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Slow Cooker Cowboy Chili

Selena Jones
This slow cooker cowboy chili is the perfect comfort meal to make during the fall. With ingredients like ground beef, beans, veggies, and a whole lot of spices, this meal is nourishing and so easy to make. It's time to pull out the slow cooker again to learn how to make the best traditional cowboy chili.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 500 kcal

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker
  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Large skillet
  • Spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb Ground beef
  • ½ Onion
  • 16 oz Black beans, drained
  • 16 oz Canned corn, drained
  • 16 oz Canned diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Tomato paste
  • 1 tsp Chili powder
  • ½ tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp Garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Onion powder
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 32 oz Vegetable Broth

Instructions
 

  • Add a tablespoon of olive oil or butter to your large skillet and sauté your diced onions and veggies on low-medium heat until the onions become fragrant.
    • Tip: This is called "sweating" the onions. It will allow the natural sugars in the onion to come forward. This takes away the sharpness of the raw onion and mellows out the flavors a bit.
  • Once you're done sautéing your veggies add them to the slow cooker.
  • Brown the ground beef in the same skillet and add your spices.
  • After the beef is about 80% browned, take a large spoon or spatula and separate the beef from the fat by gently pressing the beef against the side of the pan.
  • Once most of the fat as separated from the beef, add the beef to the slow cooker.
  • Next add about a tablespoon of tomato paste to the meat and veggie mixture. This is what is going to make the broth thicker.
  • Add in one can of diced tomatoes (include the juice), black beans (drained), and corn (drained).
  • Include the same spices used to season the meat into the slow cooker and mix until well combined.
  • Once everything is coated, add the veggie broth and mix well again.
  • Cook the cowboy chili in the slow cooker on low for 6 - 8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours and enjoy!

Notes

Storage

This meal can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for about 4 days and in the freezer for about 3 months

Tips

  • I highly recommend draining the juice and rinsing the beans before adding them to the slow cooker. This helps with preventing gas!
  • I always recommend browning meat at least 80% of the way through because it's always better to be safe than sorry. It also gives you the opportunity to drain some of the fat that comes from the beef. If you want something a little leaner I'd go for ground turkey instead.
  • If you are adding sour cream or shredded cheese on top, wait until the chili has cooled a little bit before adding. Otherwise the sour cream and cheese will disappear. When I say disappear, I mean it will literally melt so fast it will look like you didn't add anything at all! haha