It’s 5:15 PM, the kids are starving, and you’re staring into the abyss of your fridge realizing dinner plans are non-existent. We’ve all been there, right? That’s why this crockpot chili recipe is my absolute lifeline. Seriously, this is the ultimate “set and forget chili” that somehow tastes like it simmered for days. I use a mix of lean ground beef and turkey, which makes it hearty but keeps the fat manageable. This is the recipe I rely on when I need dinner ready when I walk in the door after a crazy day! It’s so shockingly easy, yet the flavor combination? Well, let’s just say it’s award winning territory. You won’t believe this deep flavor came from just dumping everything in the slow cooker this morning.
Why This Crockpot Chili Recipe is Your New Weeknight Hero
If you’re looking for a true “set it and forget it” dinner, stop looking right now. This slow cooker chili recipe is designed for the busiest of nights. I mean it—you spend maybe fifteen minutes prepping in the morning, and dinner is perfect when you get home. No babysitting a simmering pot on the stove!
The magic here is that beautiful blend of ground beef and turkey. It gives you that deep, rich flavor you expect from a classic, but it’s leaner, which I love. But don’t let the simplicity fool you; the spice blend hits that sweet spot that makes people ask, “Where did you get this award winning chili recipe?” Trust me, it’s a total crowd-pleaser because you throw everything in and walk away.
- Total work time is less than 20 minutes—mostly just opening cans!
- The long, slow simmer in the crockpot marries the spices perfectly.
- It’s fantastic for leftovers or making big batches for freezing later.
If you want to explore another great version without the meat, you should check out my hearty three-bean chili recipe!
Ingredients for the Easiest Crockpot Chili
This is where the “dump and go” part really shines! I keep everything stacked on my counter before I start browning the meat for this easy dump chili. You’re leaning heavily on your pantry staples here, which is why I love it so much for busy days.
Remember to rinse those beans! That’s key for a cleaner flavor in your final slow cooker chili. You’ll need:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional—and I almost always add it!)
If you’re looking for other ways to use your slow cooker for hearty meals, check out this hearty vegetable beef soup recipe!
How to Prepare This Award Winning Crockpot Chili
Okay, let’s talk process! You might think because it’s a slow cooker chili that you can just toss everything in raw, but trust me on this one step: browning the meat first is what separates good chili from truly great, deep-flavored chili. You don’t need to preheat your crockpot, thankfully, but you do need a skillet for this part.
Prepping the Meats and Aromatics
Get your ground beef and turkey cooking over medium heat. You want it fully browned. Once it’s cooked through, drain off every bit of that excess fat! If you leave it in, your final crockpot chili recipe will taste greasy, and we definitely don’t want that. Your onions just cook right along with the meat until they soften a little—no need to chop them separately.
Assembling the Slow Cooker Chili
Now for my favorite part—the dump! Transfer that drained, cooked meat mixture straight into the insert of your slow cooker. Dump in all your rinsed beans, the crushed tomatoes (don’t drain those!), your tomato sauce, and that cup of beef broth. Then, just sprinkle in all your spices—cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Give it all a REALLY good stir until everything looks completely mixed together.
Setting the Timer for Set and Forget Chili
Cover it up and walk away! For that melt-in-your-mouth texture, set it to LOW for 6 to 8 hours. If you need dinner faster, HIGH works beautifully in about 3 to 4 hours. Before you serve up your set and forget chili, give it one last good stir at the end. That’s it. Dinner is ready!
If you are looking for other great slow cooker meals, that recipe for beef barley soup is another winner!
Tips for the Best Beef Crockpot Chili
To really push this from just ‘good’ to ‘award winning’ territory, you need to treat those spices right! I know the recipe calls for specific amounts, but whenever I feel like the chili needs a little extra *oomph*, I add a tiny bit more cumin—maybe half a teaspoon more than listed. You have to taste as you go, or trust your gut!
And please, listen to me on the beans. Rinsing them isn’t optional! Those canned beans come packed in a starchy, sometimes metallic-tasting liquid. I spend a good minute under cold running water washing them until the water runs clear. It makes such a difference in the overall flavor of your beef crockpot chili.
I remember one massive batch where I forgot the oregano entirely. The chili was good, but definitely missing that earthy background note. I tossed in an extra teaspoon halfway through cooking, and wow, it completely revived it! That’s when I learned spices are flexible, but you need enough liquid—the broth is crucial here—to let them bloom as they simmer.
If you happen to be making extra, you could always turn some of it into my easy three-ingredient chili cheese dip!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Your Crockpot Chili Recipe
When you’re making an easy dump chili, sometimes you have to work with what’s in the pantry, and that’s totally fine! Don’t panic if you’re missing one specific item. I’ve made this crockpot chili recipe so many ways over the years, and it always comes out tasting like a winner.
First, what if you only have ground beef or only ground turkey? Go ahead and use a full two pounds of whichever one you have. Using just ground beef makes it richer and gives that classic flavor, while all turkey creates a lighter version of the turkey chili slow cooker style. Either way, the spices carry the flavor!
If you’re out of crushed tomatoes, you can absolutely swap them for fire-roasted diced tomatoes, but you might want to throw in an extra splash of broth or tomato sauce since diced tomatoes aren’t quite as liquid. And about those beans: I already mentioned rinsing them, but just to reiterate, please rinse them well. That starchy residue makes the chili cloudy instead of that beautiful, deep red color we want. It’s worth the extra minute!
If you like exploring other slow cooker soups, give the Italian Minestrone Soup a try sometime!
Serving Suggestions for Turkey Chili Slow Cooker Perfection
Wow, your amazing turkey chili slow cooker dinner is done! Now, the fun part: loading it up with toppings. I find that simple toppings really let the flavor of the slow-cooked spices shine through. Of course, you can never go wrong with a blanket of sharp shredded cheddar cheese and a big dollop of cool sour cream. That contrast of hot and cold texture is just unbeatable.
For a little extra crunch, I toss on some chopped fresh green onions or maybe a few crushed tortilla chips right before serving. My personal favorite unexpected pairing, though? A tiny drizzle of honey! It sounds wild, but just a swirl on top balances the spice perfectly. And if you happen to have my soft pretzels on hand, dipping those into the extra thick parts of the chili is heavenly!
Storing and Freezing Your Easy Dump Chili
The best part about making this easy dump chili is that it actually tastes even better the next day! If you have any leftovers—which you might not, because trust me, this stuff disappears fast—storage is super simple. First thing: let it cool down a touch before you put it anywhere near plastic, always! You don’t want to rush the process or risk bacteria growth, you know?
For the fridge, just put it into an airtight container. It keeps perfectly well for about four days, ready for quick lunches. But the real secret weapon here is freezing! This crockpot chili recipe freezes like a dream because it doesn’t have a ton of dairy mixed in already.
Once cooled, transfer the chili to heavy-duty freezer bags or containers. I like to lay the bags flat on a baking sheet until they freeze solid—great space saver! It lasts three to four months in the freezer, making future dinners basically nonexistent stress. Don’t forget to pull it out a day ahead to thaw slowly in the fridge! If you need inspiration for using up those leftovers, check out my recipe for holiday leftover minestrone soup for a creative spin!
Frequently Asked Questions About Crockpot Chili
I get so many questions about tweaking this crockpot chili recipe because everyone wants it *just* right for their family! Here are a few things I hear all the time when people try this for the first time.
Can I skip browning the meat and just throw everything in raw?
Look, I get the appeal of pure dump-and-go, but please, please don’t skip browning for this version! If you put raw ground beef and turkey straight into the slow cooker, you’ll end up with a watery mess because all the fat renders out and has nowhere to go. It just steams instead of searing. Browning first is what develops the deep, rich flavor necessary for that award winning chili taste. It only takes about ten minutes, and it’s worth every second!
How can I easily make this spicier or milder?
Flavor adjustments are easy with this set and forget chili because it simmers all day! For spicier chili, I always turn to cayenne pepper first. If you love heat, bump that up to a full half teaspoon, or feel free to add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes with the other spices. For a milder batch, eliminate the cayenne completely. If you use chili powder that’s already marked as ‘hot,’ you might need to dial back the optional cayenne, too.
What about using dry beans instead of canned for this turkey chili slow cooker recipe?
You absolutely *can* use dry beans, but this turns it into a much longer project, not the quick easy dump chili we were making! If you decide to use dry beans (like kidney or black beans), you need to soak them overnight first, and then you need to simmer them for at least four hours on high before even adding the meat and tomatoes. Honestly, on a weeknight, stick to the canned beans for simplicity. If you’re interested in dealing with dry beans, you should check out my recipe for spicy Mexican pozole, as that requires pre-soaking!
Can I brown the meat mixture ahead of time?
Yes, that’s a great move for saving time! If you brown the beef and turkey—and make sure to drain them well—you can store the cooked meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Or, even better, brown it on Sunday, portion it out, and freeze it! Then, on Wednesday, you just dump the pre-cooked meat right into the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. It’s still a winner!
Estimated Nutritional Information for This Crockpot Chili
Here comes the science part! I know some of you folks track macros or just like knowing what you’re dropping into your body when you make this crockpot chili. I ran the numbers based on the ingredients listed above, keeping in mind this makes about six nice, hearty servings. But listen, these are just estimates, okay? I’m a cook, not a nutritionist, so take this as a general guideline!
The nice thing about using a mix of lean beef and ground turkey is that we keep the saturated fat reasonable while still hitting a huge protein number, which is perfect for a filling dinner.
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: Approximately 450
- Total Fat: Around 18 grams
- Protein: A whopping 35 grams!
- Carbohydrates: About 40 grams
- Fiber: A solid 10 grams (thank you, beans!)
- Sodium: This comes in around 650mg—make sure you taste before adding extra salt!
Since this slow cooker chili is so easy to make in a big batch, planning for leftovers is smart. If you’re freezing portions, the counts will remain accurate, but if you load it up with cheese and sour cream at serving time, you’ll definitely see those numbers climb higher!
Print
Easy Crockpot Beef and Turkey Chili
- Total Time: 8 hour 15 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
A simple dump-and-go chili recipe using ground beef and turkey that cooks slowly in a crockpot all day.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. Drain off any excess fat.
- Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker.
- Add the chopped onion, kidney beans, black beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beef broth to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, if using.
- Stir all ingredients together well.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
- Stir before serving.
Notes
- Serve with your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, or chopped green onions.
- This recipe freezes well for future meals. Cool completely before transferring to freezer-safe containers.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 8 hour
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 650
- Fat: 18
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Unsaturated Fat: 11
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 40
- Fiber: 10
- Protein: 35
- Cholesterol: 90
