This Crock-pot Chili Recipe is probably my favorite recipe to prepare for the night before church. I put all the cans out next to the slow cooker the night before, and right before church I open can after can and turn on the crock pot. It really is so easy and fast to prepare. It’s great to come home to a warm meal for lunch, with seemingly no effort! It’s one of the easiest recipes ever!
Slow Cooker Days
I also call this recipe Can-Can Chili because if worse comes to worse, and you don’t have time, you can just omit the vegetables and make it with cans only. That’s how we prepared it when we were saving money road tripping with the crock-pot last fall (you can go here to get other crock-pot road trip-friendly recipes).
When I am not traveling or pressed for time, I am getting more and more away from using cans now, making the beans from scratch. I freeze them in can-sized portions to make the beans easy to use.
Chili makes a great topping for “baked” potatoes, and I even “baked” these potatoes in the crock-pot!
Crock-Pot Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. of ground beef ground chicken, chicken, turkey, or meat substitute, optional (I usually make this vegetarian though)
- 1-26 oz. can of spaghetti sauce optional if you want it saucier
- 2-15 oz. cans of black beans rinsed and drained (make sure there is no gluten if you need GF)
- 1-15 oz. can of kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1-15 oz. can of red beans rinsed and drained
- 1-15 oz. can of diced tomatoes rinsed and drained (doesn't have to be canned)
- 1-15 oz. can of corn rinsed and drained
- handful of spinach finely cut optional if you want it healthier
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 T or more of chili powder to taste
- 2 T or more of garlic to taste
- 2 T oregano
- 1 t of cayenne pepper or more
- shredded cheese or non-dairy cheese, optional
Instructions
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Insert all ingredients into the slow cooker.
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Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.
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Serve and enjoy.
The Verdict: This is one of the easiest crock-pot recipes ever. It is so flavorful, and when I make it people often ask for the recipe. I think it’s the perfect recipe for road-tripping when omitting the veggies if you don’t have access to some. The recipe is really flexible, so you can substitute one type of beans for another.
Other recipes you may enjoy:
Need other crock-pot inspiration? Here are 80+ Crock-pot recipes.
I love EASY slow cooker recipes like this. It looks great, and the ingredients sure are simple. Thanks for sharing! Pinned and tweeted. 🙂
Hi Blair, Thanks so much! This is seriously my go-to meal with a crowd it’s so simple. Thanks for visiting!
This looks wonderful! We have been trying to eat out of our pantry and this recipe is perfect! I also like the versatility of it. I keep cooked and frozen hamburger and ground turkey on hand and it could easily be added to the crock pot if we want to have meat, though I love a vegetarian chili! I’m looking forward to trying this and putting it in our rotation of meals now and for the fall! Thank you for posting!
Thanks, Tam. I love eating out of my pantry, and this is really an easy recipe to throw together that is filling, frugal, and healthy. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for visiting!