Description
What You’ll Need: Ingredients. This beanless chili layers classic spices with tomatoes, green chiles, peppers, and garlic for a rich, satisfying low‑carb meal—made hands‑off in the slow cooker or quick on the stovetop.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chili (No Beans)
- 2 lb ground beef or ground turkey (85/15 recommended)
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 4 oz can canned green chiles (mild or spicy)
- 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 15 oz can canned diced tomatoes (no sugar added)
- 14.5 oz can canned tomato sauce (no sugar added)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 dried bay leaves (optional)
Garnish
- shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions (to your liking)
Instructions
- Crock-Pot Method — Brown the beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground meat until no longer pink, breaking apart with a spoon. Drain all excess grease.
- Load the Crock-Pot: Add browned meat to slow cooker. Stir in onion, bell pepper, green chiles, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, cumin, paprika, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves (if using).
- Slow cook to perfection: Cover and cook on LOW 6–8 hours for deepest flavor, or on HIGH 4 hours.
- Stovetop Method — Brown & sauté: In a large pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown meat. Drain most grease, leaving about 1 Tbsp. Sauté onion and bell pepper until soft (6–7 min). Add garlic and cook 1 min.
- Build & simmer: Stir in green chiles, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spices. Return meat to pot. Bring to a bubble, reduce to low, cover, and simmer at least 30 minutes (up to 60 for richer flavor).
- Finish & serve: Discard bay leaves. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheddar, sour cream, and green onions.
Notes
Timing options: Slow cooker HIGH 4 hrs / LOW 6–8 hrs; stovetop ~60 mins after browning. For thicker chili, simmer uncovered the last 15 minutes or add 1 Tbsp tomato paste. Adjust salt to taste if using salt-free canned tomatoes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Chili, Main Course
- Cuisine: American, Low-Carb
Nutrition
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 16
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Carbohydrates: 9
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 25
