Published by Sheena Strain, last updated
Recipe
My Easy Keto Chili recipe is a ridiculously tasty dinner that the whole family will enjoy! With all the best chili flavors you love simmered together to create a great low carb chili recipe, without the beans.
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This recipe for Low Carb Chili has about 8g net carbs per serving, with around six servings. Most of the carbs are from the fire roasted tomatoes, but they really add flavor to this recipe so I think it’s worth it.
Quick Tips for Making Keto Chili
This is a quick and easy Low Carb Chili recipe, but I have a few tips to ensure that you get the very best results!
Seasonings – I like to add the salt ahead of time and let the meat sit for about 15 – 20 minutes to allow it to penetrate the ground beef. And we love to add baking soda to the meat, it really helps to tenderize it while browning the beef (I’ve got more details on that in the recipe card.)
Make Ahead – If you have time and can plan it, then this is a great make ahead recipe as the flavors only get better over time. It will keep in the fridge for three to four days and it freezes very well too.
Slow Cooker or Stove – My Keto Chili recipe is very flexible and easy to cook either on the stovetop or you can make it in your crockpot, whatever is easiest for you!
Keto Chili FAQ’s
- How Many Carbs are in Chili? My low carb chili recipe has 8 grams net carbs per serving, assuming approximately one cup per serving.
- Is Chili Keto Friendly? If you make your chili without beans it is! I have also limited the amount of onions, and tweaked some of the other ingredients. The bulk of carbs in this recipe come from the tomatoes.
- Can I make Keto Turkey Chili? Yes you can, just replace the ground beef with ground turkey and cook it in the same way.
- Can I make it in a Slow Cooker? Yes, it’s very easy to make chili in a Crockpot or slow cooker, I’ve got detailed directions in the recipe card.
The best way to brown ground beef for Chili!
One of the frustrations in cooking ground beef for Chili Con Carne is that it can generate quite a lot of liquid as it browns.
What sometimes happens is that you essentially ‘steam’ the meat instead of browning it. One way round that of course is to try to do it in little batches, but that doesn’t always work.
And then of course if you pour off the liquid/fat afterwards you are pouring a lot of the accompanying flavor down the drain, we don’t want that!
Well, I came across this excellent tip inCooks Illustratedrecently and knew that it might be the key to transforming my low carb chili recipe!
The idea is simple, but genius. You simply add a little mixture of baking soda (NOT baking powder) to the ground meat, mix it well and leave it to sit for at least 20 minutes, I have all the details in my recipe below.
The baking soda helps the meat to retain the moisture as it browns, and I promise it REALLY works!!
It’smade a huge difference to the finished keto chili recipe so I would urge you to try it. Usually my ‘browned’ meat is sitting in a large puddle of water and fat, but not this time, it really was browned!
Related Keto Recipes
- Keto Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Keto Broccoli Salad
- Easy Keto Meatballs (with Marinara Sauce)
- Low Carb Cashew Chicken
- Keto Low Carb Hot and Sour Soup
- Low Carb Lo Mein
- Keto Pork Chops with Creamy Dijon Sauce
- Keto Butter Chicken
- Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs ( low carb, keto)
Keto Chili
Quick and Easy Keto Chili made with no beans is a great low carb dinner option!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Total Carbs: 10 g
Net Carbs: 8 g
Protein: 17 g
Servings: 6
5 from 25 votes
Ingredients
- 1lb90/10 ground beef, 454g
- 1/2tspbaking soda, (NOT BAKING POWDER!)
- 1/2tspsalt
- 1/2tspblack pepper
- 1/2cuponion, finely chopped, 60g
- 28ozfire roasted tomatoes
- 2tbspolive oil
- 3clovesgarlic , crushed
- 2tbspAncho chili powder , regular Chili powder works too
- 2tbspcumin
- 2tsporegano
- 1/4tspcayenne pepper , add more for extra heat
- 3/4cupgluten free beef broth, 177mls – use water or compliant broth for whole30
Instructions
Scroll up to watch recipe video!
Start by seasoning the ground beef well with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Then mix the baking soda with 1 tbsp water and mix into the crumbled ground beef and let it sit for 15 minutes (see note 1)
Add the chopped onions to a large pan or Dutch Oven and saute in a little oil for about 3-5 minutes until translucent, then remove the onions and set aside.
Add a little more oil if needed to the same pan and brown the beef, taking care to break up the meat into small pieces as you cook it.
Add the garlic, Ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, and return the onions to the pan with the meat.
Add the beef broth and fire roasted tomatoes to the pan and stir well.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Taste and add more salt if desired.
Slow Cooker Keto Chili
Follow the directions above for seasoning the ground beef, cooking the onions, and browning the beef.
Add the browned beef and onions to your Crockpot or Slow cooker.
Add the garlic, Ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, to the slow cooker with the ground beef chili mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients including the fire roasted tomatoes, but add only 1/2 cup of beef broth.
Cook for about 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
Taste, and add more salt if desired.
Recipe Notes
Baking Soda – this is a nifty trick popularized by Cooks Illustrated, the baking soda solution helps to tenderize the beef and promotes better browning if left on the meat for about 15 minutes. It’s optional so you can omit if you don’t have it, and PLEASE do not substitute the baking soda with baking powder as they are not the same!
Ground Beef – We prefer to use 90/10 ground beef but you can use any ground beef you like. If you use beef with a higher fat content you may need to skim a little rendered fat from the top once the chili has cooked.
Serving Size and Nutrition – serving size is approximately 3/4 to 1 cup per person, it depends how much the liquid volume is reduced during cooking. Each serving has approximately 8 grams net carbs per serving, most of the carbs are from the tomatoes. See nutrition label for more details.
Beef Broth – we used gluten free beef broth, but you can use water in a pinch if you don’t have any broth on hand.
Ancho Chili Powder – I love the smoky flavor that this chili powder lends to the recipe, but regular chili powder works too.
Cayenne Pepper – I used a small amount of cayenne pepper so this recipe is not overly hot and spicy, but you should feel free to increase it to your own tastes.
Nutrition Facts
Keto Chili
Amount Per Serving
Calories 229Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 49mg16%
Sodium 518mg23%
Potassium 367mg10%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 1376IU28%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Calcium 88mg9%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information on Noshtastic is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Author: Sheena Strain
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:American
About Sheena Strain
Sheena Strain is the proud owner of Noshtastic, a gluten free website that specializes in easy family meals including Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, and many pressure cooker recipes.
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Susan says
Fabulous chili!! Thank you for the great recipe.Reply
Kimberly says
Hands down the best chili ever! I double the recipe and make it in the slow cooker, I also add green pepper and green chilis. I skip the baking soda in the beef but add cornstarch to thicken the chili a bit when it’s done. Soooo gooood! 😍🤩 add a dollop of sour cream, chopped onion & cheddar cheese to top off your bowl 😍 mmm mmm mmm! Fishy crackers (goldfish crackers) are even good in it for the little kiddos n even the big kiddos too 😉Reply
Erin says
I made this tonight and it was very good! My family really really liked it! I did add a green bell pepper, a can of green chilies and I added more Cayenne pepper. My husband and my kids love spicy stuff so by adding a bit more Cayenne it turned out perfect! Thanks for the recipe!Reply
Tracy says
I have made the chili many times and absolutely love it. I am making it to take to someone who does not like any “heat” at all! Would you recommend using regular diced tomatoes vs. the fire roasted tomatoes to take it down a notch?
Reply
Sheena Strain says
Hi Tracy, the fire roasted tomatoes have no heat at all, they are more like chargrilled if that makes sense. The heat is from the cayenne pepper so if you want no heat at all leave that out.
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Angela Cary says
This is SOOOO Good! Thank you for this recipe!Reply
Tina says
Did anyone notice a weird texture to the meat? I think it was the baking soda.
Reply
Kerry says
Yes, like spongy meat.
Reply
Susan says
My family loved this recipe. I’m from Texas this was Great chili!! I added a small can of chopped Green chilies st the end and stirred. Sprinkled a little cheese green onion and put 4 crumbled pork rinds around edge to give it that crispy texture like a taco. Will definitely make again Thanks so much!!Reply
Amy says
Can you adapt this recipe to make it in a slow cooker?
Reply
Sheena Strain says
Hi Amy,
you sure could! 🙂 I haven’t cooked this specific recipe in a slow cooker, however here’s what I would do if I was going to try it. I would follow all the steps as written up to step three where you brown the beef. Then add all mixture that to the slow cooker and add in the garlic, herbs and spices, and I would reduce the liquid, so perhaps only 1/2 cup of beef broth. I would cook it on low for about 5-6hrs.
Reply
Heidi says
Made this tonight for dinner. Was the perfect amount of kick with the spice combination to combat our snowstorm. Will make this again!Reply
Brooke says
What is the serving size? I froze half of this before dividing it equally. I am trying to enter it into my fitness pal
Reply
Sheena Strain says
Hi Brooke, This makes about 6 servings for one pot of chili if you make the recipe as written. I don’t know the actual serving size, you’d need to put it in a measuring cup I’d guess to find that out. I have the macros and net carbs per serving (assuming 6 servings per the whole recipe) already listed in the recipe if that helps, so if you have half in the freezer then it would be three servings. I hope that helps!
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val deater says
my chili turned out delicious i’m so happy i tried it and its so satisfying.Reply
