This apple sausage chili is simple and flavorful, with diced apples adding a subtle sweetness to the heat of the chili.
Use spicy sausage for a great chili kick, but if you can only find sweet sausage, that will work too; then adjust the heat to your taste.
This apple and sausage chili in the slow cooker calls for chipotle powder, which has a smoky, dry heat; you can substitute regular chili powder if you wish, or even leave the chili out completely and let everyone add their own heat with the addition of hot sauce after they’ve been served.
As for the apple, I recommend using a gala or fuji apple; both apples have a sweet flavor and firm flesh that holds up well in this sturdy chili.
Apple and Sausage Chili in the Slow Cooker
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage
- 12 ounces dark or hoppy beer like an IPA
- 1 cup yellow onion diced (about 1 when diced)
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup apple peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 when diced)
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons canned tomato paste
- 15.5 oz canned black beans about 1 3/4 cup
- 1-2 teaspoon chipotle powder depending on your preferred level of heat
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Remove the sausage from its casing, if necessary. In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, brown the sausage, crumbling it as you go. Add the sausage to the slow cooker pot.
- In the same pan, cook the ground beef or turkey until browned, crumbling it as you go. Add it to the slow cooker pot.
- Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup of the beer, scraping up as much of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as you can. Add the liquid and remaining beer to the pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker pot and stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or 4 on high. Serve with your preferred garnishes.
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