A thick combination of beans and strong seasonings like chili powder, cumin and garlic give chili its characteristic flavor – and tingle of zing. What’s great about chili recipes is that they’re easy to put together and personalize for your family. If they like it spicy, give it a few extra sprinkles of ground cayenne pepper. Do they like it topped with cheese? Go for it with shredded cheddar, Monterrey Jack or maybe something different like feta. Even better? You can pour the chili ingredients into a Crock-Pot so that dinner is ready at the end of a long day. Keep it simple by using the classic slow cooker chili. For something extra meaty, try the Crock-Pot pulled pork chili or the slow-cooker two-meat Texas chili. For new flavor combinations, make the chicken chili or three-bean vegetarian chili.
Classic Slow Cooker Chili
Ground beef, chili powder, kidney beans – this recipe for classic slow cooker chili from Mel’s Kitchen has all the standard ingredients for a great meal. Seasonings include cumin, onion and a little bit of brown sugar to cut the acidic flavor of the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes mixed into the chili. Once cooked, fill up a bowl and sprinkle generously with cheddar cheese.
Turkey Chili
Beef isn’t the only way to put together a meaty meal. Try this turkey chili recipe from Taste of Home for kid-pleasing results. Along with ground turkey, this version includes chopped onions, celery, green bell pepper and chili beans. Stir in frozen corn for a note of sweetness.
Crock-Pot Pulled Pork Chili
Besides ground meat, you can shred pork to mix in with a rich sauce made of garlic, tomatoes, smoked paprika, onion and chipotle pepper. This Crock-Pot pulled pork chili from How Sweet It Is involves two steps. First, season the pork and cook until soft. Next, mix all the sauce ingredients, stir and continue cooking.
Slow-Cooker Texas Two-Meat Chili
This recipe for slow-cooker Texas two-meat chili from Betty Crocker includes both chunks of beef and pork tenderloin. Coat the pieces with flour and brown in a skillet at medium-high heat. Then, add those pieces to the Crock-Pot along with cans of tomatoes with green chiles.
White Chili
Instead of making a tomato-based sauce, use chicken broth and white beans to create this white chili recipe from The Pioneer Woman. To get just the right creamy consistency, the final step in this dish has you mix together milk and corn meal. The combination thickens the chili and gives it an earthy corn flavor.
Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili
Forget the meat with this three-bean vegetarian chili from Cooking Light. You can use the suggested varieties in the recipe – kidney, pinto and black beans. Or let your kids decide which ones to toss in – maybe red beans or cannellini. There are so many possibilities no one will miss the meat.
