Slow Cooker Smoky Chipotle Chili
This chili is comfort food at it’s best – warming and filling, yet it doesn’t weigh you down. Perfect after a long day on the slopes or while you’re watching the big game. Smokey and spicy with a hint of sweetness to balance it all out; it will soon be a regular in your winter dinner rotation.
Smoked paprika. Have you cooked with it? This spice is EVERYTHING. I discovered it a few years back; I think while cooking through my first Ottolengi cookbook, Jerusalem, and it’s so good, it’s one of the few spices I actually use before it expires.
Side note – do you replace your spices every year? I recently found more than one jar in my cabinet that I think I’ve had since I moved to Boston 8 years ago. You’d think I would have gotten rid of them in one of the 5 times I’ve moved over the last 8 years (yes, you read that right). Long past their expiration date, I still had a hard time bringing myself to throw them out (I really hate food waste). I know keeping spices for that long is a major culinary sin, but does anyone actually replace them every year like you’re supposed to? If you do, I want to hear from you. How do you keep up with it? Do you actually use up spices or do you just throw them out?
I digress. Let’s get back to the chili. I first made some version of this chili when my now husband (boyfriend at the time) and I hosted a chili cook-off several years ago. I was determined to find a chili recipe I liked (clearly I wasn’t the instigator of this event). Because, you see, I really dislike cumin. And it seems to be in nearly every chili recipe I’d seen, so I just never made it. Well this cumin-free smoky chili was a big hit (I can’t say I won, but I don’t think we actually ever got to the voting part of the event), and it quickly became a regular in our fall/winter dinner rotation.
Slow Cooker Smoky Chipotle Chili
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Description
This chili is comfort food at it’s best – warming and filling, yet it doesn’t weigh you down. Perfect after a long day on the slopes or while you’re watching the big game. Smokey and spicy with a hint of sweetness to balance it all out; it will soon be a regular in your winter dinner rotation.
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground turkey or beef (or 1 lb of each)*
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers (any color), diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (fire roasted recommended)
- 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chilis
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (add more for extra heat; refrigerate or freeze the rest)
- 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 15-ounce can pinto beans
- ~1 tsp olive oil (optional, if using turkey)
- Optional toppings: sliced avocado, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, plain Greek yogurt, lime wedge, chopped cilantro
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method
- Brown meat in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. If using ground turkey, add a little olive oil so it doesn’t stick (ground beef typically has enough fat on its own).
- Once the meat starts to brown, add onions, garlic, and bell peppers to the pan and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Transfer everything to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients except beans and toppings. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. If it gets too thick, add more broth 1/2 cup at a time.
- Stir in beans once cooking is complete.
Stovetop Method
- In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, brown meat over medium heat, stirring consistently (see note above on oil and ground turkey).
- Once it begins to brown, about 5 minutes, add onion, garlic, and peppers and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients except beans. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally (crack the cover slightly if it starts to boil). The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes. Add more broth 1/2 cup at a time if it gets too thick.
- Stir in beans once cooking is complete.
Serve with optional toppings and crusty bread or cornbread.
Notes
*If possible, use locally sourced and/or organic ingredients.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 640
- Fat: 16
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 26
Do you have the nutritional facts for this recipe?
Hi Sonia – this is an old recipe so I don’t at the moment, but may update it to have it in the future! Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy the chili
I didn’t have ground meat so I used shredded meat from a smoked turkey leg. Oh my! Was so good with the chipotle!! This is a great recipe that accommodates choices of a lazy cook. 👍🏽
YUM! Glad you liked it, and that sounds like a delicious swap.