Name: Hearty Crockpot Chili
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 25 min
Ingredients: 5 strips smoked bacon; 2 lb ground beef (80/20); 1 small yellow onion, diced; 3 stalks celery, diced; 1 red bell pepper, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (use half if you want less heat); 4 tbsp chili powder; 2 tsp cumin; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt; 1 tbsp white sugar; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 3 tsp garlic powder; 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste; 2 cans (15 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained; 1 can (15 oz) pinto or chili beans, undrained; 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained

My husband left his football cleats on the back porch again, and that’s how I knew it was time to make crockpot chili. It’s a fall ritual in this house: the first Saturday the kids come in smelling like cold air and grass, I start browning beef before they’ve even taken their shoes off.

The one thing I got wrong for years was dumping both pounds of ground beef into the skillet at once. The pan gets crowded, the meat steams instead of browns, and you lose all that deep, savory crust that makes the whole pot taste like it cooked all day.

Brown it in two separate batches. That single change made more difference than any spice adjustment I’ve ever tried.

Prep: 25 minutes · Cook: about 6 hours (on LOW) · Total: about 6 hours 30 minutes · Serves: 8

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How long does crockpot chili cook on LOW?

The recipe I worked from calls for LOW heat for around 6 hours. The real cue isn’t the clock, though. You’re done when the chili has thickened, the beans are tender all the way through, and the whole pot smells deeply savory rather than raw and sharp.

Why This Recipe Works

Browning the beef in two 1-pound batches keeps the skillet hot enough to sear, not steam. You get actual color on the meat, and that browned crust carries flavor into every spoonful.
Adding the canned tomatoes and beans undrained means the liquid in those cans becomes part of the broth. You don’t need to measure extra liquid separately, and the starch from the bean liquid helps the chili thicken on its own.
Mixing all the spices in a small bowl before they go in lets you taste and adjust before the lid goes on. Once the slow cooker is running, you can add more but you can’t take any out.

I skipped the spice-mixing step the first few times I made this and just shook things in directly. The chili tasted fine, but I had no idea what I’d actually put in it, and I couldn’t repeat it.

The bowl method takes two extra minutes and it’s worth every one of them.

Why You’ll Love This Crockpot Chili

The slow cooker does the work after about 20 minutes of hands-on prep, so you can walk away for the rest of the day.
It uses pantry staples you probably already have, plus ground beef from any regular grocery store.
The spice blend in this recipe is one solid starting point, but it’s genuinely easy to dial the heat up or down to fit your family.
It feeds a crowd and tastes even better the next day, so it’s a great make-ahead option for game days or busy weeknights.

The Ingredient List

5 strips smoked bacon
2 lb ground beef (80/20)
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (use half if you want less heat)
4 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp garlic powder
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz) pinto or chili beans, undrained
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained

Ingredient Notes

Ground beef at 80/20 gives you enough fat to brown properly without leaving a greasy pool at the bottom of the slow cooker. Leaner beef tends to turn gray and dry over a long cook.

If 80/20 is all you have, it works fine. If you only have 90/10, add a tablespoon of oil to the skillet when you brown it.

Canned chili beans are not the same as plain kidney or pinto beans. They come packed in a mildly spiced sauce, so they bring a little extra seasoning with them.

If you swap in plain beans, the chili will still taste good, but you may want to bump the chili powder up slightly to compensate.

The spice amounts here come from one of the two recipes I worked from, and they land on the bold, well-seasoned side. The other recipe used far less chili powder and cumin.

There is no single “correct” ratio for chili, so taste the spice blend before it goes in and adjust it to your family’s preference before you ever put the lid on.

Step-by-Step Directions

Cook the bacon. Lay the bacon strips in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until lightly crisp but not yet dark at the edges, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and leave the rendered fat in the pan.
Soften the vegetables. Add the diced onion, celery, bell peppers, and jalapeño to the bacon fat in the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Scrape everything into the slow cooker.
Brown the first pound of beef. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add 1 lb of the ground beef to the now-empty skillet. Break it into chunks about 1 to 2 inches across, but don’t crumble it all the way down. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then stir and continue until no pink remains and the bottom of the pan shows some brown color, about 5 to 6 minutes total. The USDA sets 160°F as the safe internal temperature for ground beef. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Brown the second pound of beef. Repeat with the remaining 1 lb of ground beef in the same skillet. Don’t skip this step and crowd both pounds in at once: a packed pan traps steam and the meat turns gray instead of brown. Transfer to the slow cooker when done.
Mix the spice blend. Combine the chili powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, seasoned salt, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Stir well, then taste it on your fingertip. This is your only real chance to adjust before the chili cooks down, so add more chili powder if you want more heat, or a pinch more sugar if it smells sharp.
Slow cook on LOW. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW. Neither of the recipes I worked from gives a precise doneness temperature for chili, so here’s what I go by in my own kitchen: it’s ready when the surface looks thick and glossy rather than soupy, the beans are completely tender when you press one against the side of the pot, and the smell has shifted from raw spice to something deep and rounded. That usually happens around the 6-hour mark on LOW.
Crumble the bacon and stir in. Break the reserved bacon into pieces and stir it into the finished chili just before serving, so it stays slightly crisp rather than going fully soft.

Tips

Don’t skip browning the meat in separate batches. I know it feels like an extra step, but a crowded pan steams the beef instead of searing it, and you’ll taste the difference in the finished chili.
Canned chili beans already carry seasoning in their sauce. If you substitute plain canned beans, taste the finished pot before serving and add a little extra chili powder if it needs it.
If you leave out the bacon, you lose the smoky base it creates. Add an extra half teaspoon of smoked paprika to the spice blend to get some of that smokiness back.
Taste and adjust the spice blend before the lid goes on. After six hours of cooking you can stir in more seasoning at the end, but you can’t pull any out, so it’s much easier to get it right at the start.
Ground beef is safe to eat at 160°F internal temperature, per the USDA. Make sure there’s no pink remaining before the meat goes into the slow cooker.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

Leftover chili keeps well in a sealed container in the refrigerator. The two recipes I worked from don’t give a specific shelf life, so I go by the standard kitchen rule in my own house: I use it within 4 days and it’s always tasted great.

Chili freezes well. Let it cool completely, then transfer to freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags laid flat.

Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s steaming hot all the way through. Add a splash of water or broth if it looks too thick after thawing.

You can brown the beef and cook the vegetables the night before, then refrigerate everything and assemble the slow cooker in the morning. That cuts your morning prep down to almost nothing.

What to Serve With Crockpot Chili

Cornbread is the natural partner here because it soaks up the thick broth without going soggy the way a soft roll would.
A simple bag of corn chips or Fritos on the side gives everyone something to scoop with and adds a little crunch against the soft beans.
Shredded cheddar cheese stirred in right before eating melts into the hot chili and rounds out the spice.
Sour cream on top cools the heat down for kids or anyone who finds the jalapeño a little much.
Plain white rice underneath the chili stretches it further if you’re feeding more people than the pot was planned for.

Equipment Worth Having

A 6-quart slow cooker, large enough to hold 2 lb of beef plus two full cans each of tomatoes and beans without crowding.
A large skillet, at least 12 inches across, so you have room to brown each pound of beef without the pieces touching.
A wooden spoon or sturdy spatula for breaking the beef into chunks without crumbling it too fine.
A small bowl for mixing the spice blend before it goes in, which lets you taste and adjust before you commit.
A ladle for serving, deep enough to scoop up beans and broth together in one pass.

FAQ

Can I cook crockpot chili on HIGH instead of LOW? The recipe I worked from only gives a time for LOW heat. The general kitchen convention is that HIGH runs roughly half the time of LOW, but that number didn’t come from either source I used, so treat it as a starting point and watch for the doneness cues: thick, glossy surface and fully tender beans.

Do I drain the canned tomatoes and beans? No. Both recipes I worked from call for adding them undrained. The liquid in those cans is part of the broth, and the starch from the bean liquid helps the chili thicken naturally.

How spicy is this chili? That depends entirely on how much chili powder and jalapeño you use. The spice amounts in this recipe come from one source and land on the bolder side. Taste the spice blend before it goes in and pull back on the chili powder or skip the jalapeño if your family runs mild.

Can I make crockpot chili without bacon? Yes. The bacon adds a smoky, savory base to the fat you cook the vegetables in. If you leave it out, cook the vegetables in a tablespoon of neutral oil and add an extra half teaspoon of smoked paprika to the spice blend.

How many servings does this make? Neither of the recipes I worked from gives a serving count. Based on 2 lb of beef and four cans of beans and tomatoes, I’d expect it to serve 6 to 8 people as a main dish, but I’d call it my own estimate rather than a sourced number.

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