You guys! we did it! We made it through the holidays, and I’m hoping you all had an awesome time with family and friends?? I certainly did. My sister came to visit all the way from the east coast! We even saw Star Wars and everything (genuinely enjoyed it by the by, she’s the big fan but I was quite pleased). Now as fun as the holidays can be, I bet a big snazzy feast is probably not on your agenda any time soon. In that case, I have the perfect recipe for you: easy peezy Slow Cooker Three Bean Chili!
So. Easy. It’s perfect for the chilly winter weather coming up in the next couple months and all you have to do is throw everything into the slowcooker and press a button! Cook on high for 3 1/2 – 4 hours or on low for 7 – 8 hours (depends on your slow cooker) and dinner is served.
This Slow Cooker Three Bean Chili recipe also happens to be vegetarian, and EASILY vegan if you skip the sour cream and cheese garnish. You’re probably thinking say what??? It’s so warm, comforting and and delicious, it doesn’t even need meat. All right you guys, bust out that slow cooker!!!
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- 30 oz can kidney beans, drained
- 15 oz can black beans, drained
- 15 oz can pinto beans (vegetarian), drained
- 15 oz can diced tomato
- 2 large green bell peppers, diced
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup mild to medium red salsa
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Turn a 5 quart slow cooker on high (for a smaller slow cooker, use about half this recipe). Add the onion and garlic, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, tomato, bell pepper and corn. Pour in vegetable stock, salsa, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir gently to combine.
- Cook in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high, 7 on low (depending on your stock pot).
- Add salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with green onion, cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream (skip sour cream and cheddar cheese for vegan version).
Stove Top
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and bell pepper. Cook 4-5 minutes, until somewhat softened. Add garlic and cook one more minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, tomato, corn, vegetable stock, salsa, cumin and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and uncover. Add salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with green onion, cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream (skip sour cream and cheddar cheese for vegan version).
What size is your crockpot? I am thinking I would need to halve the recipe, 60 oz of 4 different ingredients alone would probably fill a standard crockpot, sounds wonderful regardless, I will start out with half amounts of everything and see how it goes
Thank you so much for pointing that out! I have a 5 quart capacity oval crockpot. I have fixed the recipe to the correct amounts for this standard size. This recipe does make quite a bit, fills a 5 qt pretty much up to the brim at first but after cooking the level lowers a bit. This recipe is easily halved to serve but four but I like to make a large batch. Since chili always tasted better the next day it’s great for leftovers!
can this chili be frozen as a meal prep meal? i made it for my big family last night and had no leftovers! it was delicious! i added less liquid because we like it a little thicker, but the flavors were awesome! but we would love to always have this made ahead to have on hand!
★★★★★
Absolutely! It actually freezes up quite well. I just froze a batch for 3 weeks, took it up to a mountain cabin and reheated on the stove with some cornbread 🙂
What can i eliminate to make it a little thicker?
You can always use less broth!
I make my chili very similar but instead of broth I use two cans of crushed tomatoes it taste great and doesn’t get watery
Can I add ground beef? If so, should I brown it first?
So sorry for the late response! You absolutely can, but definitely brown it first.
Do you know now what the macro breakdown is?
I don’t sorry! It’s definitely on the healthier side but I don’t use a nutrition label maker.
How would you adjust for dried beans?
I have the 6 quart capacity ninja, what can I do to make this receipe stretch to fill it?
I started to make this in my 5qt, crock pot, before i finished adding the beans and corn, I knew i had to transfer this to my 8.5qt crock pot.
Can I use frozen corn and when does corn go in?
Absolutely! The corn goes in at the same time as the rest of the veggies and beans.
I always enjoy meals done in one pan, one skillet, or thrown into the crock pot. It makes life easy and looks real simple. Plus the crock pot chili gets better with a day or two wait; love that.
I think the recipe is wrong. 90 oz of beans? Unfortunately I’m learning the hard way – crockpot overflow. But curious what the correct proportion is, if you can correct it.
Hi Dave! What size crockpot do you use? I definitely use 90 ounces but my 5 qt crockpot does get VERY full. I’ll update the recipe to take this into account. I would suggest 30 ounces of kidney beans, and 15 each of the other two, with 2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth instead of 4, less beans but also less liquid to maintain the same hearty chili flavor. Let me know if this helps!
You rated this recipe with 2 stars because of the fact that YOU screwed up?
The recipe does not specify between canned or dry beans, this comment was incredibly helpful
The recipe says that each can of beans needs to be drained….how do you drain dry beans?
Hi Steph,
Canned beans are wet not dry and need to be drained. There has been some confusion over if the beans are canned or dry, however, as the recipe states, they are canned.
Just made this on the stove top for my family’s halloween dinner and it’s amazing! I added an extra can of beans and 1/2 cup chipotle salsa to stretch it a little and it turned out absolutely amazing! Simmered for about 3 hours before serving because I’ve got a thing for not planning ahead, and it still came out wonderful. Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Very Good. My crackpot was not available…..cooked on top of the stove.
Added celery, as I usually do when I make beef chili.
Thank You ……definitely will become apart of my menu(s).
Best chili ever !
Thank you!!
Do you drain the diced tomatoes?
Hi Danielle,
Nope no draining! You can pour the whole can of tomatoes into the slow cooker
Just an FYI- Look up kidney bean poisoning- you really shouldnt cook them from dry in a crock pot ever. kidney beans need to be boiled for at least 10 minutes to kill toxins and crock pots don’t get hot enough, making them even more toxic than raw. Some other beans too. Crock pot recipes always specify canned beans as a result and grrr don’t even tell you why. But this recipe properly says canned. (I switched to an electric pressure cooker- totally a Game changer. )
Hi! Looking to make this tomorrow. What kind of red salsa do you recommend? Do you use something like Tostitos medium or mild salsa that you would normally eat with tortilla chips? Just want to be sure! Thanks in advance!
Hi Kristin!
I use a regular medium salsa from La Victoria. Tostitos medium would work great as well!
I will look for that one but at least I know a Tostitos would work as well. Looking forward to making this. Thanks, again!
thanks you for sharing this recipes. I will try it and I love beans.
more power to you.
I have made this many times and each time turns out amazing! Thank you for the great revipe!!!
★★
Meant to give this 5 stars, not 2…oops!
★★★★★
Is this the cook time for cooked beans on uncooked beans?
The cook time is for canned beans, not raw or dried beans. Hope that helps!
Are the Corn Kernels from a can? I am new to cooking and I am not finding them. Thank you
Hi Kourtney, I generally use frozen corn kernels, don’t even need to thaw them for this recipe!
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★★★★★
Any idea of the calorie count?It does sound delish, but I am doing 5:2 diet.
I had to change the beans in the recipe as I couldn’t find pinto beans. I used a 28 oz can of kidney beans, a 28 oz can of black beans, a 28 oz can of romano beans, and a 14 oz can of chickpeas. Also a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes. Eliminated the cayenne and used 1 tsp of chile powder and used 3 cloves garlic. My slow cooker is 8 quarts and it fit with room to spare. I hope this helps others who can’t find the beans as listed.
They end result was very delicious and the quantity did two meals for two and another in the freezer.
I didn’t find the toppings necessary, it is so good just on its own.
★★★★★
I’ve made this chili quite a few times, tweeking it slightly given what I’ve got in the pantry. This is a one of the best chili’s I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing
★★★★★
In an effort to eat more meatless meals I was on the hunt for the perfect chili recipe – I have found it with this one! I have made it over and over again! The only thing is that I thicken it with a flour slurry before eating (personal preference), other than that- perfect!
★★★★★
Hi, um i don’t have salsa, is there a sub for this, it’s too windy to go to the grocery store.
Yuuummmmm!!
★★★★★
Two questions:
1. If I have a 6.5 qt crockpot, do you think that’d be big enough to double the recipe?
And
2. Do you think this recipe would get really watery if I cooked on low for 7 hours and then left it on warm for about 12-14 hrs? I like my chili a little bit on the thicker side, but this looks amazing! Anything I could do to avoid it getting soupy??
This was delicious!! Hubby and kids devoured it 😁
★★★★★
Thank you! So glad your family enjoyed it 😊.
I have been making this chili for years. I eat it as is and think it’s very good, and for my kids, I top their bowls with sour cream and cheese and they love it too! Husband likes it either way!
★★★★★
Thank you!!
Making the chili right now in my crockpot. Was just curious why there isn’t any chili powder in the recipe? Never made chili without chili powder. Looking forward to eating the chili.
Also, after 3 1/2 hours on high, it is still a little thin. I added 2 1/2 Cups of vegetable stock and drained all the beans as the recipe said. Not sure what went wrong?
Hi Sherry! This chili is actually a bit more “liquidy” than most. It also does best after resting and cooling down, especially sitting overnight and marinating in itself for a bit. Hope that helps!
Funny story! I used to make this chili recipe at an old job where I cooked for about 150 kids 4 times a day so I had to order everything in bulk. Weirdly, the corporate office got involved in chef ordering and “locked” most ingredients that weren’t cinnamon, salt and pepper. So when I wrote the recipe down I hadn’t been using chili powder as an ingredient in the dish for years! However, I have a sneaking suspicion before that job that I probably used to. One of the best things about chili is it’s a kitchen sink kind of thing so if you have some chili powder and feel like adding for flavor, definitely go for it!
Any idea of how you could make this in an Instant Pot? I’ve made this recipe several times (and love it!) in a crockpot but I’d like to be able to prepare it quicker in my IP.
★★★★★
Hi Kate! I havn’t tried this recipe yet in an instant pot so I’m not sure about the amount of time it would need. Once I do I can let you know!
Wait a minute. How can this be chili without chili powder?
Feel free to add some!
Hi! Love this chili. What do you consider a serving size? Do you have any nutritional info on it like calories, etc?
★★★★★
Thank you! I don’t have the nutritional or serving size info for it, so sorry!
Thank you for the recipe, I made this a few days ago, and it was delicious. I would make this again. I did not have any cayenne pepper, so I added chili powder.
★★★★★
You’re so welcome! Glad the substitute worked 👍🏻.
This recipe was very tasty. When I made it, it was kind of watery though so I had to simmer for ~40 minutes to reduce.
★★★★★
How many calories are in this recipe
Norma
I don’t know sorry! Feel free to use a calorie counting app if you’d like :-).
What do you suggest for a 4.5 quart? How much stock / beans?
How many calories per serving? I had 2 1/2 ladles worth.
I’m not sure but I’m looking into a nutrition label tool for the site, coming soon!
This recipe was fantastic. I made a few adjustments. I only used 1 to 1 1/2 cups of stock. Omitted the salsa. Added tomato paste as a thickner. Once finished. I topped it with jalapeños and banana peppers. Will make again,
★★★★★
Can this be made on the stovetop if I don’t have enough hours to let it cook in the crockpot?
★★★★★
Absolutely! I’ll add some stove stop instructions to the recipe for you 😁.
Just put all the Ingredients into the crock pot. Having in laws over to celebrate their bday. Nervous bc it’s a new recipe I’m trying!! Is it really spicy with the cayenne pepper? How much salt and pepper do you add! I did 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Just made this today and we love it. I didn’t have pinto beans so I added and extra can of black beans. It is so colorful and tastes delicious!
★★★★★