Eating Well Made Easy: Chili Roundup

People are often persnickety when it comes to chili. Some follow the same, super-secret recipe always. I never make the same chili twice. I have some staple ingredients that I like, but I am always looking to change things up. I like to try new flavors and textures by experimenting with different cuts of meat, varying peppers, and even a wide assortment of vegetables. I also make do with whatever is in my kitchen.

I often look at online chili recipes for inspiration. I’ve collected twenty-four for today’s post. Maybe you’ll tweak your own recipe, or think of a new way to serve chili, or maybe you’ll try something completely new. Whatever you choose, I hope that something here inspires an amazing meal in your kitchen. Below you will find:

• Slow Cooker Chili Recipes
• Instant Pot Chili Recipes
• Chili with Alternate Cuts of Meat
• Veggie Chili Recipes (Learn how to sneak those veggies in!)
• Chili Recipes for a Specific Diet
• Nightshade Free Chili Recipes
• New Ways to Serve Chili

SLOW COOKER CHILI RECIPES

Slow cooker chili is always a win. Anything that I can set and forget in the kitchen is appreciated.

• Slow Cooker Beef Chili by From Scratch Fast
  • This one requires stove prep first to brown the meat and soften the veggies. It includes carrots, which I appreciate as a unique chili ingredient. Also unique, it uses maple and cocoa powder, which I imagine would produce an interesting flavor.
• Paleo Chili by What Molly Made
  • This also requires stove prep to brown the meat. I like that they added a pork sausage to the ground beef. That might provide an interesting depth of flavor. I haven’t tried that mixture yet, but would like to.
• Paleo Elk Chili by Real Simple Good
  • This chili makes use of ground elk, ground beef, or a mixture of the two. It also includes leeks, which I’ve never found in any other chili recipe. This crockpot chili instructs you to dump the ingredients straight into the crockpot without pre-cooking the meat. I love that. It makes me think the same technique would work on the above crockpot recipes as well.

INSTANT POT CHILI RECIPES

Instant Pot chili would be another easy chili to set and forget. The benefit of an instant pot is that you can go from start to finish in about an hour. Also, the instant pot has a saute function, so you can brown the meat without using multiple pans.

• Instant Pot Chili by Well Plated
  • This recipe calls for ground turkey but could easily be used for beef. I thought it was interesting as it included sweet potatoes. Personally, I love the subtle sweetness of sweet potatoes against the spice of chili or chipotle powder.
• Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili by Nom Nom Paleo
  • This chili makes use of oregano, which I didn’t see in many other recipes. It also calls for fish sauce, which is completely unique, I think. It might sound unusual, but Nom Nom Paleo has never let me down. I’d be willing to try it.
• Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe by Oh Sweet Basil
  • This recipe includes bacon with the ground beef. I’m usually down for anything with bacon. I’ve never put it in chili but I can imagine it would add a smoky flavor. To increase that smoky flavor, this recipe also makes use of paprika and fire roasted tomatoes.

CHILI WITH ALTERNATE CUTS OF MEAT

Aside from different ways to cook chili, you can also search for interesting ingredients. These chilis all use cuts of meat other than ground beef.

• Spicy Texas Slow Cooker Chili by Paleo Grubs
  • This recipe uses chuck roast and guajillo dried peppers for a unique flavor.
• Chili Verde Con Carne by Homesick Texan
  • This green chili recipe also uses chuck roast. It uses an array of peppers, including hatch chilies, poblano peppers, and jalapeños.
• Short Rib Chili by Food52
  • This recipe uses short ribs, ancho chilies, guajillo chilies, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and even a chocolate stout.
• Raspberry Liver Chili by Paleo Flourish
  • This chili definitely branches beyond the norm, but I like that the author has discovered another inventive way to use liver. Some people don’t care for it, but are okay when it’s hidden. Also, raspberries make a unique addition to chili. I imagine that balances the flavor of the liver.

VEGGIE CHILI RECIPES

At my house, we like to have meat in our chili, but we also like to include a lot of vegetables in our diet. I often look up recipes for veggie chili to discover new ways to use vegetables. You can add meat to any recipe, and given the ideas above, you can see that it doesn’t even have to be ground beef.

• Paleo Chili by Dr. Axe
  • This chili is a veggie powerhouse, using sweet potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, and cauliflower along with more traditional chili ingredients.
• Three Bean Vegetarian Chili by Dr. Hyman
  • This veggie chili relies heavily on a variety of beans, but I like the addition of fresh poblano pepper and celery.
• Red Lentil Chili by The Stingy Vegan
  • We’ve just recently learned to love lentils at my house. I’ve used them in a curry soup and would love to try them in a chili like this one.

CHILI RECIPES FOR A SPECIFIC DIET

Chili is very adaptable and can be catered to fit many of the popular diets today. Check out these options.

• Tex Mex Beef Chili by The Kitchenista
  • Here’s a great offering for the Whole30 community. This one seems to have a lot of steps, but the ingredients make me think the payoff would be worth it. It’s packed with potential flavor.
• Paleo Pumpkin Chili by The Paleo Mom
  • This recipe is Paleo approved. After using pumpkin in my chili, I have never gone back. It is a cheap, easy addition that adds to a creamy texture. No one knows it’s there, and yet it sneaks in an extra vegetable.
• Keto Low Carb Chili by Wholesome Yum
  • This recipe meets the needs of those following a Keto diet. It is very low carb, so you won’t even find beans here.

NIGHTSHADE FREE CHILI RECIPES

There was a time in my life when I couldn’t tolerate nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant) as they are prone to cause inflammation, especially joint inflammation. But chili is such a comforting winter food, I craved the texture and flavor. These chilis are nightshade free. Some tend more toward a soup than a chili. I included them because someone may need them, and also, like the veggie recipes, it’s a good way to learn how to sneak in extra vegetables.

• Nightshade Free Chili by Dr. Amy Myers
  • This chili gets its heat from cumin and ginger, and also includes butternut squash and beets for nutrient density.
• Nightshade Free AIP Chili by The Roasted Root
  • Like many nightshade free chilis, this one adds heat with ginger. It also works in an array of root vegetables.
• Red Wine Chili by He Won’t Know It’s Paleo
  • This one matches the texture of chili by adding pumpkin. It uses cumin for heat.
• AIP Carrot and Sweet Potato Chili
  • This one kind of reminds me more of a soup, but it’s got the heart of chili with ground beef, carrots, garlic, and onion.

NEW WAYS TO SERVE CHILI

Sometimes a meal is more exciting just by serving it in a different way…especially if it’s another night of leftovers. Check out these inventive ideas.

• Paleo Frito Pie by Unbound Wellness
  • Get out the plantains for the twist on Frito pie.
• Cornbread Chili Skillet Pie by Paleo Running Mama
  • This reminds me of a shepherd’s pie or pot pie. What a great idea!
• Cincinnati Style Chili by Paleo in PDX
  • Try your chili over spiraled veggies!
• Paleo Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
  • Serve chili in a baked sweet potato with all the fixings.

As always, enjoy the recipes! Adapt and make them your own!