Feed a crowd with this big-batch slow cooker chili. Easy to make, this hearty chili will stick to your ribs and make game day food a heck of a lot better!
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some snow.
It was an unseasonably warm December in my neck of the woods, which may be why I never got in my normal holiday mood (how do you people in the south get into the holiday spirit???), but now it's just starting to dip its toes into the cold stuff.
If only we could add a little snow, I'd be satisfied. I know it goes against the whole 'I love my job' bit, but I could even use a few cozy snow days to decompress.
Since the glee of tunneling through the snow of childhood faded and I had to start shoveling my car out of the heavy stuff, I've never been much of a snow person. Let's not even talk about how people start to drive like maniacs the moment a flurry hits their dashboard.
But this year I would like to be.
I want to spend a bit of time romping through it with the dog, who loves the stuff, building a snow man or maybe even driving to the mountains and trying on a pair of skis for the first time. Snow pants were purchased last year and it was spring before I knew it.
I used to ice skate, so how hard can skiing be? (Said by someone who bruises very easily).
Chili for a cold day
So while I hunker down and hope for some winter weather that the forecast is not predicting any time soon, I can't help but drool over this perfect cold weather meal. Especially when paired with these flakey sweet potato biscuits!
My favorite feed a crowd hearty chili. I'm giving you this recipe right from the book, and not telling you what I do to tweak it. I know there will be some hate mail, but chili is all about those personal tweaks, so take it and make it your own.
Oh, did I mention this feed a crowd chili is super simple to make?
It really is. Other than browning the ground beef, your slow cooker does it all for you. And if you're lucky enough to have a slow cooker with a sauté setting, it is truly a one pot wonder.
Set it all in, walk away for a few hours, come back to a chili you can sink your teeth into!
I am pretty sure chili is never the wrong choice to feed everyone.
So eat it in a bowl, scooped with tortilla chips, on a hotdog, heck, put all the options out with a batch this big 😉 You can even throw some leftovers in with eggs for breakfast. This chili equals happy bellies.
And if you are looking for a lighter take on chili, these turkey and chicken options might be just what you need!
Chipotle Apple Turkey Chili with Honey Cornbread
Whole 30 Turkey and Butternut Squash Chili
White Chicken Chili
If you’ve tried my Big Batch Slow Cooker Chili recipe or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow along for more good eats and travel tips on Instagram @passthesushi & @girlcarnivore, Twitter & Facebook.
Big Batch Slow Cooker Chili
AmericanIngredients
- 4 lbs ground chuck
- 2 medium onions - chopped
- 1 green bell pepper - chopped
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 3 14 ½ oz cans diced tomatoes, untrained
- 4 8-oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 16-ounce cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- Toppings: sour cream - shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, sliced ripe black olives
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, work in batches to brown the ground chuck.
- Crumble, drain and place in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Stir in the onion through kidney beans.
- Cover and cook on High for 5 to 6 hours or on Low 7 to 8 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf. Serve with desired toppings and some cornbread. Told ya it was simple.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
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Belinda @zomppa says
I miss real snow!! Now it's just cold...no snow, just cold - not fun! This big batch is absolutely perfect for these face-freezing days.
Kristen says
After the temps got down to the 20s last night here in FL, I have changed my mind about wanting snow. We just couldn't take it here. As it is, I have a casserole in the oven for breakfast and the dryer running with laundry I started at 6:30 am to heat up the house!! The chili looks like just the ticket for a cold day.
Blog is the New Black says
I want snow, too!!!! Love chili this time of year...
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
The cold might be easier to handle if there were at least flurries to go along with it. I'm all set with a winter like last year though. Not again thanks. 🙂
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Absolutely amazing recipe, and photos are as always so tempting and beautiful! Very well done, and Have a wonderful New Year!!!!
Rob says
Nothing like chili when there is snow on the ground and you've been out snow shoeing or skiing. That and an ice cold beer in front of the fire is FANTASTIC! Making this recipe soon, only thing i am going to do is make it with some venison chop meat. I recently stumbled across this blog looking for a venison recipe and I have been hooked ever since. Keep these great recipes coming!
Kita says
I would totally use venison if I had some. Sadly, I haven't had any yet this year winter. *Fingers crossed*
Erin says
I was lacking a lot of holiday spirit before I left Memphis for the holidays. The warmer weather really does prevent it! But then again I grew up in Rochester, NY so I'm still just not used to it being warm-ish this time of year. Still didn't have any snow while I was back home though :-(.
Love that this chili was made in a slow cooker. I've thought about making my chili recipe in there before but wondered how it would work out.
Isabelle @ Crumb says
I only ever make chili in enormous batches... it just doesn't make sense to do otherwise, considering it doesn't take much longer to make a double-sized batch, and the leftovers freeze beautifully. 🙂 Love the idea of making it even easier by using a slow-cooker... sounds perfect for a lazy weekend.
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
This chili would be perfect for a cold and snowy day! I love the snow but wish we got snow days as adults:-)
Anna says
My Hubby and I were just talking yesterday about making chili. We do not have snow yet, but chili sounds good. Love your photos!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
Oh yum! What a great bowl of chili! This CO winter thing is strange to me. We got 8 inches of snow a couple days before Christmas, but it is all gone and has been in the 50's for the last few days.
Kiri W. says
Dang, I really need to get myself a slow cooker already! Though I only cook for two, so I'm not sure how big a batch would make sense, haha. Looks like a wonderfully hearty, warming chili!
Kita says
I only cook for two as well, but this is one of those worth it meals. It also makes great quick meals later when I don't want to cook. Since its stocked in the freezer, I can just pull it out when needed. 🙂
RavieNomNoms says
I want snow too!! In the worst way...I am a snowboarder so this 50 degree weather we have been having HAS TO GO! I hate it haha
This chili does look super easy, I dunno where I might have gotten that idea from 😉
Carolyn says
It is DEFINITELY chili season here. Freezing! This looks great.
Stephanie says
i love making huge batches of chili and soup too. This one looks so hearty and delicious!
Taylor (Dionnes doter) says
I'm with you, let's have some SNOW! C'MON! 🙂 I have everything I need for this chili so I can make it when it does. Love the chili and those bowls!
Tony B says
Nice find.... Southern Living isn't in my magazine rotation so thanks for sharing it.. Great pics as well.
Cookie says
I realize the recipe states to use a six quart or larger crock pot; however, what is the actual yield?
Kita says
A ton. I have never measured it out because we always freeze batches for later. I have had hungry 6 people over for dinner with this recipe and everyone left with hefty size to go portions as well. This is a feed the football team sort of meal.
Val Corso says
This is in my crockpot now, I figure next week the leftovers will give us a break from being turkeyed to death but with 2 teenage boy chiliholics in the house I don't know... The only changes I made were to use half the ground beef called for, it makes it more economical and I'm glad I did, usually my crock pot is big enough to handle anything I put in it but it's filled to the brim. There was only room for one large onion and I reduced the chili powder, I'm not used to making giant batches of food but it looked like an awful lot. In a little while I'll taste it and add more if needed. Now comes the hard part, waiting all day to eat it while the house smells so good!
Jolene says
I just made this recipe for my son's first birthday party and it turned out great!! If anyone is wondering how many people it feeds we had about 25 people there, and the only changes I made were I added an extra can of tomatoes and some more spice, only cause my chili powder was a little old and blah. Lol but I got a lot of complements. Thank you for posting this. I'm just a little disappointed there were no leftovers.
Kita says
It does stink that there are no leftovers! I love this recipe because I know I don't have to cook for a few days ;D
Eddie says
This recipe is the closest to the way Mom used to make chili that I've seen anywhere, and she made the best chili ever (naturally). Thanks for this. I'm going to make some today, and keep those six cans of chili I have in he cupboard on hold for emergencies!
Kelly says
I’d only ever made New Mexico style chile before the other day when I needed to find a recipe for western chili for a work thing. I searched “big batch chili” in Pinterest and this was the first recipe I read. I decided to try it and it was fantastic. I tweaked the recipe a little because I’m not a huge fan of beans in chili or bell peppers in general, so I skipped those and used a couple of jalapeños instead. I thought I had crushed red pepper but I didn’t so I substituted the same amount of Hatch red pepper seasoning.
I mean it, this was the best chili I’ve ever had, and it got rave reviews at work. I’m going to make some again today so I don’t have to share it. A+
Regan Leger says
By chance i was wondering if you knew where to find those bowls
Kita says
Hey Regan, these were a family hand me down. however, I know that my family got them from (and this is awful) back in the day when you could trade in cigarette points for things out of a catalog. I have seen very similar ones made from tin at REI or similar ones in antique stores. Good luck!
Kristina says
I was looking for a recipe with more precise measurements since I was making for a party. Kept the bones of this recipe but doubled the chili powder and added cumin and garlic salt. I used pinto and kidney beans! Super good and easy to make a head!
Carol says
Can you make this a day before
Kita says
Absolutely, and I would encourage you to. The flavor is better when it sat for a day. Store the chili in an airtlgiht container once it has cooled in the fridge and then reheat in batches as needed, or if feeding a crowd, reheat in the slow cooker.
Mark says
If was 18 degrees last night here in Wisconsin and there's been snow on the ground for some time.
This is a beautiful recipe to get through the cold weather yet to come in February the month we have ourcoldest weather to come.
So I'll be enjoying this chili and hunkering down to get through the coldest time.
Enjoy this recipe folks!
Judy says
Will this fit in a 7qt crockpot?
Kita says
It should! Let me know if you have any troubles with it.