped large green pepper and finely chopped 2-3 celery sticks , makes it taste less meaty and supposedly healthier.
No criticism intended, but I personally think the addition of bell pepper makes it more like spaghetti/meat sauce (probably because I put quite a bit in my spaghetti), but to each their own:)
I loved this recipe! Could I not add Oregano?
Yes you can omit that from the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Could I substitute top sirloin for the ground beef and use the same cooking times?
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and absolutely love it!! My only modification is that I also add a diced green bell pepper to it when I sautee the beef and onions. So delicious and makes delicious leftovers
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my goodness this was absolutely delicious it was enough kick not that hot absolutely delicious I love your book it’s a big head in my family
Oh my gosh! Followed the recipe exactly as written. DELICIOUS!
Thank you!!
This was a very tasty chili. Cooking it in the crockpot and allowing the tomatoes to cook in the juices makes it very flavorful. I added a small amount of chorizo for kick. Served with shredded cheese and sour cream. This recipe will be saved and made again. Thank you from our family
The beans came out mushy? …………….
Hi Lorraine! Did you cook them on high for 3-4 hrs or low for 7-8hrs? If you cooked them on low, you may switch to high instead for the shorter cooker time. Also, which type of beans did you use? That can make a difference.
From my experience making Chili in a Slow Cooker I typically would add the canned beans later in the process. For example, if Cooking on Low for 7 hours I would add the beans at the 5 hour mark so they only cook for 2 hours and not the full 7 hours. If cooking on High for 4 hours I would add the beans at the 3 hour mark. This gives the beans enough time to absorb the flavor without turning to mush.
Can I cut this recipe in 1/2 and still use the same cooking times?
Hello! Yes you can cut this recipe in half but you may need to adjust the cooking time a bit. I recommend checking it a bit earlier and if everything is cooked through then you’re good to go! Hope you enjoy it!