Easy Chili

Hearty chili flavor with very little work - the perfect busy day meal. Brown the ground beef and cook the onion, pour everything into your slow-cooker and walk away. Dinner is ready when you are.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time5 hrs

Total Time5 hrs 15 mins

Servings: or up to 8 servings

Calories: 402.94kcal

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 large onion, medium diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 cans (15 ounces) small red beans
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 - 2 tablespoons chili powder
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon beef soup base or 3 beef flavored bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (see notes)
1 teaspoon onion powder or granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic

Instructions

Put ground beef, onions, and garlic into a frying pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the ground beef as it cooks. Continue to cook until meat is lightly brown and onion is translucent. You might need to add a little water to keep things from sticking to bottom of pan.
Put the beef mixture and all of the remaining ingredients into the crock of a slow-cooker. Set slow-cooker on low and cook chili for 5-8 hours.
When you are ready, serve the chili topped with a little grated cheese and cornbread on the side.

Notes

Chipotle chili powder provides both heat and a wonderful smoky flavor to the chili. Instead of using chipotle chili powder, you could substitute a package of chipotle seasoned taco mix and use less chili powder, about 1 tablespoon.
The onion powder and garlic powder add more intense flavor. They are not completely necessary, but they are preferred.
This chili can be cooked up to 8 hours on low in a slow-cooker. I can also be cooked on slow-cooker high for about 4 hours.
Stove-top cooking. The chili can be cooked on the stove-top. Prepare ground beef, onions and garlic as directed. Add all ingredients to a large stock-pot, bring to a low boil over medium heat. Cover pot and lower heat to low. Cook at a low simmer for 2 hours, stirring periodically as needed.

Nutrition