Slow-Cooker Black Bean and Zucchini Chili
Anna Williams
Canned fire-roasted tomatoes add heat to this big-batch recipe. For best results, reheat the leftovers on the stovetop for 10 to 15 minutes.
How to Make It
Step 1
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beef, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, onions, tomato paste, garlic, chili powder, oregano, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Step 2
Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the meat is cooked through, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).
Step 3
Reserve half the chili for tomorrow’s dinner. Serve the remaining chili with the sour cream, avocado, and cilantro.
Step 4
Reheat and serve: Reheat the chili in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Chef's Notes
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AmateurChef
2014-08-18T18:54:40-04:00
Had checked this recipe out and while it looked good at first blush, it was surprising to see no mention of browning the ground beef, which is very necessary in slow cooking to drain off excess grease and bring out flavor. I kept all the basic ingredients but made the following changes:
* Upped the tomato paste quantity to a full 6 oz. can--seemed silly to use so little for such a large recipe--and added the black beans straight from the can with the liquid (did not drain or rinse). Also used regular diced tomatoes. (As some other people have commented, the fire-roasted variety is rather rare.)
* Substituted the chili powder, oregano, salt and black pepper with two packets of McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix (available in Mild, Regular and Hot --also available from French's). The garlic cloves I substituted with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Got thumbs up from two friends with this modded version. Next time I am going to try ground turkey. It's certainly a lot cheaper than ground beef.
seabelis
2014-04-06T03:58:30-04:00
I cannot get fire-roasted tomatoes where I live, so I used plain diced and found the recipe lacked flavor. Not bad, but I'll probably chose a different chili recipe next time. Reviewed on my blog: http://mmmsterdam.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/slow-cooker-black-bean-and-zucchini-chili/
lmlangley
2013-01-20T15:49:04-05:00
Made this in a Dutch oven on the stove top and used squash in addition to the zucchini. Sautéed veggies after browning the ground beef, then combined everything to cook for a few hours. Yum!
giunia
2012-10-26T05:17:33-04:00
I agree with Orangerunner that as far as consistency of the beef traditional methods of making chili are better ("chili for a crowd", a Real Simple recipe, is fantastic). However, if you need to slow cook chili for practical reason, I think this was pretty good.
Orangerunner
2012-09-17T06:43:09-04:00
The flavor was ok, but the texture of the ground beef was awful. I have never "slow cooked" ground beef and never will again. So sorry to say, my family really did not like it.
Rebekaha
2012-09-12T08:10:25-04:00
A very tasty, and simple recipe! Next time around, I'll be adding 2 more cloves of garlic and 2 more tablespoons of chili powder, as there wasn't quite enough umpf for our tastes. The zucchini was a nice touch. I also used plain yogurt rather than sour cream.
