The Best Easy Crockpot Chili Recipe

I love this chili recipe because it’s set and forget! With less than 10 minutes of prep time, you can start this in the morning and then have dinner on the table with no extra work! This recipe is adaptable to be spicy or extra mild, so it’s perfect for young kids.

When I’m hosting a large group, it has also been an easy crowd pleaser every time I serve it! Brown the meat, throw everything in the crockpot, serve with tortilla chips, cornbread, or baked potatoes and you’re done!

Here is my quick and easy crockpot chili recipe:

Print Recipe

The Best Easy Mild Crockpot Chili

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chili, soup

Servings: 6 people

Author: nlefevre

Equipment

• Crockpot
• Skillet

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef 85% preferred
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion medium, finely chopped
• 2 15 oz cans tri-bean blend, drained and rinsed (or blend of kidney, pinto, and black beans)
• 2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water if needed
• 1 15 oz can sweet corn, drained and rinsed optional
• chili powder, paprika, cayenne powder optional (if you like a spicier chili, you can add any of these to taste)
• Topping ideas: sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, fresh cilantro optional

Instructions

• Dice the yellow onion
• Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add ground beef and diced onion to the skillet and lightly brown.
• Drain and rinse your beans and corn. Do not drain your tomatoes.
• Add all of your ingredients to the crockpot, including your cooked ground beef and onions.
• Add 1/2 cup water if needed.
• Stir all ingredients together. Put lid on.
• Set crockpot on low for 8 hrs and press start.

Notes

-This is a mild chili. You can adjust the spice level by adding in the optional chili powder, paprika, and/or cayenne powder to taste. 

-I normally do add 1/2 cup of water before I start cooking it. The chili will thicken up some in the crockpot. At first it may look thin, but towards the end you will notice it thickening. You do not want to do this at the end though or it will taste watery.

Topping ideas: sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, fresh cilantro

Serve with: tortilla chips, cornbread, baked potatoes with butter

This is one of my top requested recipes when hosting and I’m so glad because it’s one of the easiest! You can easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe if needed! If I’m hosting, I normally make some in the crockpot and a huge pot on the stove. *Below are stovetop directions if you would rather make this recipe on the stove.

Stovetop directions:

1. Brown the beef and onion in the bottom of an extra large soup pot
2. Add all the other ingredients
3. Bring to a boil
4. Reduce to a simmer and put the lid on. Leave on simmer for as long as you can be home. The longer you simmer, the better it gets…up to 8 hours.

I hope you enjoy this chili recipe as much as we do!

-Nicole