Go Back
–+ servings
Secret Chili Recipe | Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen | you'll love this family favorite prize-winning #chili with 3 kinds of peppers. #crockpot #beef #kidneybeans #glutenfree

Secret Chili Recipe

Teresa Ambra
Secret Chili Recipe is sensational. This fabulous prize-winning chili recipe is made in the crockpot! It uses beef, kidney beans, tomatoes & 3 kinds of peppers. Spicy without being overwhelming. It's a great comfort food meal for cold weather, along with being one of the most mouthwatering and irresistible chili recipes you'll ever eat! Gluten free.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Dish, Soup, Stews and Chowders
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Servings 12
Calories 185 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 large skillet
  • 1 hamburger chopper to break meat down in small pieces while frying
  • 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 large crockpot
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 soup ladle

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs. ground beef (thawed) 90-93% lean
  • 1 cup onion chopped
  • 2 15-oz. cans light red kidney beans rinsed and drained
  • 2 14-oz. cans diced petite tomatoes undrained
  • 1/2 green bell pepper
  • 1 serrano pepper
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
  • 3 tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tbsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips or Fritos for garnish
  • 1/2 cup sour cream for garnish
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded, for garnish
  • 1 green onion sliced, for garnish, if desired

Instructions
 

  • Chop up onion and measure out one cup.
  • Mix ground beef and onion in a large frying pan and brown together.
  • Chop the meat down with a hamburger chopper into small pieces while frying.
  • Do NOT drain! This is kept for viscosity and flavor.
  • Seed the bell pepper and chop the half-pepper into medium-small pieces.
  • Remove the stems from the Serrano and jalapeno peppers and chop into a few pieces each.
  • Do NOT seed the hot peppers.
  • Put all the peppers into a food processor and chop on low for 5-10 seconds.
  • Don’t completely puree the mixture.
  • Add garlic, chili powder, salt, black pepper and cumin to the food processor.
  • Add 1 tbsp. water to food processor.
  • Puree all contents at desired speed until it has the consistency of a coarse paste.
  • You may have to stop and spoon the mixture down from the sides of the food processor, back into the blades to get it all mixed together.
  • Drain beans of excess water. (I also rinsed and drained).
  • Add ground beef (and the small amount of leftover grease), the pepper/spice paste, tomatoes and beans into a crockpot.
  • This recipe is almost exactly 3.5 quarts, so make sure the crock pot is at least that big.
  • Cook for 8-10 hours on low or about 5 hours on high.
  • Serve chili garnished with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Notes

NOTE: The chili has a nice warm spice to it. Not enough to be noticed as “hot,” but it leaves your lips warm! You can substitute the Serrano pepper for another Jalapeno to lower the heat a bit, or vice versa to make it a little warmer.
 
NOTE: Ryan’s original recipe called for draining the tomatoes. I decided to drain the tomatoes but reserve the juice. I found that the chili didn’t have enough liquid without the juice. So I added the reserved tomato juice in at the end.
 
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 19gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 640mgPotassium: 409mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1256IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 78mgIron: 3mg
Keyword beans, beef, cheese, chili, gluten free, ground beef, main dish, soup, Tex Mex
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!