Slow Cooker Chili
Ground turkey replaces ground beef, no tomato puree, one can of beans, and two cans of chopped tomatoes.
Ground turkey replaces ground beef, no tomato puree, one can of beans, and two cans of chopped tomatoes.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato puree
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
- 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans with liquid
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans drained
- Carbohydrate 27.6427523398529 g
- Cholesterol 38.55535145 mg
- Fat 9.73176143306283 g
- Fiber 7.92508664555386 g
- Protein 20.4062098462843 g
- Saturated Fat 3.57175592171656 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (332g)
- Sodium 390.876528943535 mg
- Sugar 19.717665694299 g
- Trans Fat 1.16284654829988 g
- Calories 271 calories
Step-by-step
- Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
- Place the beef in a slow cooker, and mix in onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, tomato puree, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. Season with chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
- Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low.
Should the vegetables go in raw, or do they require pre-cooking? Raw onions, celery, and bell peppers contain high water content and dense cellular walls made of pectin. Placing them directly into the slow cooker alongside browned ground beef and canned tomatoes allows these aromatics to soften gradually over eight hours without turning to complete mush. Browning the beef beforehand serves a distinct purpose: rendering excess fat prevents the liquid from becoming overly greasy during the long, low-temperature simmer.
Understanding Moisture Management
Liquid control dictates the final texture of any bean-and-meat stew. Using canned kidney and cannellini beans directly alongside tomato puree introduces significant moisture that cannot easily escape a sealed slow cooker lid. Simmering on Low for eight hours gives starches from the beans adequate time to leach into the surrounding liquid, acting as a natural thickener. Adjusting this volume up or down requires careful proportioning; doubling the batch means monitoring the liquid level so the pot does not overflow its maximum capacity, whereas halving it demands reducing the cook time slightly to prevent over-reduction.
- Thickening fails if excess grease is not drained from the skillet immediately after browning the beef.
- Stirring too frequently releases trapped heat and extends the overall cooking cycle.
- Adding the hot pepper sauce early integrates capsaicin evenly throughout the entire volume.
