15 Bean Slow Cooker Chili is hearty and delicious, making it the perfect food to fuel the crowd on game day or a delicious easy weeknight meal! When serving a crowd, we put this chili on in the morning and then prepare a chili bar with toppings so our guests can help themselves!
I am so excited to have partnered with Hurst’s HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP® to bring you this belly warming recipe.
Slow Cooker Bean Chili
If there is a big game coming up, you can count on me to do one thing; make chili! Chili is the perfect dish to feed a crowd and keep them coming back for more!
This easy slow cooker chili recipe is packed with the wholesome goodness of a blend of 15 beans to make it hearty and healthy! The best part is that there is no soaking required meaning a quick prep time to get this into your Crock Pot and get on with your day! You can find Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup in the dry bean section of almost any grocery store (or you can order them online).
You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make a great chili, a few simple good quality ingredients definitely make the most delicious meals!
How to Make Chili in a Crock Pot
This easy slow cooker chili recipe starts with Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup®, onions, bell pepper and lean ground beef. It’s all seasoned with a vegetable based seasoning packet (that comes with Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup) as well as chili seasoning and then simmered in the slow cooker until tender.
You’ll notice that the tomatoes are added towards the end of cooking, once the beans are softened. This step is important when using dry beans because tomatoes (along with any other acidic ingredients) can interfere with the rehydration process.
Fixings and Toppings
On game day, making a chili bar is a great way to add variety and make sure everyone can enjoy their chili to preference. I set my slow cooker 
to warm and offer toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos, chopped onions, assorted crackers and tortilla chips and corn bread muffins.
Easy and Delicious
This chili is both inexpensive and easy to prepare while being totally delicious! For a family dinner, it’s great served over macaroni noodles (or rice) and of course, with a big slice of homemade cornbread on the side! Should you be lucky enough to have leftovers, this recipe reheats well and can even be frozen to enjoy on another day! (Cook once, eat twice.. count me in)!
More Chili Recipes
- The Best Chili Recipe – Simple and delicious!
- Creamy White Chicken Chili (CrockPot)
- Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili
- White Turkey Chili – crockpot version
15 Bean Slow Cooker Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 ounces HamBeens 15 BEAN SOUP® 1 package
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with chilies 1 can, 14.5 ounces
- 6 ounces tomato paste 1 can
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1.5 ounces chili seasoning mix 1 packet
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Rinse beans and remove any debris.
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Brown beef over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
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In a 6 QT slow cooker, combine beans, beef, onion, peppers, and broth.
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Stir in Hurst's ham flavor packet and ½ of the chili seasoning mix.
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Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beans are tender.
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Add in diced tomatoes, tomato paste and remainder of chili seasoning mix.
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Cook for additional 30 minutes.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
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I am excited to have partnered with Hurst’s HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP® to bring you this belly warming recipe. While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!
neither me nor my husband like tomato paste is there a good substitute
Is may end up a bit thinner but you can try adding in tomato puree, tomato sauce, or even ketchup in place of the tomato paste. It will change the flavor slightly but it will still be so yummy!
As I watched the video, I see added another “seasoning” added to the crockpot in addition to the chili seasoning mix and salt/pepper. However, this added seasoning is not listed in the ingredients list.
This is the seasoning found in the package of Hurst beans, it is listed in step 4.
4. Stir in Hurst’s ham flavor packet and ½ of the chili seasoning mix.
Found this chili recipe a while ago. The first time I made it, I was surprised by how much it tasted like chili the moment the last ingredients were put in. Very easy to make, I now swear by this recipe whenever I make chili. Have shared it with others in the past and they’ve had similar responses to it!
Wanted to use fresh tomatoes – so put them in so they could cook down
Will it be ok ?
I haven’t tried fresh tomatoes so I can’t say for sure, but acidic ingredients (such as tomatoes) can keep the beans from rehydrating properly so I would be cautious about adding them at the beginning.
This is the second recipe of yours that I have tried (so far….) and it’s delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and love, love, love it!
So happy you loved it, Kathy!
Can you cook it on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Hi Trista, other readers have made this on low in the crockpot and found it took about 8hrs, then they added the tomatoes and cooked for an additional hour.
My family really likes this Chili. I didn’t change a thing. I make it at least once a month for them. Good flavor and always leftovers for lunch the next day. Thanks Holly! We love your recipes.
You are welcome Janice! So happy to hear that!
It was pretty good. Just didn’t want to add too much salt. Didn’t like the adding the other stuff later.
The addition of the other ingredients a bit later helps ensure that the beans rehydrate properly.
I found this recipe last year and make it ALL the time! I just got an instant pot, any suggestions on how to adapt the recipe to do in the new pot?
I would suggest browning the beef and onions and then follow the cook times of our Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup.
my husband added hot sauce( he likes his hot ) , I thought it was good as is!
Cooked for over 8 hours, beans never softened. Had to put on stovetop
Sorry to hear that Steph! We have never had that problem before. Did you add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste towards the end as directed? This step is important when using dry beans because tomatoes (along with any other acidic ingredients) can interfere with the rehydration process!
I made this on 20 Mar 2020, the only item I changed was I increased the ground beef to 2 lbs, other than that, the recipe was followed exactly. The beans were perfect at 5 hours. This chili is absolutely delicious, hands down.
After reading all the comments I made this recipe and reduced the water to 7 cups. We didn’t find it as good as other chili recipes. It lacked something and neither my husband or I could put our finger on it. It could be due to the ratio of beans (and water/broth) to ground beef. It does make quite a large quantity. Before putting the leftovers in the fridge I added more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and beef soup base. Also not spicy enough for our taste. It was a little better next time we ate it. I don’t think I would make this particular recipe again.
I made this today and reduced the water by 1 cup; due to the comments from previous posts. I found the thickness to be just about right. I cooked on low for 8 hours, then added tomatoes and tomato paste and cooked for an hour longer. It does need salt added. I am curious as to why the tomatoes and tomato paste are added so close to the end..
Acidic ingredients (such as tomatoes) can keep the beans from rehydrating properly.