5 Ingredient Crockpot Chili

This easy 5 ingredients crockpot chili recipe is the easiest you will ever make. dump everything into your slow cooker in the morning and enjoy for dinner! You can spice it up if you like or leave it as is. Serve it inside baked potatoes or on top rice for the solid hearty dinner.

A photo showing ingredients for a 5 ingredient Crockpot chili recipe. Includes a Crockpot, a pack of minced meat, a can of tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of dark red kidney beans. Text at the top reads "EASY Crockpot Chili Recipe.

We came up with this 5 ingredient easy crockpot chili recipe years ago. It worked well on a day when we was going to be away. It's great when it's “chilly” outside! It's one of our first and our most popular crockpot recipes. (post may contain affiliate links)

5 Ingredient Chili

We will tell you that we make this every single week. We change it up by serving it inside potatoes, on rice, or alone smothered with cheese. It's cheap, healthy and super versatile and GREAT for a crowd. Double for Super Bowl times or for a family it is about solid.

Saves well too if you have one extra serving you save for the next day. We kid you not we don't know how many thanks we have received from others who love it too. Give it a whirl and you will see, and likely will be added into your meal rotations too.

Let's talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off we have a few different varieties and we love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

  1. This is our favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it's great for bringing to a potluck too.
  2. We prefer not to use liners, but rather spray olive oil inside before adding our food for easier cleanups.

Let us give you a peek of our pretty thang we bought recently. It goes with our kitchen so we can leave it out on the countertop all the time.

A floral design slow cooker with a white base and lid sits on a kitchen countertop, solid for whipping up a 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe.

5 ingredient Crockpot Chili

Even when it is warm outside this few ingredient recipe is our go to meal! It's actually pretty healthy and inexpensive to make. It tastes great and we love it because it is a dump and go meal we all enjoy!

Ingredients

  1. Ground beef (or ground turkey, ground spicy sausage is great, or omit entirely)
  2. Kidney beans is typical but any can you like
  3. Diced tomatoes for added texture like these
  4. Tomato sauce to make it thicker
  5. Chili seasoning or a blend of your own spices

Diced or minced onions are optional but we'll usually add them in too if we have some on hand. If you're in a real hurry you can make this in under 30 minutes flat. Use our easy Instant Pot chili directions here.

A 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe sits on a countertop, with a slow cooker containing browned ground meat and tomato sauce.

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

  • First brown ground beef or sausage on your stovetop over medium high heat until outsides are no longer pink. Pour cooked beef into the crockpot
  • Then dump all other remaining ingredients into the crock pot on top of that.
    • Of course, please add chili powder and/or red peppers if you want some heat to it. We usually do not but that is totally up to y'all.
  • Let it cook all day long on low which makes the means soft and flavorful as they, and the meat, soak up the good juices from the sauce.
  • We typically serve it on top of rice or inside potatoes, here's the best way to make baked potatoes
  • It's a great meal and quite healthy too!

Of course you could omit the meat entirely if you want to make a 5 ingredient vegetarian chili of sorts.

Ground meat sizzles in a grill pan on the stovetop, steam rising as it browns. A slotted black spatula rests atop some of the succulent bits, reminiscent of a 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe simmering to perfection.

We like to use a smaller crockpot to make our 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe

  • Smaller meaning it still feeds the 5 of us with leftovers for lunch the next day. It's about a 3 quart size crockpot but of course if you are adding more meat etc. use a larger one.

We swear by our rice cooker and pressure cooker. Jasmine rice is our go to as far as serving goes. It is cheap and everyone loves it. If you don't have one we would HIGHLY suggest picking either one up!

They aren't expensive and last forever. You can serve this mild hearty chili over rice or we have even put some inside crockpot baked potatoes with some shredded sharp cheese on top! The possibilities are endless once you have the basics that you need to prepare them.

A white crockpot containing a chili mixture with beans, ground meat, and diced tomatoes.

What goes with chili for a party?

Let us tell you, if you have a large crowd you have got to make a chili bar with all the fixings! It is super cheap chili recipe to put together and people love it! Some of the best chili toppings are as follows:

  • Cheese is a given of course
  • Diced onions give it a bit of texture
  • Tobasco or diced jalapenos give it a real kick of heat
  • Sour cream is actually a new favorite of ours

If you want some heat you can of course add dry red chili pepper flakes into the mix. Be gentle at first as you don't want to make it too hot because you can't tone it down easily at the end. Diced jalapenos work well too if you'd prefer.

What bread goes best with chili?

  1. Our garlic pull apart bread is to die for
  2. You could always go with this easy roll recipe
A close-up of a bowl of 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe is shown. The chili consists of ground meat, beans, tomatoes, and is topped with shredded cheese.

5 Ingredient Crockpot Chili

Looking for more easy crockpot recipes?

  1. Crockpot macaroni and cheese recipe
  2. Bloody mary chili can be made in the crockpot
  3. Easy crockpot lasagna recipe

If you have a bunch coming over you can serve it in a multitude of ways really. We have tried them all.

Best way to serve chili

Inside crockpot baked potatoes is probably our all time favorite ways to eat it. If you love crispy skins, try our air fryer baked potatoes too.

A baked potato with the top cut open, showing the fluffy interior, is placed on a white plate on a wooden table.

Five Ingredient Slow Cooker Chili

Here's a quick rundown below but in the recipe card at the bottom you can actually print it all out. In a pan brown your ground beef or ground sausage on the stovetop. If you want to add freshly diced onion do so at this time so they can soften along with your meat.

McCormick Slow Cooker Chili

  • Drain the grease from your meat (or keep it if you think it adds more flavor, either way is fine).
  • Dump it into your crockpot.
  • Add all other ingredients and stir together.
  • Put on low in your crockpot to cook all day but at least for 4 hrs minimum.
  • Serve with cheese on top or inside baked potatoes.

This is our favorite dump dinner of all times we've made for 10+ years now.

5 Ingredient Crockpot Chili Recipe

By This easy 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe is the easiest you will ever make. dump everything into your slow cooker in the morning and enjoy for dinner! You can spice it up if you like or leave it as is. Serve it inside baked potatoes or on top rice for the solid hearty dinner. Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 4 hours hrsTotal: 4 hours hrs 10 minutes minsServings: 6 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 can diced tomatoes we like petite, 15 oz.
  • 1 can tomato sauce 8 oz.
  • 1 can kidney beans 15 oz.
  • 1 lb. ground beefor ground turkey
  • 1 packet chili seasoning spice aisle (or use 1 tsp. Lawry's + 1 tsp garlic salt + 1 tbsp. dry minced dehydrated onions + 1/4-1/2 tsp chili seasoning)
  • 1/3 c. water, only if you want a thinner version
  • 1 tsp chili powder, optional – if you want a bit of spice

Instructions

  • Brown your ground beef on the stovetop
  • Drain meat and add to your crockpot.
  • Add all other ingredients and stir
  • Put on low in your crockpot to cook all day but at least for 4 hrs minimum.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!
A Crock-Pot filled with browned ground beef and tomato sauce.
A slow cooker with ground beef inside is on a countertop. Next to it are three opened cans of Hunts tomato sauce and a can opener, hinting at an easy 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe.
Image of a kitchen counter with ingredients for a 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe. A crockpot is next to three cans (light red kidney beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes) and a package of ground beef.
An overhead view of a white slow cooker containing 5-ingredient chili. The chili consists of beans, ground meat, and diced tomatoes.
Top image shows a crockpot containing ground beef, with opened canned ingredients on the countertop. Bottom image displays a bowl filled with chili topped with shredded cheese.

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