This Low Carb Slow Cooker Chili Recipe is adapted from my family’s favorite Chili recipe. My darling mother-in-law gave me this recipe to me many years ago and over the years I’ve adapted to our family’s changing needs.
In Looking at the picture above you might be asking, “This recipe has beans?”
Why yes, yes it does. The recipe version that includes beans, could only be considered ‘lower Carb”, I suppose. If you’ve read my recipe guidelines, I’m of the opinion that a meal that is under 15 net carbs is low carb, it’s just not Keto-ish.
With beans it makes a serving 14.5 carb grams total or 11 grams net carbs. Which for those of you on Keto is quite a shock. But stay with me here, I’ve got a bean-less version just for you.
So why do I have a version with beans? Because well, fiber. You know, Grammy called it ‘roughage’ and we all need it. Also, there are magical things in black beans like manganese, magnesium, thiamin as well as folate and iron. The good stuff. In addition because there are tomatoes in this recipe there is vitamin C which is supposed to help with the absorption of iron.
Easy to Make
This is one of those recipes that you can dump all of the ingredients into the Crock Pot, set it on low and leave for the day. There are few things I enjoy more than coming home after a long day and being met by the smell of dinner, hot and delicious waiting for me.
Also I love this recipe because I can sauté the onions and cook up the meat and refrigerate the day before and then just quickly pour all the ingredients into the Slow Cooker the next morning.
Keto Carb Savers Read This
If you’d like the chili to be more like a Keto dish here are some ways you can cut down on those carbs:
You can choose to use 1-2 tsp onion salt or powder instead of the sautéed onion and it will cut out 13.5 Carbs out of the overall recipe. (Be sure to add less actual salt if using onion salt or it will be too salty!)
Also, instead of using the 1 cup of canned beans, up the total amount of hamburger to 2lbs. It will reduce the grams of carbohydrate in the recipe by 40 grams. (It’s true; beans are not carb cheap.)
So if you cut out both the onions and the beans, you will have a serving of chili that is 7.9 total carbs or 6.3 net carbs and 190 calories. It will also change the texture of the chili somewhat. I hope this works for those of you whose carb budgets can’t afford the fiber-rich version.
You may be asking why I didn’t choose to cut out the diced tomatoes or tomato sauce? The answer is easy: flavor and texture. You’d having very little left that is chil-esque without the tomato. 😉
Assembling the Easy Low Carb Chili Recipe
You start by cooking the chopped onion and hamburger and placing them in the Slow Cooker with the beans. (Remember! You can cook the onion and/or hamburger beforehand and dump them in with the other ingredients.)
Next you will add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce along with all the spices. (Remember to cut way back on the salt if you used onion salt instead of chopped onions. You can always add more later.)
You will add 1/2 cup water and stir everything together. (If you didn’t use onion or beans you may wish to add more water toward the end of cooking.) Set it on low and allow to cook 5-8 hours. (If I’m in a hurry, I set it on high for 3 hours, then turn it to low if we’re not ready for dinner yet.) Enjoy! – Laura
Buy it here. Make it at home.
Below are my recommendations for some of my favorite brands of ingredients
Glen Muir Tomato Sauce (salt and sugar free.)
Nutrition information for this recipe:
Easy Low Carb Slow cooker Chili Recipe
If you want a straight up keto-type chili scroll up to the section for ‘Keto Carb Savers’ for tips and nutrition info.
Easy Low Carb Slow Cooker Chili
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups tomato sauce low or no sugar and salt
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes canned, do not drain
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp chili powder reduce amount by half for a milder chili
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 clove chopped garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 pinch cayenned pepper (optional) It's super hot tasting
- 2 tsp avocado oil
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Drain and rinse beans. Place in Slow cooker
- Chop and sauté onion in avocado oil over medium heat till onions are limp and golden. Place in Crock pot.
- Cook and crumble ground beef over medium heat. Drain off oil if it's excessive. Place in Slow Cooker.
- Pour tomato sauce and diced tomatoes over the beans, onion and meat.
- Add salt, chili powder, paprika, garlic, oregano and cayenne (if using.)
- Add 1/2 cup water and stir all ingredients gently to combine.
- Set Slow Cooker to low for 5-8 hours. Or set on high for 3-4 hours on high for a shorter cooking time. Add more water toward end of cooking time if needed.
You can use black soy beans for even less carbs, and they are delicious! A crowd pleaser here at home, with kids, who are old enough to eat it, ranging from ages 2-14. Yummy recipe btw, I will definitely be giving it a try!