Description
This hearty Slow Cooker Beef Chili is perfect for busy days and is packed with flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 3 tsp. olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 T minced garlic
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. ground Ancho chile pepper
- 1 T ground cumin
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 1/4 cups Pace Mild Picante Sauce
- 1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
- 1 can (14 oz.) beef broth
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1 lime, sliced for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the ground beef until it’s nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner while it cooks.
- While the beef browns, chop the onion and red bell pepper.
- When the beef is browned, add it to the slow cooker and turn slow cooker to high.
- Add a little more oil to the frying pan and cook the onions until they’re starting to brown, then add the garlic and cook a minute or two more.
- Add the chili powder, ground Ancho chile pepper, ground cumin, and Mexican oregano and sauté the spices for a couple of minutes with the onions.
- While onions cook, drain the pinto beans into a colander placed in the sink.
- Rinse the beans with cold water until no more foam appears. (Rinsing is probably optional, but it makes the beans a bit more digestible.)
- Add the onion mixture to the slow cooker with the can of pinto beans. Then add the Pace Picante Sauce (or other salsa of your choice).
- Then add beef broth to the frying pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to get off the browned bits that stick to the pan. Add the can of refried beans and stir until the beans are partly mixed with the broth, then add that mixture to the slow cooker.
- Cook chili about 3 hours on high (or you can cook for 6-8 hours on low if you prefer.)
- When the Slow Cooker Beef Chili is done, stir in the lime juice and serve hot.
- If you have a large slow cooker, I’d double the recipe because this freezes very well!
Notes
- Use regular chili powder if you don’t have Ancho chile pepper.
- Rinsing beans may improve digestibility.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg