I found myself cooking this slow cooker chili almost weekly in the past year.
It’s full of tender flavoursome meat, crammed with the goodness of veggies and topped with zesty creamy guacamole 🥑.
Slow cooker Chili con carne or sin carne?
We tend to eat very little beef – who isn’t nowadays conscious of our environmental impact?
At the same time, what I have been brought up to eat strongly influences the direction of my overall creativity in the kitchen.
My childhood was surrounded with farm animals at my grandparents farmhouse. But cows were reared for milk and not for meat. The joy of spring calves with their baby breath and dark blue eyes will live in my memory forever. Gentle creatures, chewing the cud all day long and occasionally licking this huge translucent block of salt, what amazing memories to grow up surrounded by!
More often it’s pulled pork come chili con carne that I throw in the wondrous and flavor distilling slow cooker. I use a Crock Pot – what a genius invention to ease the pain of many weeknight dinners!
In recent years, I grew extremely conscious of our meat choice and the amount we consume every week.
I often get a great piece of brisket, beef shin or ox-cheeks from the local butcher for my slow cooker meals.
Recently I have found grass fed beef in a local supermarket, it is lean, but nevertheless full of flavor.
Have it your way if you are a non meat eater: sin carne is for those flexitarian inclined or even vegans (just add extra beans and skip the cream in the guacamole).
The vegetables
Plant based trends are on the increase and rightly so. Eat the rainbow they say! Totally on board with eating a whole heap of vegetables each week. According to Zoe here (which I am an avid fan of), a good number to eat for gut health is thirty different plants a week. The good thing is that spices count too!
As its name proclames, this slow cooker chili con carne is gently spiced with flakes of bright crushed chilli.
And like many of my creations, is the work of minutes.
Set (the slow cooker )and forget
Simply throw everything in (no need to brown the meat), mix well and forget about it while you go about your day.
Create a bed of vegetables coated skillfully with the best olive oil you can afford. I always use extra virgin olive oil.
I usually put it on in the morning before I leave for work and come home to a delicious meal.
The carbs
Don’t reject the carbs! Embrace them in the form of a mound of rice, mash or chunks of flatbread 🫓 to soak up the delicious sauce.
I am not a fan of brown rice so I opt for white delicate basmati rice or jasmine rice. Confession time: sometimes I may put a chicken or beef cube in the water that I use to cook the rice in.
In balcanic cuisine rice is a rare appearance and typically as short grain rice. So, for me the weekly rice meals are an acquired habit, but one I celebrate pairing it up with simple yet delicious creations.
Our travels to Thailand grew a fresh love of rice dishes for me. Unashamedly I will choose rice over noodles every time.
The creamy guacamole and salsa
I never followed a recipe for guacamole, I just eyeball everything and taste at the end, but the basics are there: avocado, chili, olive oil, garlic and lime twirl together. I add soured cream or crème fraiche to up the tangy factor. Jalapeno slices from a jar often make an appearance. I pile them high because life wouldn’t be the same without pain while eating 😄. Who’s with me on the jalapenos?
Freshen the whole thing up by adding zesty colorful salsa – you need the full experience of texture, flavor, colors and temperatures!
What to do with the leftovers
The slow cooker chili con carne can generate next day’s lunches, this is the rule of thumb in Candyflosslife household. Sometimes I hide the leftovers like freezer treasures for the evenings when you have no more energy left for cooking.
I made this tortilla sandwich with the leftovers of this slow cooker chili con carne and it was just divine!
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Slow cooker chili
Equipment
- Slow cooker I use a Crock-pot with lid. Easy to clean and you can serve your meal straight from it.
- Vegetable slicer I use Nova slice and dice on a small dice cutter.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef chuck, lean diced (options: brisket or shin of beef or ox cheeks).
- 1-2 bell peppers sliced roughly
- 1 red onion sliced roughly
- 1 white onion sliced roughly
- 1 can (400 g) red kidney beans drained and rinsed (add another can if making vegan, skip the beef of course 😄)
- 1 can (200 g) sweetcorn drained and rinsed
- 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes (you can add fresh tomatoes or other canned tomatoes if you want)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp oregano
- 3 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper or chili powder (add more if you like your food spicier)
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp Black pepper, freshly cracked (or to taste)
For the guacamole topping
- 1 medium-large soft ripe avocado peeled, stone removed and smashed
- 2 heaped tbsp soured cream (skip if making vegan)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 grated garlic clove or ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp crushed chilli flakes
- 1 lime (grated zest and juice)
- 1 tsp herbs (leaves picked or chopped. I used thyme.)
For the salsa
- ½ cucumber diced small
- 1-2 tomatoes diced small
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 lime (grated zest and juice)
- 1 shallot (or small red onion) (finely diced)
Instructions
- Prepare the slow cooker (or instant pot). I place mine on a sturdy metal rack on the counter-top.
- Add the olive oil to cover well the bottom of the slow cooker.
Prepare the veggies and spices
- Roughly slice onions, peppers and grate the garlic.
- Measure the spices and seasoning in a bowl, or if you are confident just chuck 'em in!
- Drain the beans and sweetcorn and rinse briefly under the cold water tap.
Throw everything in!
- Add the beef to the pot and coat well in oil.
- Add everything else in and mix well so that the spices and seasonings are distributed evenly, even though they will infuse over hours of slow cooking.
Set and forget!
- Set the slow cooker to a suitable setting. If you are away for the day, it's best to set at the slowest setting. I set mine in the morning for 7-8 hours.
- Come home and smell the slow cooker chili! It's probably still warm in the pot.
For the guacamole
- In a bowl or deep plate, mix smashed avocado with the cream, olive oil, lime zest and seasonings.
- Squeeze lime juice, mix and taste, add more salt pepper or lime juice if you want.
For the salsa
- Finely dice all the vegetables. I use the Nova slice and dice on a small setting and it takes seconds!
- Add olive oil, zest and seasonings and mix well. That's it!
Assemble your dish
- If eating with rice, add a couple of heaped tablespoons per serving.
- Then pile with chili, spooning the sauce on top of the rice. That's how I like it.
- Top with the guacamole, salsa and jalapenos if using. Enjoy!
