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Chilli con carne with rice in white bowl with lime wedges and cilantro.
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5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne

Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne is an easy slow cooker recipe! Throw everything in, then come home to an amazing smelling cooked dinner.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: slow cooker chilli con carne
Servings: 4
Calories: 543kcal
Author: Adrianne

Ingredients

  • 1 medium red onion Note 1
  • 2 large red capsicum Note 2
  • 2 red chilli Note 3
  • 500 grams/16 oz beef mince Note 4
  • 400 grams/ 14.5 oz red kidney beans this is 1 standard tin, drained and rinsed, Note 5
  • ½ teaspoon salt Note 6
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper also Note 6
  • 1 tablespoon garlic Note 7
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano Note 8
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder Note 9
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder Note 10
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder Note 11
  • 1 teaspoon paprika Note 12
  • 800 grams/29 oz diced tomatoes this is 2 tins, Note 13
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste Note 14

To serve

  • white rice
  • lime wedges
  • coriander (cilantro)

Instructions

  • Vegetables: prepare all of the vegetables by dicing the onion, desedding and chopping the red capsicums and slicing the red chilli. Once done add each of these veggies to the slow cooker.
  • Beef and beans: next add the beef mince (ground beef) and red kidney beans.
  • Seasoning: add the salt, black pepper and garlic. Then add the dried oregano, cumin powder, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.
  • Tomato: next pour in the diced tomatoes followed by the tomato paste.
  • Stir: now take a wooden spoon and gently stir all of the ingredient to combine.
  • Cook: turn the slow cooker on and set the timer and temperature. You can cook the chilli for 7-8 hours on low heat or 3-4 hours on high heat. Once this time is up, remove the lid and gently stir again to further combine.
  • To serve: portion the chilli into bowls. Serve with cooked rice, cilantro and lime wedges.

Notes

  • Note 1 - Red onions: my preference is to use red onions when making chili con carne. They have a sweeter flavor to them which works well with the rest of the more savory based ingredients.
  • Note 2 - Capsicums: red capsicums for us Aussies or red bell peppers. These help to add another vegetable component to the dish and bulk it up with more than just 'minced meat'. These have little to no 'heat' about them. 
  • Note 3 - Chilli: we use 2 x long red chillis for the recipe. These are more mild than short red chilli. You can omit these or use the equivalent amount of freshly sliced jalapenos if you wish too.
  • Note 4 - Beef mince: beef mince or ground beef for my friends in the USA. This is an excellent budget friendly cut of meat that is versatile and lends itself to a wide variety of flavor combinations (including chilli!). You can use ground chicken or turkey if you would prefer a different protein. 
  • Note 5 - Red kidney beans: all we need to do for these is open the can then drain and rinse them under tap water. A tin of black beans can be substituted if you prefer. 
  • Note 6 - Salt and pepper: we use salt and black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
  • Note 7 - Garlic: you can use 2-3 fresh garlic cloves, minced jarred garlic or chunky chopped garlic as I am using.
  • Note 8 - Oregano: a fragrant dried herb that is versatile and works across a wide range of recipe. You can reduce this to 1 teaspoon if you wish too.
  • Note 9 - Cumin: smell this and you are taken to the world of Mexico! An essential herb to make a chilli con carne. You can reduce this to 1 teaspoon if oyu wish too, however, I don't recommend increasing the amount. 
  • Note 10 - Garlic powder: as much as we are also using garlic in the recipe, we use some herbs and spices for the 'chilli' factor. Garlic powder is one of these.
  • Note 11 - Onion powder: as above. The onion powder is one of the ingredients used to make the 'chilli' flavor.
  • Note 12 - Paprika: you can use either ground paprika or smoked paprika. I usually use smoked, however, both will work if you have one but not the other.
  • Note 13 - Diced tomatoes: we want to use 2 x tins of plain diced tomatoes. As we are adding all of our own herbs and spices to the mixture, we don't need 'Italian style' or other types of tomatoes that come with additional herbs.
  • Note 14 - Tomato paste: thick and rich. This adds a ton of flavor to the chilli. We only need a small amount, but this goes a long way! 

Nutrition

Calories: 543kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 469mg | Potassium: 1550mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 3409IU | Vitamin C: 162mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 9mg