You'll love this easy chili recipe without beans that makes for a simple and healthy dinner you can make in your crockpot or can cook quickly on the stovetop.
You won't even miss the beans in this beanless chili recipe, not only is it gluten-free, but it's paleo (without the dairy garnishes), keto-friendly, and a low carb chili recipe too.
Chili Without Beans
Is there anything more American and comforting than a hearty bowl of piping hot chili in the fall and winter? Chili truly is the ultimate comfort food and will warm you from the inside out. And while a Texas style chili recipe is without beans (aka chili con carne) by nature, this is a low carb chili recipe without beans intended for readers who can't eat beans or are on a low carb or paleo diet prohibiting them.
This simple and easy chili recipe without beans is our new go-to recipe since my husband has been following a lower-carb diet. It's quick enough you can still make it on a busy weeknight, it doubles and freezes well for meal prep, it's family friendly, and the easy chili no beans is a low cost meal too!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- You get great chili flavor without the processed carbs or beans
- It's easy to make quickly on the stovetop or slow cooked in a crock-pot
- It's not only low carb, but gluten-free, keto friendly, and paleo without optional dairy garnishes.
If you love chili like we do, then you'll also want to try our keto white chicken chili, instant pot keto chili recipe with kielbasa sausage! Or, maybe you'd prefer the original beef and kielbasa recipe with beans for your crock-pot.
Ingredient Notes
- ground beef (80/20 preferred)
- yellow onion
- bell pepper
- green chilis
- garlic
- can of diced tomatoes (no sugar added)
- can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
- chili powder
- cayenne pepper
- dried oregano
- black pepper
- sea salt
You could substitute the 80/20 ground beef for a leaner type of ground beef, or you could use ground turkey or ground chicken. However, using leaner meats will make for a chili recipe with a little less flavor, but you can adjust that by adding extra seasoning, to taste.
We love to buy a case of organic diced tomatoes and organic tomato sauce from Costco to have on hand for impromptu stews and soups. We almost always have frozen cut bell peppers in the freezer for making quick fajitas, I'd think you could substitute the frozen peppers for the fresh diced peppers in this recipe and make it even quicker.
Step by Step Instructions
How to Make Chili Recipe No Beans (Stovetop)
- In a large pot over medium heat cook ground beef until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through. Drain most of the grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot to cook the vegetables in. Remove the ground beef from the pot and set aside.
- Cook the chopped onion and diced bell peppers in the pan the ground beef had been in and cook it until soft, which will take about 6-7 mins. Be sure to scrape up all the leftover cooked ground beef bits in with the vegetables.
- Add the minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Mix in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Put ground beef back in the pot, making sure to combine all ingredients.
- Simmer the chili without beans until heated through and flavors are blended, for about 20-30 mins.
- Serve and enjoy! Optional garnishes include cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.
Crockpot Chili No Beans
The stovetop chili recipe without beans takes a little less than an hour to make, sometimes we don't have time to be in the kitchen watching a simmering pot of beef chili no beans and need to make it in a crockpot instead.
- In a large pot over medium heat cook ground beef until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through.
- Add the cooked ground beef to your crockpot. Add in the diced onions, chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Stir all ingredients to combine.
- Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Serve and enjoy your crockpot chili without beans! Optional garnishes include cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.
Expert Tips
- Using a higher fat ground beef increases the flavor, ground turkey or chicken will also work but we'd suggest adjusting the seasonings.
- Add extra oil to the pan if the veggies start to stick, different types of pans react differently under heat
- Adding in 8 oz of mushrooms in place of traditional kidney beans is a great variation.
- Instead of only serving the chili recipe without beans in a bowl, they can also be served over hot dogs
- Add extra spice if desired, we made it on the mild side since it's easy to just add more heat than reduce it.
Common Questions
What to Serve with Beanless Chili?
Since this can easily be a one dish meal, we love to serve beanless chili with a simple salad or even cornbread if you aren't watching your carbs. This is a hearty meal on it's own and you can load it up with toppings like cheese, olives, avocado, salsa, hot sauce, and more.
Can You Freeze This?
Yes! The recipe freezes well for up to 3 months in the freezer. No need to defrost, just add it to your crockpot and add an extra 2 hours to the cooking time if you're cooking it on low.
What's a Good Substitute for Beans in Chili?
In our other chili recipes without beans we simply took our family favorite chili recipes and swapped the kidney beans for quartered mushrooms. Some people also prefer to just increase the ground beef, mix in ground pork, or even increase the tomatoes.
More Low Carb Beef Recipes
- Low carb crustless taco pie
- Low carb taco casserole
- Paleo low carb beef stroganoff - 20 minutes
- Stuffed pepper soup recipe
- Low carb Philly cheesesteak peppers
- Instant pot Mississippi pot roast
- Low carb cheeseburger casserole
- Low carb taco soup
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Recipe
Low Carb Chili Recipe Without Beans
Equipment
- Crock-Pot or Slow Cooker, 6 QT
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef 80/20 preferred
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 large bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 4 oz can green chilis, mild or spicy
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes (no sugar added)
- 1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Garnishes: shredded cheddar cheese sour cream, and sliced green onions
Instructions
- Crockpot Chili
- In a large skillet on medium heat cook ground beef until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through. Drain the grease.
- Add the cooked ground beef to the crockpot. Add in the diced onions, chopped bell pepper, can of green chilis, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Stir all ingredients to combine.
- Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Serve and crock-pot chili with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
- Stovetop Chili
- In a large pot over medium heat cook ground beef until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through. Drain most of the grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot to cook the vegetables in.
- Remove the ground beef from the pot and set aside.
- Cook the chopped onion and diced bell pepper in the pan the ground beef had been in and cook it until soft, which will take about 6-7 mins. Be sure to scrape up all the leftover cooked ground beef bits in with the vegetables. Add the minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Mix in the green chilis, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Put ground beef back in the pot, making sure to combine all ingredients.
- Simmer the chili without beans until heated through and flavors are blended, for about 1 hour.
- Serve and enjoy! Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.
Notes
- Using a higher-fat ground beef increases the flavor, ground turkey or chicken will also work but we'd suggest adjusting the seasonings.
- Shred the cheddar cheese from a block, don't use pre-shredded cheese. since it's covered with starch and doesn't melt as well (plus sneaks in extra carbs).
- Adding in 8 oz of mushrooms in place of traditional kidney beans is a great variation.
- Add extra spice if desired, we made it on the mild side since it's easy to just add more chili powder if you want a spicier chili.
Lisa says
What size can of tomato sauce, please?
WholeLottaYum says
A 14.5 oz size (or close to that) since it can vary slightly by manufacturer.