Keto Chili Recipe + VIDEO (slow cooker, stovetop) (2024)

FAQs

Is chili better on stove or slow cooker? ›

If you want to make a thick, tasty chili in a somewhat quick manner (30-60 minutes), the stovetop Dutch oven method is right for you. It's one pan for the whole show, providing an easy prep, cook, and cleanup for ultra tasty results. If you have a bit more patience and prefer the slow cooker, you can't go wrong either.

A low-carb thickener for chili could be xanthan gum or glucomannan powder. Both of these are low-carb, keto-friendly thickeners that can be used in small amounts to thicken chili without adding carbs.

Do you have to brown the meat for slow cooker chili? Technically, no. The beef, bell pepper, onion, and garlic will all cook in the slow cooker, but browning the meat and sautéing the vegetables in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker brings much more flavor to the chili. You'll be glad you did—promise!

Try taking the lid off and setting the slow cooker to high for half an hour before you eat - some of the water will boil off. Also, add a small can of tomato paste - THE best for flavour and thickening. Also adding flower or corn starch slowly really helps. To thicken sauce I toss in some instant mashed potatoes.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, then reduce the heat and simmer over medium-low heat for at least one hour, or up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese on top.

Mix in a scoop of cornstarch, all-purpose flour, or oats.

In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water, then stir this into the pot of chili. For 1 tablespoon of flour, use 2 tablespoons of water. No slurry is required for the absorbent oats; simply stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons.

Is chili keto-friendly? Classic bean-based chili is not keto-friendly, as beans are high in carbohydrates. Luckily you can still make a keto-friendly chili without the beans. All of the traditional chili spices, such as chili powder, ground cumin and smoked paprika, are great flavor-boosters for keto foods.

Can I overcook chili in a slow cooker? Yes, but it would take a while. I have cooked this chili for 9 hours on low and it was delicious but ever-so-slightly burnt on the top. The tomatoes contain sugar, which caramelizes in the slow cooker, and will eventually burn if it cookes for too long.

The best ground beef for chili has some fat, so 85% lean is ideal. Don't be tempted to use extra-lean beef or drain off the fat after browning the meat. The fat bastes the meat during cooking, which adds richness to the sauce and keeps the meat moist.

Raw meat and pot of chili are two things that just don't belong together. If the recipe includes any type of ground meat, bacon, chorizo, or cubes of beef, it should always be browned first. Try this: The first order of business before adding anything else to the pot is to brown any meat in your recipe.

How do you thicken chili on keto? ›

There are a couple of ways to thicken keto chili. One option is to boil the chili with the lid off so the excess liquid evaporates, thus thickening the chili. Another way to thicken chili is to add a slurry using xanthan gum and water. To do this, mix equal parts water and xanthan gum in a small bowl.

Cornmeal does an excellent job of absorbing extra liquids so adding a tablespoon of it to the chili will thicken the final dish. Mix 2 parts of cold water and 1 part of cornmeal, make it a slurry, and add this to the pot. Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes after you add the slurry.

Chili should be thick and hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but sometimes there's just a bit more liquid than you want in the pot. While you can simply keep simmering the chili, that method risks overcooking softer ingredients like the beans, losing all your nice texture to mushy monotony.

Mainly that with a slow cooker you can “set it and forget it”. You can go to work, and those slow cookers with the right options will turn on at the preset time, cook for the preset time, then keep food warm until you get home. A stovetop pot needs to be watched in case the water evaporates off and it starts to burn.

Slow Cooker vs.

While high heat may cook the potatoes and meat quickly, only low, slow cooking can create the tender morsels of meat and flavorful broth that we seek. The stove (hob) will create a thicker broth/gravy for the stew because more liquid will escape during cooking in the form of steam.

Meat, especially large cuts, benefits the most from oven slow cooking. Because moisture loss is minimal, it can help to brown the meat first, either on the stove top or in a hot oven that you then significantly drop for the rest of the cook time.

A low and slow cook time—at least an hour total—is key for drawing out the most flavor in a pot of chili. Yes, a quick chili is most welcome on weeknights, but it won't have quite the same results. A slow cooker works wonders, but if you're short on time, try a pressure cooker.