Savvy Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne

Savvy slow cooker chilli con carne – Try this great time-saver meal for the winter months…

 

There’s nothing quite like the smell of a meal that’s been in the slow cooker all day, especially if you’re returning home from a day at work. One of the Savvy Family favourites is the slow cooker chilli con carne, but often life with two little ones can get hectic, so in an attempt to get this classic out easily I thought it would be worth attempting a slow cook version where flavours enhance with time.

#recipeoftheweek slow cooker chilli con carne

Importantly, it should be noted that Savvy Mum’s chilli is a great flavoured staple in itself, but nevertheless I wanted to try my own savvy slow cooker chilli con carne time saver. I must say, it went down a treat in taste and flavour with the added bonus of not needing to mess around with browning off the meat; in fact the only real prep was chopping an onion and even that we have a handy tool for, the Zyliss chopper around £14.99

Most items needed should be store cupboard staples, but the recipe can be altered for heat level, or Syns, if using diets like Slimming World.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR SLOW COOKER CHILLI CON CARNE

(Prep time 15mins, slow cooker does the rest)

• 500g lean ground beef (5% fat)
• 1 tin mixed beans
• 1 tin baked beans/mixed beans in tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar / or 1 tea spoon of granulated sweetener if on diets
• 1-2 teaspoons of garlic granules (to your preference)
• a tin/carton chopped tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped and diced
• a whole brown onion, chopped and divided finely.
• 1 level tablespoon of cayenne chili powder
• a large pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• 1 level teaspoon of basil
• 1.5 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 teaspoons corn starch or arrowroot (if needed)
• 1 tablespoon of cumin
• drizzle of rapeseed oil

SLOW COOKER CHILLI CON CARNE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. No need to brown the beef due to the low fat content, just slice the onion and bell pepper and shove straight in the slow-cooker pan, drizzling with a little rapeseed oil.

Incidentally, note that rapeseed oil can be pricey in the supermarkets but if you look at the ingredients on the cheaper “vegetable oils”, you’ll notice some are 100% rapeseed. Nab one of those for your store cupboard needs in the future.

For the slicing we use the Zyliss food cutter mentioned above, super speedy and now onion tears.

2. Toss in the garlic, spices, tins and herbs into the slow cooker chilli con carne.

3. Cook on high for 6 hours, or low for 8 hours.

4. 30 minutes before serving check the thickness, if it’s not reduced enough you can:

a) add around 3 tablespoons of water to the corn starch/arrowroot,  mix and then add, turning in thoroughly. Cook the slow cooker chilli con carne for another 30 minutes before serving to let thicken.

or…

b) transfer to a pan on the hob to simmer out for 10-15 minutes

5. Serve the slow cooker chilli con carne with baked potatoes, flat breads or tacos, top with cheese, sour cream and enjoy. Stack the slow cooker chilli con carne high, more the better!

TIP: For extra variation throw some sweetcorn into the pot. Also spices often have cashback deals on via apps like ClickSnap, you’ll need to join Quidco to be able to use the Clicksnap offers. You can, at the time of writing get £2.50 back when you buy 3 spices.

Please let me know if you love this recipe, or if you’ve found a special ingredient to make it really sing!

Savvy Dad x