My Slow Cooker Chilli con Carne recipe is super tasty, quick to prepare and perfect for a mid-week dinner, or for batch cooking and saving for later!
Chilli con Carne is a familiar dish to most people, especially those with a slow cooker as it’s usually the first thing they try to make. It can be quickly thrown together whilst still packing a punch on the flavour.
Where does the Chilli recipe originate from?
Chilli con Carne literally translates to “chilli with meat”. First prepared as a basic stew by the Mexican community in southern USA, it’s now one of the most famous South American culinary dishes.
As well as being open to a number of adaptations of the ingredients, Chilli con Carne is widely used as an ingredient itself. Think fillings for enchiladas, wraps and jacket potatoes. I even think it’s great as a pizza topping.
Making a big pot to save for later is definitely a good idea!
What ingredients are in Slow Cooker Chilli con Carne?
My recipe can mostly be considered a classic chilli recipe containing beef, spices, tomatoes, kidney beans. To increase the nutrients and add to the flavour I always add some extra vegetables!
As for the spice, I usually make my chilli con carne to a medium heat to please everyone – our toddler included! You may choose to be more heavy handed on the chilli or cayenne according to preference!
The spices in a chilli are:
- Paprika – adds a gorgeous pungent, mildly sweet and peppery flavour to the chilli. For the very best, try and find Hungarian Paprika.
- Smoked Paprika– adds a lovely depth of flavour.
- Chilli Powder – contains paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic, cayenne pepper.
- Cumin – an aromatic bitter spice, popular in Mediterranean and Egyptian cooking.
If you’re looking for some other ideas to add into a chilli con carne, throw in some left over cured meat and chopped up chorizo sausage. We tried this whilst away on holiday with friends (willing guinea pigs!), and it added a gorgeous smoky edge to the sauce.
What do you serve with Chilli?
Are you having slow cooker Chilli con Carne as a meal? Go for some rice and maybe a little soured cream and crispy tortilla chips on the side.
Are you using chilli as an ingredient? One thing I like to do is fill soft tortilla wraps with the chilli, roll them up, sprinkle with cheese and a little salsa and grill for a few minutes. Great for a weekend lunch!
More Tasty Mexican Recipes
Mexican recipes and a crockpot are a match made in heaven! Why not try some of these:
Can I freeze leftover Crockpot Chilli Con Carne?
Slow cooker Chilli con Carne can be stored in the fridge for two days or batched up and placed in the freezer for three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, reheat ensuring it’s piping hot all the way through – and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Chilli con Carne
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef
- 400 g chopped tomatoes canned
- 400 g kidney beans canned, drained
- 1 onion white, large
- 1 red pepper capsicum
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 beef stock cube
- 150 ml water for the stock
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp coriander dried or freshly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt salt flakes
- ½ tsp black pepper ground
- 3 tbsp flour corn or wheat
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 red chilli pepper (optional for added heat)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and red pepper and place in a pan on the stove (or the slow cooker pot directly if using a sear and stew type) with 1 tbsp of oil, add the mince beef and stir through well to separate the meat. Add in the oregano, coriander and spices and cook until the meat is browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Crush the cloves of garlic and finely dice the chilli pepper – optional if you like some extra heat. Add with the tomato paste to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the flour, salt, pepper and sugar and stir well to coat the ingredients.
- Dissolve the stock cubes in the hot water and pour over the meat and vegetables. Add the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir well ensuring everything is covered in the liquid.
- Replace the lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Once cooked, serve with rice and a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
Just made this and was fantastic. I added some extra Ras El Hanout for extra spice. Also made 2 other of our recipes all have been great so far, what a find this website is!
Sounds a great addition! Thanks for the review.
Didn’t have time to use the slow cooker so made on the hob but still the best chilli recipe I’ve ever used, had to add a little more water and the pack of beef I had was a little larger but followed recipe more or less exactly other than that. Cooked it long enough for sauce to reduce and thicken without the flour and added a cinnamon stick. Served with rice, sour cream and tortilla chips and everyone loved it but can’t wait to try it as it’s meant to be done in the slow cooker.
That’s great to hear that it worked just as well for you on the hob! Thanks for the review.
Made this for the first time today and delicious. I found it was ready in five hours in slow in my seat and stew slow cooker. The only addition I made was a cinnamon stick added when all other ingredients in the pot ready to cook. Love the slow cooker club recipes. Discovered it when looking for recipe to cook a joint of beef in slow cooker and that was fab too.
Glad you liked this Chilli and I bet the cinnamon really added to the aroma! Thanks so much for the great review.
Best chilli ever! Made this for the first time yesterday including one fresh red chilli and everyone absolutely loved it! Friends like their chilli hotter than I do so we all tasted 30 mins before serving and they asked for a bit more cayenne. Luckily before I could add it the spicy aftertaste came through so I served your exact recipe which suited everybody, didn’t even need chocolate. Thank you so much, I look forward to making more of your dishes.
That’s great to hear you all liked it! Thank you for the review.
Delicious! Definitely one I’ll make lots more of, thank you!
Fantastic to hear! Thanks for the review.
Have always made Chilli on the hob, but tried this recipe and method and it’s a delicious Chilli recipe, used a can of mixed beans rather than red kidney beans, and added a small bar of very dark chocolate (the highest % cocoa content you can find) this makes the sauce really rich and decadent.
We have tried a few of your recipes, now to look up more ????
Great to hear! Yes the chocolate and chilli combination can be delicious, I must try that with this recipe next time I make it myself. Thanks for the review.
This recipe is absolutely delicious ????
Thank you for the review, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I have made this recipe quite a lot and have never took the time to thank you!! Apologies for that Bec.
Great and easy recipe packed with flavour and yumminess.
You are welcome, great to hear that you enjoy it and thanks for the review.
Absolute delicious (especially with chorizo and a little dark chocolate).
It’s been added to the favourite section in my recipe collection.
Fantastic to hear! Thank you for the review.
I unearthed my slow cooker after buying it 5 years ago and never using. With much trepidation I tried this as my first recipe and it was a huge success. A simple recipe to follow, great balance of flavour – I omitted the chilli’s as my kids are not keen on really spicy food but they ate the lot!
Glad that everyone enjoyed this! Thanks for reviewing.