Keto Chili: How to Make the Best Award-Winning Recipe (2024)

Keto chili is a delicious and spicy dish that can be eaten as a meal or side dish. It’s also one of the best keto-friendly options for meal prep available, because it’s so versatile.

I’ll go over how to make the best keto chili recipe that is literally award-winning (and it has no beans!), tips for making it taste amazing, my favorite toppings and variations, and why you should try this recipe for your next family gathering or meal prep sessions!

Keto Chili Without Beans

This recipe is not your traditional chili recipe. The keto version doesn’t contain any beans, but it still has a secret ingredient that makes it sweet without actually triggering an insulin response or tampering with your ketosis, and it tastes so good!

Jump to the recipe card below if you are anxious to find out, but read on for some great tips for making the best version of this keto chili.

Without the beans, this keto chili recipe is still plenty hearty and filling. I promise you won’t miss them!

Chili on the Keto Diet

A keto diet is famous for its ability to fuel weight loss quickly by burning fat. The ketogenic diet was originally developed as a therapeutic intervention for those diagnosed with epilepsy, but there are so many more benefits.

The keto diet limits the intake of sugar and other carbs and replaces it with fat, moderate proteins, and veggies. In fact, it’s best if most of your carbs come from vegetables. This keto chili recipe is perfect for those trying to follow ketogenic or low carb diets since I’ve keto-fied it!

The Story Behind This Award Winning Low Carb Chili

Growing up, my dad was always the one cooking in the kitchen. My mom would cook dinner and pies on Christmas, but my dad was always regarded as the chef in our family. I guess working as a line cook as your first job at McDonald’s and quickly graduating up to manager would slightly influence your passion for cooking.

Anyways, I grew up with chili made by my dad for literally every occasion. Now keep in mind, I live in Florida so we don’t get much cold weather. Whether it was Christmas or the first day of Spring, chili was a staple in our house.

So why the chili all the time? Honestly to this day, I don’t know. Maybe it was the spiciness or the fact that it made a dozen or more servings that we could munch on throughout the week or it was just fun and nostalgic.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad my dad took the time to perfect his recipe over the years. He has entered his chili recipe into contests and won by a landslide. He has given the recipe to family members who have also won contests with this recipe. My father-in-law who lives in New York makes the recipe any time he gets the chance and sings its praises to all his friends. It’s that good!

Now, the recipe I’ve created below is not an exact replica of my dad’s chili recipe since the original recipe calls for beans, brown sugar, and beer, but it is so close to the original! So now that you’re in the know, I’ll show you exactly how to make my dad’s prize-winning chili recipe and keep it keto-friendly.

Ingredients for Easy Keto Chili

• Maverick Ground Beef or try ground buffalo – expensive but seriously the best tasting meat
• Jimmy Dean Original Pork Sausage
• Onion
• Green Peppers
• Muir Glen Organic Stewed Tomatoes – use less tomatoes to lower carbs
• Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste
• Beef Broth – use less if you like a chunky chili
• Chili Powder – lots of it!
• Cumin
• Garlic
• Brown Swerve Sweetener – Secret ingredient #1
• Ghost Chili Hot Sauce – Secret ingredient #2 (p.s. my dad actually grows his own ghost chili peppers and makes his own hot sauce called Livi’s Lava – gee, I wonder where he got that name from!)
• Himalayan Pink Salt – personal favorite salt for cooking this dish!
• Ground Pepper

How To Make Keto Chili On Stove Top – Favorite Way

1. Finely chop onion and green pepper. Add to large pot.

2. Sauté on medium-high heat until onion is translucent.

3. Add ground beef and sausage to the pot and cook until just turning brown.

4. Using an immersion hand blender, rough up the stewed tomatoes. Careful not to blend until it’s tomato sauce. Just do a rough chop.

5. Add all other ingredients to the pot.

6. Stir thoroughly and set to extreme simmer (basically in between simmer and boil) for 2 hours. Stir very often.

7. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and any other topping of choice.

Advanced Tips For Making Award-Winning Keto Chili

• Chili is one of those meals you need to personalize to suit your preferences so get creative with what you add to the mix.
• If preparing for a competition or special occasion, have the butcher grind up some fresh ground chuck and/or ground sausage.
• To lower the carbohydrates, omit one can of tomatoes.
• Add a can of green chilies for extra flavor.
• Before serving, try stirring in a little bit of cream cheese or a big dollop of sour cream for a creamy texture.
• If just doing a low carb diet, you can also add a can of beer for more flavor. My dad uses a can of Yuengling.

Slow Cooker or Crock Pot

This keto chili can be also be slow cooked in a crockpot. This cooking technique can be very useful because it can help to bring out the natural flavors in this dish plus you can just set it and forget it. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

You’ll still need to sauté your chopped veggies and brown the meat in a separate pan on the stove beforehand. Add the cooked ingredients plus other ingredients and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4 hours.

I love that slow cookers can help you simplify your meal prep by having an easy way to make delicious, healthy dishes like keto chili in large batches and then freeze them for later use. It’s also very easy to clean up since I don’t have to worry about spilling anything on the stove or oven.

And who doesn’t love the smell of a crockpot dinner when the weather cools down too?

When I am doing my monthly meal prep sessions, this method provides another way to hack more servings in less time. I can have one recipe in the Crock Pot, one in the casserole Crock pot, one on the stove, one in the Instant pot, one in the air fryer, and one in the oven all at the same time! I’m basically like a mad scientist when it comes to meal prep.

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

This recipe can also be prepared in an Instant Pot, which I think is the world’s most handy kitchen gadget, next to the air fryer! For this cooking method, you get to save on dishes and prepare everything in one pot.

Sauté the chopped bell pepper and onion by using the Instant Pot’s “sauté” function to heat the inner pot. Make sure to add some olive oil or avocado oil to the pot as it heats up.

Brown the meat by continuing to use the “sauté” function. Add all other ingredients and set to “manual” mode or “chili/bean” mode for 20 minutes while placing the lid on top.

Pro tip: Make sure the inner seal is properly seated. My mistake about 1/10 of the time when cooking. But I digress.

Allow to naturally release pressure or release manually.

What Toppings Can I Put on Keto-friendly Chili?

So many things! I love setting up a nice ultimate chili bar with some of these toppings:

• Sour Cream
• Hand Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Lime Juice
• Cream Cheese
• Greek Yogurt
• Guacamole
• Avocado Slices
• Hot Sauce
• Bacon Crumbles
• Keto Chips
• Keto Crackers
• Keto Cornbread
• Jalapeno Slices
• Pico de gallo
• Cilantro
• Ranch Dressing

What Side Dishes Go Well With No Bean Keto Chili?

Cauliflower rice is great keto side dish choice goes well with chili. Another popular side dish for keto chili is ground beef chunks in the air fryer then you can dip it in sour cream or guacamole. How amazing does that sound?

Other Keto Comfort Food Recipes You’ll Love:

• Keto Chocolate Flaxseed Muffins
• Keto Air Fryer Jicama Fries Recipe (made 5 easy ways!)

Can I Freeze Stovetop Low Carb Chili?

Yes, in fact, I encourage it. Always. Especially since we all know chili is way better the next day. Meal prep and freezer meals are the only way I can stay sane and stick to a keto diet. I mean, it’s not like you can just grab a sandwich or eat a bowl of cereal like with “normal” eating. Keto food has to be prepped!

Although many brands are getting creative by making processed versions of our favorite foods in keto form, it’s not the same as eating a nice home-cooked meal.

Now, allow me debunk this myth. Freezer meals do not mean you are sacrificing texture and flavor for something quick and easy, and it’s not a task you need to put off unless you are about to give birth or some other big life event.

No! I have been meal prepping freezer meals monthly since 2015 and I’ve never looked back. I actually gain lots of hours in the evening with my family with this method by swapping a couple hours on a Sunday.

Then all you have to do is put the meals in the microwave or heat up on the stove when you want to eat them. They’re also good for when your family goes on vacation so you don’t have to worry about cooking for a while.

More Keto Meal Prep Recipes & Resources:

• Keto Meals for a Month: How to Meal Prep For An Entire Month
• How to Meal Prep in a Few Steps
• 10 Easy Keto Crockpot Freezer Dump Meals To Save Your Sanity

Favorite Keto Chili Meal Prep Tools:

My Favorite Keto Holiday Recipes & Tips:

10 Keto Holiday Recipes That Don’t Taste Low Carb

How to Survive The Holidays on Keto

Easy Keto Spice Cake (Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Holiday)

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