Game Day Food – Low Carb Chili Recipe
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Celebrate Game Day with this hearty Beef Chili Recipe. This Low Carb Chili is full of flavor, perfect for warming you up on cold winter days, and is especially great for a potluck party.
You can stick to your low carb/keto plan, and no one will know your chili is low carb!
The Best Low Carb Chili for Game Day (or any day)!
It’s January, and you know what that means… Football and game day parties!
We moved into a smaller temporary home and aren’t planning a big party this year. (I say “temporary,” but, it’s already been eight months, and we have at least eight more months to go… I’ll tell you more in another post.) So for the Big Game, we’re keeping our guest list small.
I’ll be cooking up all sorts of low-carb appetizers, including this beef chili recipe.
The good thing about small get-togethers is it’s so much easier to get ready for. A few snacks, plus this Low Carb Chili recipe is all you need. Our guests will bring their favorite chips and dips, so everybody gets the foods they love.
Why you need to try this No Bean Chili Recipe:
When it comes to Chili Recipes, I’ve always been a “beans in my chili recipe” type girl, but since I’m trying to stick to my lower-carb/keto eating plan right now, I need a low carb chili recipe option!
- This no-bean chili recipe is great for gatherings and is perfect for the low-carbers and regular-carbers alike! The chili is so flavorful; I promise you won’t even miss the beans!
- This chili recipe is mild, which is how the kids and I like our chili. However, my hubby likes a bit of kick to his food. The beauty of this recipe is that you can add as much heat as you like. For my hubby, he adds a pinch of cayenne and tops his bowl with jalapenos
- It really hits the spot when it’s cold out and it’s a perfect dish for low carb eaters and their non-low carb eating friends! (Because who doesn’t love chili?)
Why I Love This Low Carb Chili:
You would think a commercially prepared, ready-to-eat, no bean chili would be naturally low carb, but have you ever checked out the nutrient info on the back of a can of chili?
Hormel No Bean Beef Chili, for example, (which I have always enjoyed) has 19 grams of carbs per serving. That’s a lot of carbs!
My low carb chili recipe is a delicious keto chili that cuts the carbs down to around 6 net carbs per serving. Those carbs are coming from the tomatoes, onions, and peppers, but I don’t recommend leaving them out as they add a lot of flavor to the chili.
A reader even left me a comment that they won “best mild chili” with this recipe at their office chili cook-off! Yay!
Ingredients Needed to Make this Chili Recipe:
Want to give this low carb chili recipe a shot? You won’t regret it! These are the ingredients: (At a glance- grab the full list and printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- Ground Beef | Just 1 pound, but you can double or triple this recipe with no problem. I prefer leaner ground beef so there will be less fat to drain off.
- Produce | Bell pepper (your favorite color) and an onion.
- Pantry items: diced green chiles (I always use canned), tomato sauce, beef broth, tomato paste
- Spices | Cumin, celery salt, chili powder, salt, and pepper (you could cheat and just use two tbs of a chili spice mix in place of the 4 spices.) Worcestershire sauce.
How to Make Low Carb Chili:
You’ll love how easy this low carb chili recipe is to make!
Just brown your meat, toss in the onion, bell pepper, chiles, and tomato products, plus the spices, and let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
The longer it simmers, the less liquid-y it will be, plus it helps the flavor meld together! You also have the option to kick up the spiciness by adding a pinch or two of cayenne. Since we feed this to the kids, I always leave out the extra spice.
Tips and Tricks for Serving to Non-Low Carbers:
Is not everyone in your family or friend group into low carb or keto? To keep everyone happy and satisfied I do have a few tricks I use when serving this chili to the family.
- Since beans are actually good for you, and they are one of the few veggies my son will eat without complaint, I will heat up a can of pre-seasoned chili beans and add about a quarter cup to the bottom of the kid’s bowls. (or just serve them on the side, and guests can add however much they want. I then top the beans with the chili, cheese, and whatever other toppings they want.
- Another option is to precook several baked potatoes and offer the option of a chili cheese baked potato. You might be surprised how many will go for this option when offered.
- The third option is to just make another recipe, lol. I have two great chili recipe alternatives: Panera Turkey Chili (copycat version) and a Slow Cooker Beef Chili (with beans).
Options 1 and 2 work perfectly and help the chili go further, too!
Can I Make this Low Carb Chili Recipe in a Crock-Pot?
Yes, of course! This chili is great in the slow cooker too.
I love my crockpot for dishes like this. This chili recipe works perfectly in the slow cooker for days you know you’ll have a good 8 hours away from the kitchen. Nothing better than coming home tired and hungry and having an on-plan hot meal waiting for you.
To make this easy low carb chili in the crockpot, you will need to saute the garlic, peppers, and onions in with the ground beef before adding them to the slow cooker. Once that’s done though, you just toss everything into the crockpot for 8 hours on low.
If at the end of the 8 hours, your chili is still too liquidy, you can remove the lid and let it simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour to help the liquid cook out.
Can You Freeze This Low Carb Chili Recipe?
Yes, you can definitely freeze this Chili. Let chili cool significantly, and package it up into smaller servings in a freezer bag, taking care to remove all the air from the bag. Then when ready to eat, microwave it on medium power until defrosted. Transfer to a bowl and continue to heat until warmed through.
How Many Carbs are in Chili:
The carb count in chili recipes will vary from chili to chili based on the ingredients used. If you are trying to stick to a strict low-carb plan, you definitely don’t want to use a commercially prepared no-bean chili. (Wolf Brand no-bean chili has 18 carbs per serving!)
My low carb chili recipe, prepared as directed below, has 8 carbs and 2 grams of fiber (so if you follow the net carb idea, that’s only 6 carbs!)
Most of the carbs come from the tomato sauce, peppers, and onions.
(Important tip: I don’t recommend lowering the amount of any of these ingredients as they really contribute to the flavor.)
More LOW CARB Recipes You Might Like:
- Low Carb Chili Dog Casserole
- Low Carb Enchilada Soup
- Avocado and Bacon Chicken Salad
- Beer Marinated Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
- Favorite Broccoli Salad Recipe
Pin this Chili Recipe Here:
Let us know what you think!
Print
Low Carb Chili Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: chili
- Method: stovetop
Description
This low carb chili has all the classic chili flavors you love, but without the beans (so it’s low in carbs.) It’s hearty, flavorful and perfect for those cold winter nights.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 large bell pepper (your favorite color)
- about 1 cup onion, diced (use more if you like sauteed onion)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt (You could cheat and just use 2 tbs of a chili spice mix in place of the 4 spices above.)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1/2 tsp celery salt
- 4 oz can diced green chiles
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tbs tomato paste
Instructions
- Combine the ground beef, onions, bell peppers and garlic in large frying pan and sauté until ground beef is browned. Drain fat.
- Add spices, Worcestershire, diced green chiles, tomato sauce, tomato paste and broth to the pan. stir to combine and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Give chili a taste, add additional cumin, chili powder and additional cayenne if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe
- Calories: 316
- Sugar: 5
- Fat: 16
- Carbohydrates: 8
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 33
Keywords: recipe, chili, low carb
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Good idea. Never thought to look at my better than bouillon for sodium content. My bad!
Other than being salty (just my tastes), it is great! I figured I can always make another batch, add to this one, and leave out celery salt. I could use real celery and that should take down the salt content for me. Thanks!
★★★★★
that or low sodium broth might do the trick.
Making this tonight for dinner and can’t wait to eat! Can you confirm the number of servings? Looking at the macros and I think they may be off as it shows 33 gr of protein for 1/5 of recipe and there’s only 1 pound of beef lusted un the ingredients.
yes, that is off.. According to my fitness pal 1/5 of the recipe is:
alories 217
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10 g 15 %
Saturated Fat 4 g 18 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 57 mg 19 %
Sodium 1024 mg 43 %
Potassium 267 mg 8 %
Total Carbohydrate 11 g 4 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 9 %
Sugars 4 g
Protein 21 g 42 %
not sure where that came from, I think it depends on what you choose when you match up the foods.
I’m going ahead and giving this 5 stars because the smell is delicious!!! This is our dinner tonight. Thank you.
★★★★★
I’ll take those 5 stars, lol.
This chili was fantastic! My husband doesn’t like beans and every no bean chili recipe I tried just did not taste good. This one is a keeper. To make it heartier, could you use crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce?
★★★★★
With the tomato sauce, is it one small can?
Thanks ?
hi, the full amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Thanks for the beanless chili(Texas Chili some call it). I used ground celery seed instead of celery salt since salt was an another ingredient. Since I only had chicken and veg broth, I used extra cumin. Still simmering, but smells good and taste testing is good so far. By the way, since I was trying to use up freezer stuff this week, I used a bag of of frozen onions, celery and peppers, plus extra peppers because you can never have too many cooked onions and sweet peppers.
★★★★
Made this recipe and used a smoked brisket instead of ground beef. It was so rich and earthy and didn’t vary anything else on the recipe. My crew said best chili I’ve ever made(they were use to the beans versions)and nobody missed the beans! They also said it was much less filling and far more satisfying! We all Loved it, will make it my go to chili recipe from now on.
★★★★★
There is only 2 cups in liquid that cant feed 5 people? would you suggest tripling everything for 4 big esters with left over
sure
Has anyone tripled everything though or does it taste different with 3 pounds of meat as I’m trying to feed 4 with leftovers
My family is lower carb focused and chili sounded great for a cold night. This has the whole house smelling AMAZING. Just my little taste test bowl was fabulous before putting it on low to simmer until dinner. I think we’re eating early tonight lol! Thank you!!!
★★★★★
So good ??
★★★★★
I was skeptical using beef broth and worcestershire sauce in a chili recipe but oh my goodness was this good! Hubby said it was the best chili ever. Didn’t have diced chilis but a can of Rotel (drained) did the trick. I’m keto so skipped the beans for me but stirred a few into my hubby’s bowl. This is definitely my new “go to” for chili.
★★★★★
Hi, Jamie.
This chili is wonderful and has replaced our other chili recipes. It is hearty, healthy, and our kids love it too! It is on regular rotation in our house after we did a couple Whole 30’s. However, I would love to make it this week, but the website’s ingredient’s list is currently not displaying correctly. Thanks!
Can you tell me what is wrong with the display? I seems to be working ok on my end
Each ingredient is listed in a long skinny hard to read way instead of a normal list.
I.e :
– 1
Cup
Of
Tomato
Sauce
Instead of
– 1 cup of tomato sauce
And the instructions:
– give
Chili
A
Taste
Add
Additional
Cumin
If
Desired
For the reader it just takes a lot of scrolling to figure out what the entire list is and you kind of have to write it out by hand to be able to make a proper looking grocery list. Or to read how to do it well.
Strange… You might try reloading the page. Also if you click print on the recipe card it fits all on one page.
We loved this recipe, thanks.
★★★★★
This was a huge hit with my family – especially the kids! Thanks for an easy and keto friendly recipe! Making it for a second time this week to serve to friends.
★★★★★
Our household does low carb and have missed chilli soooo much. Until now. Love LOVE this recipe. I add crushed red pepper as well, and I read someone else added walnuts! Will DEFINETLY try. Thanks for sharing. Family favorite now
How much is a serving? A cup?
I’ve never measured, but the nutrition facts are based on 1/5 of the recipe.
I add walnuts instead of beans..they get soft and give the texture of beans.
Tried this chili today and it is really good. I’ve been eating Keto for several years now…gained a few pounds back during Covid 19 shutdown, but am trying to get back on track. Anyway, I chopped the pepper in bigger chunks and added chopped celery to take the place of beans. I definitely would fix this again. Thanks.
★★★★★
I’m eating low carb and this chili recipe is one of the best I’ve tried. I was out of ground beef, so I substituted ground chicken. Will try beef next time to compare, but I think this was delicious. Thank you for a great recipe and your helpful hints and ideas!
★★★★★
Thank you for taking the time to share this recipe. I have not tried it yet because I am now doing a cleanse but poo once the cleanse is done I go back to eating low carb. The recipe looks delicious and I love your suggestions for other persons who mat not want the LC version.
I will let you know once I try it.
Thanks again. You are awesome!
★★★★★