Slow Cooker Chili

This slow cooker chili has all the rich, beefy, stick-to-your-ribs goodness of the classic, with a little smoky kick from chipotles in adobo and one secret ingredient that makes every bowl taste extra special. The best part? After a quick start on the stovetop, your slow cooker does all the work. By dinnertime, your whole house will smell amazing, and all you have to do is grab a spoon and pile on the toppings.

You’re going to love this slow cooker chili.

• It’s so easy. Spend about 15 minutes browning the beef and blooming the spices, dump everything in the slow cooker, and walk away. That’s it.
• It’s seriously delicious. This is a rich, smoky, deeply beefy chili with a little heat from the chipotles and a secret spoonful of peanut butter that makes everyone ask, “Wait, what’s in this?” (but in a good way!).

Here’s what you’ll need.

Here’s how it all comes together.

SAUTE AROMATICS. Cook the onion in olive oil with a couple pinches of salt and pepper until it’s super soft and almost starting to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

BROWN BEEF. Add the ground beef, turn the heat up to medium-high, and cook until it’s crumbled and cooked through. Use the rendered fat to scrape up all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pot.

ADD ALL THE FLAVOR. Stir in the tomato paste, spices, brown sugar, chipotles, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

FINISH IT UP. Transfer meat to a large slow cooker. Stir in the kidney beans, V8, and a couple more large pinches of salt and pepper.

SLOW COOKER MAGIC. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. If you’re using peanut butter, stir it in when you have 20-30 minutes left.

ADJUST SEASONING + ENJOY. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Pile on the cheddar, sour cream, and chives, then dig in!

Peanut butter? Seriously?

• Yes, really. I promise it’s delicious and your chili won’t taste like peanut butter!
• It adds a delicious depth of flavor and enhances all the ingredients – it gets smokier, toastier, and tastes like it’s been simmering all day.
• It creates the most luxuriously silky texture, making the chili *almost* creamy in the best way.
• It balances out the acidity from the tomatoes and will have your guests asking for the recipe, for real!
• Also – if I haven’t convinced you yet, you can always leave it out of the recipe, and it will still be delicious. Even better, try adding it to just half the chili and then have your family do a little taste test and see which one they like better!

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Don’t skip the stovetop step. I know, it’s a slow cooker recipe. But cooking the onion low and slow and browning the beef builds so much flavor that you can’t get by dumping everything in raw.
• Give the spices their full minute. A quick toast in the hot pot wakes them up and takes the raw edge off the tomato paste. It’s a tiny step that makes a big difference.
• Trust me on the peanut butter. It adds a subtle richness and rounds out the smoky heat. Start with 1 tablespoon, taste, and go from there.
• Control the heat with the chipotles. Two teaspoons give you a gentle kick. If you’re cooking for spice lovers, add a little more. If you’ve got kids at the table, start with less.
• Salt at the end like you mean it. Beans soak up a lot of seasoning, so your chili may taste a little flat until the final seasoning step. Add a pinch at a time and keep tasting. You’ll know when all the flavors wake up.
• Use a 6-quart slow cooker if you have one. It leaves plenty of room for everything without crowding, which makes stirring much easier.

This chili just gets better with time.

• Chili is one of those magical meals that actually tastes better the next day, so it’s one of my go-to meal prep recipes.
• I like to make a big batch on Sunday and then have it all week for easy lunches or dinners.

Here’s what I’d serve with this.

• one-pan cornbread casserole
• crispy garlic cheese bread
• easy garlic bread
• house salad with homemade ranch
• air fryer green beans

Just in case you have leftovers.

• STORING: Let the chili cool, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Keep the toppings separate until you’re ready to serve.
• FREEZING: Let the chili cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags. Freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
• REHEATING: Warm the chili in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of V8 or water if it’s too thick. For a single serving, microwave in 60-second intervals, stirring in between. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
• DO NOT REHEAT IN THE SLOW COOKER: Reheating chili in the slow cooker puts it in the “danger zone” for too long, giving bacteria a greater chance to grow. You can reheat it on the stove and then transfer it to a slow cooker to keep warm.

More easy dinner recipes.