This is the best slow cooker chili recipe on the internet! Our classic crockpot chili calls for ground beef, beans, and the perfect homemade chili seasoning.

The Best Slow Cooker Chili

It’s chili season, people! And you know we’re big chili fans over here on Fit Foodie Finds, which is why we’re so thrilled to share this slow cooker chili recipe. It’s simple, delicious and oh so easy to make.

Why You’ll Love it

Amazing Meal Prep: Chili is an excellent meal prep idea because it will literally give you chili for days. Plus, you can turn it into our Chili Mac and Cheese recipe for ultimate leftovers.

Healthy: Our slow cooker chili recipe is made with lean ground beef and beans making it high in protein and fiber. It’s also made with a homemade chili seasoning canceling out any additives you may find in the store-bought kind.

Set It and Forget It: Minimal prep, set your slow cooker, and you can have dinner on the table with no stress at all!

Ingredients You Need

It’s time to round up the following ingredients for your slow cooker chili! Don’t have everything on hand? We make some excellent ingredient swap recommendations below 😀

Meat

We used 85% fat ground beef for this slow cooker chili because that little bit of fat adds so much flavor. If you go any leaner, you risk compromising flavor and texture.

We pair this ground beef with beef broth for optimal flavor.

Beans

While many traditional chili recipes do not call for beans, we like to up the anty a little bit in the nutrition department and include 2 different variations to make this the most epic chili recipe.

We used a can of butter beans and a can of kidney beans for this chili to add texture and fiber.

Tomatoes

You can’t have red chili without tomatoes! Tomatoes help make this chili thick, creamy, and so delicious. This slow cooker chili recipe calls for 3 different kinds:

1. tomato sauce (gives this recipe a delicious tomato flavor)
2. crushed tomatoes (adds great texture)
3. tomato paste (helps to thicken and intensify the flavors)

FLAVORS & Seasonings

This slow cooker chili recipe is seasoned with the following combination of amazing flavors:

• Diced yellow onion
• Minced garlic cloves
• Maple syrup (more on this below!)
• Hot sauce (we used tabasco!) 
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Ground cumin
• Smoked paprika
• Salt & pepper

homemade chili seasoning

We love keeping our homemade chili seasoning on hand at all times because it’s the perfect blend for chili recipes just like this. So, feel free to swap all of the spices in this recipe for 3-4 tablespoons of our homemade chili seasoning.

Why Maple Syrup?

Every chili recipe needs a little bit of sweetness in some form to bring out all of the savory flavors from the chili seasoning. This slow cooker chili recipe calls for a little bit of maple syrup. It’s warm, unrefined, and absolutely delightful.

Don’t have maple? Swap it with some brown sugar or even some honey.

More Easy Swaps

Make this slow cooker chili your own! Make any of the following easy ingredient swaps in your own kitchen:

• Beef: Ground chicken or turkey both work for this recipe if you’re looking to swap out the ground beef. We’ve even made this chili recipe with a plant-based ground to make it vegetarian.
• Beans: Feel free to swap the beans for a different kind such as black beans, garbanzo beans, or cannellini beans.
• Broth: We love using beef broth when cooking with ground beef, but feel free to sub any broth you prefer.

Slow Cooker Chili Toppings

Never skip the toppings! We love jazzing up our slow cooker chili with any of the following:

• Tortilla chips
• Sliced avocado
• Fresh cilantro
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt
• Diced bell peppers
• Diced red onion
• Lime wedges