Slow Cooked Beef Chili with Beer

🍲 Slow Cooker Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 lbs (900 grams) ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup green pepper, diced (could also use some jalapeño in here if desired)
2 cans (12oz/400g) pinto beans, drained and well-rinsed (or red kidney beans, cannellini beans, or black beans)
1 cup tomato purée or crushed tomatoes (or a can of chopped tomatoes)
1 (12oz/350ml) bottle of beer
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika (the sweet & smoky kind)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper – to taste
Up to 3 tablespoons chili powder – to taste
2 teaspoons salt – to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper – to taste
If needed: up to 2 cups water (could also use beef stock)

Directions

In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the beef and onions. Add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add in the spices, stir and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomato purée and water/stock (if needed). Simmer on Low for 30 minutes. Then, add in the green peppers and beans, adjust water/stock if needed, and simmer for another 30 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

My Notes

I adjusted this recipe for my slow cooker: I used 3 bell peppers (red/orange/green) and 1kg of onions. I forgot to buy fresh garlic so I used 3 teaspoons of garlic powder. Skipped the cayenne pepper entirely and I only used 1/8 teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder because I’m a wimp about spicy foods. I added a small dash of red chili flakes, and used ground white pepper as well as black, and 1/8 teaspoon of celery salt. I used 1 can of red kidney beans and 1 can of canellini beans. I used an entire can of chopped tomatoes (and their juice) and added in 1 beef stock cubs, and 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to help the sauce thicken. I pre-cooked the beef and onions, added those to the slowcooker, added all the rest of the ingredients and cooked it all on Low for 6 hours.