It’s been a cold, windy March day on the West Coast. What a perfect reason to create a new Chili recipe. I often make my chilies and soups in a big Dutch oven but today I’m going to pull out the slow cooker & make a Crock Pot Chili.

This Crock Pot Chili is full of good for you fiber with vegetables & plenty of beans for protein. It has a slightly more exotic taste as I have hadn’t some curry into the mix of spices.

If you like your chili more like a soup than a stew I would increase the vegetable broth to 4 cups.

Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients

The Base

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil

1 sweet yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 carrots, small cubes

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 Tbsp. chili powder

1-2 Tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp black pepper

For the Chili

1 28 oz can chopped fire roasted tomatoes

½ each red, yellow & orange pepper chopped

3 cup vegetable broth (increase if a soup texture is desired)

2 19 oz can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

Topping

1 Avocado chopped

fresh cilantro sprigs

Method

For the Base

1. Splash the oil into a heavy Dutch oven preheating over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté, stirring frequently approximately 5 minutes, or until the vegetables brighten in colour. Stir in the chili powder, curry, and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Hmm, hmmm . . . smells wonderful!

For the Chili

Move all ingredients from the Dutch oven into the bottom of your slow cooker. Stir in the tomatoes, vegetable broth and chopped peppers. Add the rinsed beans & stir to mix. Turn Slow cooker to High and let it cook for 4 hours. If you like your beans a bit mushier then increase the cooking time to 6 hours. Once the Crock Pot Chili is ready your slow cooker should automatically turn itself to the Warm setting, until you are ready for it.

To Serve

Ladle into bowls and top with chopped avocado and sprigs of Cilantro.

To Store

This Crock Pot Chili freezes really well so make sure you put any leftovers into freezer containers, ready to pull out on the next chilly (or busy) day! Just reheat in a saucepan on the stove.