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Slow Cooker Beefy Bacon Chili is a hearty, meaty chili with a little kick of spice, and a lot of flavor! My taste testers all agreed that this is one of their favorite chili recipes! A perfect Game Day chili and cold weather crock pot chili recipe!
A hearty and delicious chili recipe with bacon and beef! This makes an impressive Game Day chili recipe! Don’t forget the cornbread!
Originally published on Mar 10, 2019
Slow Cooker Beefy Bacon Chili
I have to say, this is one of the best chili recipes I have made in the slow cooker. This Slow Cooker Beefy Bacon Chili has 3 pounds of meat! It also has lots of other flavorful ingredients to make it extra delicious!
Bacon in the Chili!
• This crock pot chili recipe has you cook the bacon first. I tested this recipe with just tossing the uncooked bacon into the crockpot, and you guessed it, way too greasy! It takes just a little longer to prepare.
• The nice thing about cooking the bacon first is that you can cook the onions and bloom the spices in a little bit of the reserved bacon fat. That adds great flavor without adding too much grease!
My Secret Ingredient for Chili
• You will notice that I have an unusual ingredient for this chili, unsweetened cocoa powder. That’s not a typo! It adds depth and elevates your chili to another level.
• You can use the cocoa powder, or 1-2 ounces of an unsweetened chocolate bar.
Which Beans are Best for Chili?
- This recipe calls for canned beans. You can use just about any variety beans that you like. I usually use three kinds in one recipe.
- Pinto beans are the most popular beans for chili, as far as I have seen. However, I like to use to use red kidney beans, black beans, and garbanzo beans.
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili
Classic Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana – Sausage Potato Soup
If you make this flavorful crockpot chili recipe, please let me know! Just leave a comment below with a star rating. I’d love to know how you liked it.
Slow Cooker Beefy Bacon Chili
Equipment
- 6 quart Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb Smoky Bacon, roughly chopped
- 2 lg Onions, diced
- 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Mexican Oregano (or regular)
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 3 lg cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 2 (4 oz) cans Diced Green Chiles, mild, drained
- 2 cups Beef Broth, low sodium
- 1 (15 oz) can Tomato Sauce
- 1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes
- 3 teaspoons Beef Bouillon, low sodium
- 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (optional)
- 2 (15 oz) cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can Corn, drained (optional)
Garnishes
- Diced Avocado
- Grated Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Fresh Cilantro
- Diced Red Onion
Instructions
- Heat a 12" frying pan over med-high heat and add the bacon. Cook until done, but not crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain all but 3 Tbsp of the bacon fat. Set bacon aside.
- Put the pan back on the heat and add the onions. Cook until just turning translucent. Then lower heat to Med and add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, and cayenne pepper. stir constantly while cooking for about 1 minute. Add the mixture to the slow cooker.
- Put the pan back on the heat and adjust to med-high. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until it browns. Drain excess fat, lower heat to low and add the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant. Add mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add the green chiles, beef broth and tomato sauce to the slow cooker. Stir well.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, beef bouillon, cocoa powder, all of the beans to the slow cooker and stir well.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on Low for 5-6 hours, or High for 3 hours.
- Add the corn and cooked bacon to the slow cooker in the last hour of cooking.
- If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add some more broth or a little water. Taste and adjust spices as desired.
- Garnish as desired and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Slow Cooker Beefy Bacon Chili recipe and more
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on the 3 tsp of bouillon, is that the same as 3 cubes or 3 teaspoons of a liquid bouillon like ‘better than bouillon’?
*just learning to cook for my wife here so sorry if this is a novice question.
Yes, something like the cubes or BTB. I think low sodium is best, but you can leave out the 1 tsp of salt if you don’t have low sodium.
We made this chili for New Years and everyone raved about it. Very good!
Oh my yum!
So you add the bacon at the beginning or at the end? Also when do you add the chilies?
About an hour before serving. The chiles get added with the broth.