I love chili on a cool fall day. The irony is that it’s actually pretty warm in Toronto this week. Like unseasonably warm 18 – 20 degrees C (64 – 70 F). While its great to get some Indian summer weather, I am bracing myself for some cooler days ahead.
The original recipe called for stove top but I think this is perfect for the slow-cooker/ crockpot. We use the slow-cooker quite a bit in cooler temperatures (not too much in the summer as it ends up heating up the kitchen too much). I love how you can turn it on before work or on a Sunday morning and voilà, end of day food magic.
Like many of the recipes I use, this is highly adaptable and can quite easily be made vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free.
Let me know how you like this formatting – I’m using a new recipe template. 🙂
Hope you enjoy this one!

Servings | Prep Time |
10-12 bowls | 15 minutes |
Cook Time |
8-10 hours |
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This recipe was adapted from "It's Chili by George!!" (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14985/its-chili-by-george/) and is my go-to chili recipe - I don't follow anything else!
This recipe is easily personalized and changed to suit your own taste.
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- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 can (46 fluid oz) V-8 tomato juice
- 1 can (29 oz) tomato puree
- 1 can (10 oz) red kidney beans, draned & rinsed
- 1 can (19 oz) white kidney beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 1/2 C onion, chopped
- 1/2 C carrots, chopped
- 1/4 C bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 C chili powder
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
- Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
- In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)
Like many of the recipes I use, this is highly adaptable and can quite easily be made vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free.
These are some easy substitutions and my preferences:
- Ground beef can be subbed with ground turkey or veggie ground round
- The V-8 can be subbed with Clamato or regular tomato juice
- I prefer San Marzano tomatoes for the flavour and its easy enough to get at Costco
- For beans, I prefer no salt added or low sodium and you can sub for what you like or have on hand, like Pinto or black
- I ran out of chili powder (amazing since they come in such large packages but I had some Chipotle Aioli spice and it made it extra smokey and spicy
You can top with a dollop of sour cream or some cheese, chives or serve it over rice.
I like the idea of doing chili in a slow cooker. Thanks for the post.
I only make chili in the slow cooker. So easy and you can forget about it!
I’ve passed this recipe onto my daughter as she has just got herself a slow cooker!
Thank you and hope she enjoys it!
I love chili in the slow cooker, and since we don’t eat meat, I just add vegetarian “crumbles” in toward the end.
I will admit I am an omnivore but I love vegetarian and vegan recipes as well! I actually like TVP. 🙂