Easy Slow Cooker Chili Beans

This is an easy semi homemade chili that is great for the beginner cook.  The key to great flavor for this chili is the variety of spices and sausage!  

It was so freaking cold the other day that I wanted to scream!  After a long holiday road trip, we were sick of take out and I wasn’t in the mood to do any heavy cooking.  And a cold salad was just not going to the make the cut.  I decided to make easy chili beans in my Crockpot.

The wonderful smells while this dish cooked filled our home as we bundled up and had a lazy day.  By letting this chili cook slowly in the slow cooker, it allows the beans, sauce, and meats to absorb all of the spices, which makes for one flavorful chili.

This recipe requires only a few steps.  You don’t have to worry about soaking and cooking dry beans, which takes a bit off your prep and cooking time.  And the cost for this recipe is very reasonable!  This meal can make three different meals for my family.  Three meal options this dish provides for my family include chili beans with cornbread, chili cheese hotdogs, and work lunches for my husband and myself.

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Easy Slow Cooker Chili Beans

Easy slow cooker chili beans that only require you to dump and go the ingredients in the slow cooker.

Course Comfort food

Servings 6 to 8 cups

Ingredients

• 1 half jalapeño
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ white onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dried oregano.
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1 twelve ounce pack smoked sausage links
• One 16 ounce can of pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
• One 16 ounce can of dark kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• One 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (drained)
• One 10 ounce can of rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
• One 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 & ½ tablespoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt (divided)
• Sour cream (optional for garnish)
• ½ cup diced green onions (optional for garnish)

Instructions

1. Roughly dice the jalapeno, garlic cloves, onion, and green pepper.
2. Place the diced vegetables, and oregano into the slow cooker.
3. Add pinto beans, kidney, beans, diced tomatoes, rotel, tomato sauce, chicken broth, black pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt to slow cooker.
4. Cook ground sausage. While ground sausage is cooking, slice the smoked sausage links and set aside.
5. Once the ground sausage is browned, drain excess fat from the ground sausage. Add the ground sausage to the slow cooker.
6. Place sliced smoked sausage into the pan that was used to brown the ground sausage. Brown both sides of sliced smoked sausage pieces.
7. Add browned sliced sausage to slow cooker.
8. Gently stir all ingredients.
9. Cook on low 6-7 hours in the slow cooker.
10. Once chili is done cooking taste the chili mixture and add the other ½ teaspoon of salt if you desire. Continue to salt to taste as needed.
11. Once the chili mixture is cooked, the sauce will thicken as it sits.

Recipe Notes

Tasty Tip:
If you would like for your sliced sausage to have a crunch, add these sausage into the slow cooker at the end of the cooking process.
Adjust the heat/spicy level by removing the seeds from the jalapenos. This will allow for a mild heat level.
Add one whole jalapeno for an increased heat/spicy level.