This Three Bean Crockpot Chili is easy-to-make, thick, hearty, and slow-simmered. It makes the best comfort food for the fall or winter.
Chili is one of our favorite fall and winter foods. There are dozens (thousands?) of chili recipes out there, and we’ve tried many of them!
This Three-Bean Crockpot Chili always comes to top of our favorite list because of the flavors and the simplicity of making it in a slow cooker. Using a crockpot to make chili is one of our favorite methods because the flavors have a chance to blend and the chili is more robust. It turns out perfect every time!
Three-Bean Crockpot Chili is a delicious weeknight meal and makes awesome leftovers. Great for packing into containers and taking to work for lunch. Hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients for making Three-Bean Crockpot Chili
- Beef: We typically use grass fed beef that is 85-90% lean for this recipe since it has lots of flavor and not too much grease. If you use beef with a higher fat content, be sure to drain the grease before cooking the recipe, or you can skim the grease from the top.
- Beans: The best beans for chili are pinto, kidney, chickpea and black beans. Of these, our favorite combination is kidney beans, chickpea and black beans, but you could try another combination.
- This is a mild chili. If you prefer a spicier chili, add some hot sauce at the end.
- We like a variety of chili toppings on the side such as shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, diced tomatoes, tortilla strips and avocado.
Recipe Variations
This is an EASY chili recipe, so variations may not apply. However, if you want to try other flavor combinations it would be easy to do:
- Vegetables: You could add other veggies like corn
- Beans: You could use any variation of beans
- Protein: This recipe also works with ground turkey, but of course, beef is always our favorite protein!
Can I make this on the stovetop?
Yes! If you don’t have a slow cooker or you want to serve this recipe faster, you can make this on the stove top. Complete the first two steps of the recipe (Brown the ground beef; add onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook until softened), add the other ingredients and simmer for 2-3 hours over low heat.
How to store crockpot chili?
Chili is one of our favorite leftover meals. Allow any leftovers cool completely, then store in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep for 3-4 days.
Chili is a great candidate for the freezer. Once chili is completely cooled, freeze it in a freezer-safe airtight container or gallon sized resealable freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw the bag or container overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat the chili on the stovetop over medium heat.
Three Bean Crockpot Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (15 ounces)
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (15 ounces)
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (15 ounces)
- 1 can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles (10 ounces)
- 1 can no salt added tomato sauce ( 8 ounces)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (more if you like more heat)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 bay leaves
Toppings
- cheddar cheese, grated
- red onion, chopped
- sour cream
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Break the beef into pieces as it browns. Drain all liquid from pan.
- Add tomato paste, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook until vegetables have softened.
- Transfer ground beef mixture to a slow cooker, and add 1 cup water, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder and bay leaves.
- Cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Discard bay leaves prior to serving.
- Top chili with desired toppings.
One More Thing
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Nice to Meet You!
We're Matt & Jessica, fifth-generation cattle farmers & the owners of Clover Meadows Beef. Good food starts with knowing where it comes from. On our blog, you'll find easy beef recipes, cooking tips, stories of how we raise our cattle, and how to buy farm-fresh beef locally. Our goal is to make cooking beef easy so you feel confident cooking any cut of beef in your home kitchen.