There are few recipes that work better as a slow cooker meal than chili.
It doesn’t matter if your chili is White Chicken Chili, veggie-heavy chili with sweet potatoes and black beans, something out-of-the-box like Apple and Sausage Chili, or a traditional old-school beef chili like this one; slow cookers, Instant Pots, and chili go hand-in-hand.
In this house, we LOVE chili. It’s one of my all-time my favorite freezer meals, since it stores so well, it’s super versatile (ingredient swaps galore!) and it tastes even better after it’s hung out in the fridge for a day or two. As a longtime work-from-home mom, I appreciate fewer things in this world than a grab-and-go lunch from my fridge, and chili is of my lunchtime rockstars.
This is a perfect recipe to have on hand for an easy prep sesh, too. Just dump everything in a bag or container, freezer, or chill until you need to eat, then dump it all right into a slow cooker, Instant Pot, or on the stove.
And that’s exactly how I’ve written the instructions below in this recipe, too! As with all Prep Sesh recipes, if there are multiple ways to cook the ingredients, I’m gonna let you know. Once you’ve got the prep done, check out all the different cooking instructions, and pick the one that suits you best.
Some of my favorite ingredient swaps for this chili:
- black beans instead of kidney beans (or a mix)
- ground turkey instead of ground beef
- stewed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes with green chilis
- prepared taco seasoning instead of the paprika-cumin-red pepper flakes combo
- beef broth instead of amber beer
Products Used:
Old School Traditional Beef Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 14 ounce canned diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 14 ounce canned red kidney beans drained
- 1 cup amber beer
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- .25 teaspoons red chili flakes
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Place in a large, freezer-safe resealable bag or container
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bag or container, leaving out the beer if desired.
- Store in the fridge for 4 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Prepped
- Combine the prepared ingredients in the pot and cook according to the instructions in the “Make From Fresh” section
Make From Fresh
-Stovetop Method-
- Sweat the onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until the onions have started to soften and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally to break it up, until the beef is cooked through.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except for the toppings!) and turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Cook 20-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked down and starting to thicken.
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
-Instant Pot Method-
- Combine all ingredients in the Instant Pot and seal the lid.
- Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes with natural release.
- When the lid opens, stir the ingredients together to combine.,
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
-Slow Cooker Method-
- Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and secure the lid.
- Cook on low for 4 hours, high for 2, stirring occasionally to break up the ground beef.
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Balsamic Baked Gnocchi with Parmesan and Brussels Sprouts
Leave a Reply