I’m sure you have a lot of small appliances in your kitchen, and hopefully, you own a Crock-Pot. Because today we are talking about my Crock-Pot Easy Chili Recipe.

crock pot recipe easy chili — Photo: Mark Yamamoto

I love making this chili recipe when I’m busy and I still want a home-cooked meal. This recipe is hearty and great if you are on a tight budget.

Today, let’s make a big pot of this easy chili. By the way, my friends and I are sharing our favorite recipes.

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Crock-Pot Low Down

Let’s cover a few things about the Crock-Pot.

What is the Difference Between a Slow Cooker and a Crock-Pot?

So, Crock-Pot is the brand name of the first small appliance that came out in the 1970s. It is typically a stoneware pot surrounding by a heating element. A Slow Cooker generally is a metal pot on top of a heated surface. It isn’t a brand name, unlike the Crock-Pot. Also, the Crock-Pot typically comes in two cook settings low and high. Whereas some Slow Cookers have many settings, like steams, sears, saute and slow cook.

What Foods Shouldn’t You Cook in a Crock-Pot?

Here is a list of foods you shouldn’t cook in a Crock-Pot. Some of them are not recommended because they need higher heat settings in or order to cook them safely, or the food doesn’t fare well in the Crock-Pot. If you want to learn more about this, check out this informative article, Chow Hound.

Frozen Meat
Lean Meats
Dried Beans
Bacon
Cruciferous Vegetables
Shrimp
Shellfish
Roast Beef
Whole Turkey or Chicken
Hard-Boiled Eggs

crock pot recipe easy chili photo — Photo: Mark Yamamoto

Can You Speed up Your Settings to Save Time on a Recipe?

If you are making something that needs to simmer over seven hours, then increasing the heat and saving time isn’t the best thing for the recipe. I guess food, when simmered, brings out the most flavors, so there is a benefit to cooking food at a lower temperature. There is a whole science to this, so I’ll leave that up to the experts. Here is an informational chart of different times and settings.

Ok, back to my easy chili recipe.

My neighbor and friend, Francie, told me about her yummy chili recipe. So, I asked her for the recipe. She loves easy recipes, and I’m happy to say that this is easy and so hearty and yummy. It is comfort food for my family. Yesterday morning, I got to cooking early and finished making a big Crock-Pot of chili, and my son and husband tried to sneak some for lunch. They were so disappointed that I said it was for dinner.

How Much Does it Cost to Cook this Big Pot of Chili?

I ran the numbers on my recipe, and if you use ground turkey, the whole thing comes to about $20. If you use my meatless, Beyond Meat Crumbles, it cost about $25. The entire recipe makes about ten servings, so that comes out to $2 a bowl. For a family of four, a chili dinner is around $8. Now that is a good thing.

How Long Does it Take to Make this Dinner?

The most time-consuming part is sauteing the onions and the meat. I would venture to say that it takes about 15-20 minutes to add everything to the Crock-Pot and then another hour or two to cook.

delicious healthy chili — Photo: Mark Yamamoto

How to Make This Easy Crock-Pot Chili Recipe

Saute Onions

Chop the onion and place in frying pan with about a tablespoon of cooking oil. Once the onions are translucent, remove from the pan and place in a bowl.

Cook Meat

With the same frying pan, add another tablespoon of cooking oil and cook your ground meat.

Mix All Ingredients in the Crock-Pot

Add kidney beans, diced tomatoes, corn, ground meat, onions, unsweetened cocoa, two seasoning packets, and brown sugar in the Crock-Pot.

Set To Crock-Pot to High

Stir chili, place lid on Crock-Pot, and set heat to high. Cook for about an hour to two hours.

Serve Chili

Sprinkle with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, and a dollop of sour cream. Also, it goes nicely with my yummy Cornbread Recipe!

Healthy Vegetarian/Vegan Chili

It is easy peasy to turn this recipe into a vegetarian. Substitute out the meat for Beyond Meat Crumbles or the Impossible Burger. You can also use any other vegetarian meat substitute. This version is how I make it for my family since half of my family members don’t eat red meat.

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5 from 1 vote

Easy Crock-Pot Chili Recipe

An easy Crock-Pot Chili Recipe that saves time and money. This chili is easy, delicious, and feeds a lot of people.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: Cheap Dinner, Chili, Crock-Pot, Easy Dinner

Servings: servings

Calories: 163kcal

Author: Janine Waite

Ingredients

1 Onion chopped
2 Chili Seasoning Packet
3 28 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes
3 15.5 oz Cans Kidney Beans rinsed and drained
1-2 tbsp Brown sugar
2 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ lbs Ground Beef, Turkey, or Chicken I used Vegetarian Crumbles, Beyond Meat
4 tbsp Cookin Oil
1 15.25 oz can Corn

Instructions

Chop onion and place in frying pan with about a tablespoon of cooking oil. Once the onions are translucent remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
With the same frying pan, add another tablespoon of cooking oil and cook your ground meat.
Rinse and drain kidney beans. Then add kidney beans, diced tomatoes, can corn (with water), ground meat, cooked onions, unsweetened cocoa, two chili seasoning packets, and brown sugar in the Crock-Pot.
Stir chili, place lid on Crock-Pot, and set heat to high. Cook for about an hour to two hours.
When the chili is ready to serve, sprinkle with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, and a dollop of sour cream.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @happyhappynester or tag #happyhappynester!

crock pot recipe easy chili recipe that kids can make — Photo: Mark Yamamoto

Feeding the Homeless with Our Big Batch of Chili

On a side note, my daughter and I made this recipe for a man who feeds our local homeless population. We wanted to accompany him, but with COVID in full swing, we decided that maybe we would volunteer another time. Nonetheless, he fed them our lunch of chili, cornbread, and sliced apples. I was delighted that we helped feed 30 very appreciative homeless folks.

It is nice to spread a bit of love to other in these difficult times.

Speaking of difficult times, I know we are all cooking dinners these days and it can be hard to change up our menus. So I rounded up our family favorite recipes.

Here are Some Other Simple Meals:

Hawaiian Chicken Recipe

Best Tuna Casserole Recipe

Chicken Teriyaki Burgers

Thanks so much for joining us today! Until my next blog post, have a great week.

Cheers,

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Janine Waite

I named my blog Happy Happy Nester because I love everything related to the home. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my surroundings. Get cozy and stay for a bit, thanks for visiting!