Recipe for Crockpot Black Bean Chili with Lime and Cilantro

The Superbowl is this Sunday, so of course everyone in the U.S. is thinking about chili recipes. Yesterday I shared what used to be my signature Superbowl Chili recipe a few years ago, but now my signature chili would probably have lime and cilantro. Both of those favorite ingredients are in this crockpot chili I made recently, using a can of refried pinto beans as part of the base, which added flavor and made it extra thick. This is a delicious basic chili made with canned beans and not a huge list of ingredients. If you don't have a crockpot, just skip the step of reducing the beef stock, and you can make this in a regular pot on top of the stove.

I used two large onions, for lots of onion flavor. I like onions chopped fairly small for chili, so they're mixed all through the chili rather than in noticeable chunks.

After you've browned the onions and put them in the crockpot, brown the ground beef well, then add it to crockpot. You may need a bit more olive oil when you add the meat.

Drain canned black beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse very well with cold water until no more foam appears. Don't skip this step, it makes the beans much more digestible.

Not a stunning photo of the chili as it starts out in the crockpot, but I wanted to show you how much it changed appearance after being cooked on low for 6-8 hours. I've found crockpots vary widely in how hot they cook, so I'd start checking it after 4 hours if you're home.

Crockpot Black Bean Chili with Lime and Cilantro
(Makes about 6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

(I used my new 5-Quart Smart-Pot Crock-Pot to make this chili, but I think any size that's close to that will work. Be sure the crockpot is at least half full when you use it to make soup or chili.)

Ingredients:
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 tsp. olive oil + more for browning meat if needed
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 quart beef stock, simmer to reduce to 2 cups (I used my homemade beef stock, but you can use two cans beef broth. Don't reduce for stovetop cooking.)
3 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) refried pinto beans
2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite dice tomatoes
2 T dried cilantro
2 T chile powder (preferably New Mexico chile powder)
2 T Ancho chile powder (or 2 T more regular chile powder)
1 T ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, plus sliced limes to squeeze into chili if desired
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, add chopped onions and saute 4-5 minutes, until softened and barely starting to brown. Add onions to crockpot. Add ground beef to same pan, adding more oil if needed, then brown beef well, breaking up with metal turner as it cooks. Add beef to crockpot.

While onions and beef are being cooked, put beef stock into saucepan and simmer until reduced to 2 cups. (Skip this step if cooking the chili on stovetop.) When stock is reduced, add refried beans and whisk to blend into stock, then add to crockpot.

While stock is reducing, place a colander in the sink and add canned black beans. Rinse beans well with cold water until no more foam appears. (This removes some of the salt from canned beans and makes them much more digestible.) Then add beans, stock-refried beans mixture, tomatoes, dried cilantro, chile powder, ancho chile powder, and ground cumin to crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or until beans are soft and flavors are well blended. When chili is done, stir in lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro and let cook 15 minutes. Serve hot, with slices of lime and additional chopped cilantro to add as garnish if desired.

For stovetop cooking, skip the step of reducing the beef broth, but follow all other directions, adding ingredients to large soup pot and simmering at low heat about an hour.

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South Beach Suggestions:

Chili is such a perfect South Beach Diet food, since dried beans of all types are very low-glycemic, and this would be great for any phase of the South Beach Diet.

More Delicious Chili Recipes to Try:
Black Bean and Beef Chili with Cilantro, Lime, and Avocado Salsa
Not Just For the Superbowl Chili
Turkey and White Bean Chili with Chocolate
Pick Your Chili Recipe from BlogHer