Easy Crock Pot No Bean Chili

5 from 1 vote

Made with your choice of ground turkey or ground beef, this crock pot no bean chili is super easy to put together. And since it can be made ahead of time in a slow cooker, it’s the perfect dish for a potluck dinner or football party.

Crock Pot No Bean Turkey Chili

If you’re looking for a no bean chili that you can make ahead of time, tastes delicious, and is super easy to put together, then you’ve come to the right place.

It’s not super spicy (unless you want it to be) and you get to choose whether to make it with ground beef or turkey.

So you can customize it to fit your preferences. The perfect dish when you’re having a lot of people over for a get-together or taking it to a potluck dinner.

And since you cook it in a slow cooker, it’s the kind of set-and-forget dish that I love to make for parties. So much less stressful than trying to finish cooking while guests are arriving.

This crock pot no bean chili is also quite thick which means it works well for serving on top of hot dogs. Great for tailgating or a Super Bowl party.

Ingredients

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crock pot no bean chili ingredients - ground beef, turkey or chicken, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, onion, hot sauce, vegetable oil

This recipe makes enough for about 8 regular-sized bowls. Or to cover about 16 hot dogs.

Here is your shopping list:

  • meat – 1½ pounds ground beef or ground turkey. I like to use ground turkey.
  • fresh vegetables – 1 cooking onion
  • oil – 1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
  • spices – 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • seasoning – 1½ teaspoons salt
  • canned goods – 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, 1 6-ounce can tomato paste. I prefer brands that don’t have added sugar for this.
  • flavoring – 1 teaspoon hot sauce. I use Tabasco.
  • garnishes (optional) – grated cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, chopped jalapeno peppers

Substitutions and additions

  • This recipe makes a mild chili. If you would like it to be spicier, you can increase the chili powder to 3 or 4 Tablespoons and/or increase the hot sauce to 2 or 3 teaspoons.
  • For some extra flavor, add 2 cloves of garlic (minced) in with the onion.
  • If you like peppers in your chili, add 1 chopped green pepper (or jalapeno pepper for more heat) in with the tomatoes.

How to make crock pot no bean chili

Prep work

onion and a knife on a chopping board

Chop a cooking onion into small pieces. An electric chopper or food processor will make quick work of this if you don’t want to cut them by hand.

Set up the crock pot. Lining it with a slow cooker liner will make it easier to clean when you’re done.

Cook the meat

ground turkey with onion, chili powder and salt in a frying pan

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil in a large frying pan on the stove over medium heat for a minute or two.

Add the chopped onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.

Stir in the ground beef or turkey.

Cook until the meat is browned about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix in 2 Tablespoons chili powder and 1½ teaspoons salt.

If you’re preparing this ahead of time and aren’t ready to make the rest of the chili yet, the meat mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Then continue with the next step.

Add everything to the slow cooker

slow cooker with ground turkey mixture, tomatoes and tomato paste

Add the cooked beef or turkey mixture to the slow cooker.

Pour in the 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, 6-ounce can of tomato paste and 1 teaspoon hot sauce. Do not drain the juice from the tomatoes.

Stir well.

Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

A spoon with no bean chili in a slow cooker

Since the meat is already cooked, you can actually cook it for less time than this. But the longer you leave it, the better the flavors will blend.

serve

A bowl of crock pot no bean chili topped with sour cream, onions, grated cheese and crackers with a slow cooker in the background

Once the chili is done, it can be left in the slow cooker on warm for 2 to 3 hours. If it starts to get too thick, stir in ¼ cup water.

While it tastes delicious all on its own, you can serve no bean chili with toppings such as grated cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, or sliced jalapeno peppers.

Or put it on rolls, bread and crackers.

Two hot dogs topped with slow cooker beanless chili

It also makes great hot dog chili. Which is how I serve it for my annual Super Bowl party.

Storage

The chili can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator over night, or using the Defrost setting on your microwave before reheating.

Close up of slow cooker no bean chili in a bowl with sour cream, green onions, grated cheese and crackers

Other recipes you might like

overhead picture of crock pot no bean chili topped with sour cream, green onions, grated cheese and crackers

Crock Pot No Bean Chili

This crock pot no bean chili tastes delicious and is easy to make with either ground beef or ground turkey. And is thick enough to serve on top of hot dogs.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 300 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 frying pan
  • measuring spoons
  • 1 slow cooker
  • 1 slow cooker liner (optional, but makes clean-up easier)
  • mixing spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium cooking onion diced
  • pounds ground beef or turkey
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • teaspoons salt
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes or 10 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes or 5 fresh tomatoes, diced
  • 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Instructions
 

  • In a frying pan over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil until softened.
  • Add the ground beef or turkey and cook until brown.
  • Stir the chili powder and salt into the ground meat mixture.
  • Transfer the cooked meat into the slow cooker (lined with a slow cooker liner if desired).
  • Stir in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and hot sauce.
  • Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 7 – 8 hours.
  • Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions or sliced jalapeno peppers if desired.

Notes

  • To make the chili spicier, increase the chili powder to 3 to 4 Tablespoons and/or the hot sauce to 2 to 3 teaspoons.
  • After it has finished cooking, the chili can be left in the crock pot on warm for 2 to 3 hours.
  • Store the chili in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 bowl | Calories: 300 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16 g | Protein: 18 g | Fat: 20 g | Saturated Fat: 7 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 60 mg | Sodium: 844 mg | Potassium: 889 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 9 g | Vitamin A: 1190 IU | Vitamin C: 20 mg | Calcium: 82 mg | Iron: 4 mg

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

authorWanda Simone
courseMain Course
cuisineAmerican
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crock pot no bean chili on a hot dog in front of a slow cooker

This post was originally published on July 5, 2015 but was updated with new content on March 19, 2024.


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7 Comments

  1. How many people with the above recipe serve?

    1. Hi Lonni…it depends on how big your servings are, but you can get about 8 decent-sized bowls. Or about 16 hot dogs if you’re using it as a topping.

      1. Thank you Wanda. But, yeah, I figured that much, about how big the servings were! 8 sounds perfect!

  2. Hello, unused chili can you freeze it and for how long.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Dru…yes, you can freeze the unused chili. The longest I have kept it in the freezer is about 3 months. It probably would be fine for longer than that, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.

  3. Could you thin this out a little with some water so it’s more soupy?

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Jen…I haven’t tried thinning it out with water, but I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work. You can always cook it a little longer to boil off some of the water if it gets too thin.