Slow Cooker Chili Spiked with Veggies
I love chili on a cold winter night, coated with gooey cheese and steaming in the bowl. After I graduated from nutrition school I began to see the potential in adding more nutrition to everyday meals. Hence, "Chili Spiked with Veggies" was born. Some might call this "sneaking in vegetables". But I just think that it is the perfect marriage between comforting, warm, tasty chili and healthy veggies. Even better, you can make the whole thing in the crockpot and it only takes about 15-20 minutes (depending on how fast you chop!)
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One-pot meals are the best
Mamas, this is a one-pot meal that most kids will enjoy as much as you will! This is especially true if you top the chili with delicious cheese or sour cream. I highly recommend making the full quantity listed below so you can have leftovers for dinner or lunch the next day or freezer meals for a future date. Cook once, eat twice (or three times!) I made 4 meals out of my last batch!
Slow Cooker Chili Spiked with Vegetables in my 7 quart slow cooker.
Watch us make it! Easy Peasy (especially with my little sidekick).
Slow Cooker Chili Spiked With Veggies
2-3 pounds ground beef ((grass-fed if possible))
freshly ground pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste)
10-12 garlic cloves (minced)
2 yellow onions (diced)
1/2 cup chili powder (use 1/4 cup for kids or those who don't like a lot of "heat" to their chili)
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (again, use less to reduce spiciness)
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes with juices
3 small zucchinis (diced)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
2 carrots (diced)
4 cups beef broth ((chicken or vegetable works fine too) )
2 14oz cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 Serrano or jalapeño pepper (minced (optional))
Toppings (all optional, use one or use all!)
sour cream
cheese (grated)
green onion or chives (chopped)
Brown the ground meat over medium-high heat either in the slow cooker insert (if it is OK to be used on the stovetop - mine is and I love this function!) or in a skillet. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. If using a high-fat content meat you may want to drain off some excess fat.
Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and yellow onions to the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes.
Add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes with their juices, zucchini, bell pepper, carrot, kidney beans, and the broth and stir to combine.
Transfer the slow cooker insert to the base, or spoon the ingredients from the skillet into the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper and more spices if desired. If you want even more of a kick to your chili, add a Serrano or jalapeño pepper (minced) to your chili for the last 15-20 minutes of cook time.
Ladle the chili into bowls and garnish with your choice of sour cream, grated cheese, green onion and/or chives.
You will need a 6.5/7-quart size (the big one) slow cooker for this recipe. It makes a lot! But this is a good thing as you can easily freeze leftovers in 16oz mason jars for easy to grab individual servings at a later date.
If you have a smaller slow cooker just half the recipe.
**you can use ground buffalo (grass-fed) or ground turkey instead of ground beef
My Favorite Bone Broth
Making your own bone broth is actually fairly easy and inexpensive, but I get it. Sometimes life is just crazy and having "one more thing" to do is causing you to throw your hands in the air and give up trying to be healthier.
If that's the case for you then check out Kettle & Fire bone broth. It's the only one I know of commercially available that actually simmers their organic grass-fed beef bones for up to 20 hours. Many of the store bought bone broths are not made this way or sourced from such high-quality ingredients, so you are getting far less nutrition from the broth.
Get your Kettle & Fire Beef Bone Broth here.
Plan ahead with your groceries!
So now you have a delicious, easy, and healthy weeknight meal for you and your family. Make sure to plan ahead so you have the proper groceries to throw the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning. When you come home at the end of a busy day you will have an amazing smell permeating the house, your digestive juices will get super excited and best of all, you can just serve dinner and enjoy.
Please let me know in the comments how the Slow Cooker Chili Spiked with Veggies recipe works out for you!! You can also tag me with a picture of your delectable chili on Instagram @lunchwithleah
Cheers!
