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Slow Cooker Chorizo Beef Chili

This slow cooker chorizo beef chili uses chili and Mexican inspired spices & ingredients. Imagine the smoky and spicy goodness of chorizo combined with beef makes for a hearty crockpot chili that’s packed with flavor. Finding time to prepare a delicious, comforting meal can often feel like a large task. This is where the slow cooker comes in, particularly when it comes to making chili. This is a true set-it-and-forget-it Crock-Pot chili recipe. Instructions to make this easy beef chili in the Instant Pot are also included.

close up of chorizo beef chili in a white bowl garnished with sliced jalapeno, cheese and cilantro

It’s no secret I love Mexican food. I talk about it frequently on social media and I have a lot of Mexican inspired recipes on this blog. I also love chili so it was only a matter of time before I paired the two.
 

Ingredients For Chorizo Beef Chili

  • Chorizo: This chili recipe calls for ground chorizo. If you cannot find ground chorizo, take a link and uncase it. Or you can chop up chorizo link and make the chili that way. 
  • Ground Beef: One pound of ground beef.
  • Black Beans: One 14.5-ounce can of black beans that have been drained & rinsed. 
  • Corn: One 14.5-ounce can of corn that have been drained & rinsed. 
  • Tomatoes:  A combination of diced tomatoes & diced tomatoes with green chiles. 
  • Enchilada Sauce: To keep with the Mexican inspired theme, this chili uses 1 1/4 cup of red or green enchilada sauce. I prefer to use red. 
  • Onion, Garlic, Jalapeño: Use more or less of these ingredients if you want. To add some spiciness, leave some or all of the seeds in the jalapeño. 
  • Seasonings: Homemade chili seasonings. This includes chili powder, oregano, cumin, and paprika. 

collage of ingredients for chorizo beef chili

How To Make Chorizo Beef Chili

Making this chorizo chili is easy, especially when you use the slow cooker or Instant Pot. 

Slow Cooker

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, chorizo, and onion. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Drain the grease and add the beef, chorizo, and onion to the slow cooker.
  2. Add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  3. Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.

Instant Pot

  1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add the ground beef, chorizo, onion, and jalapeno to the pot. Cook 5-7 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and vegetables are soft. Crumble the beef and chorizo as it cooks. Add garlic & cook an additional minute. Drain excess grease from the pot if you need to.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to mix well.
  3. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 20 minutes. When done, quick release pressure.
ingredients for chorizo beef chili in the slow cooker before cooking

before

 

What Is Chorizo

The two main ingredients in this recipe are ground Mexican chorizo and ground beef. Chorizo is a pork sausage that is eaten around the world. Most people know chorizo from either Spain or Mexico. How chorizo is made will depend on the region. Mexican chorizo is usually made from uncooked pork that has been seasoned with ingredients like chili peppers. For this recipe you will need Mexican ground chorizo. If you can only find chorizo cased in links, you can buy those and remove the casing. The casing should come off easily. Chorizo can be spicy so take note of the type of chorizo you are buying. 
side view of cooked chorizo beef chili in the slow cooker slow cooker

after

 

Homemade Chili Seasoning

You know I’m all about homemade seasonings. This recipe uses my go-to homemade chili seasoning blend. I pretty much use it or a version of it in all of my chili recipes. It includes the usual chili ingredients: chili powder, cumin, salt, paprika. There’s a small kick but I definitely wouldn’t categorize my homemade chili seasoning as spicy.

 

Browning The Meat

Should you brown the chorizo and beef before adding it to the slow cooker? Yes. I always do so I can drain the grease. There’s nothing I hate more than a really greasy chili. If you are use a very lean ground meat, you may find that you brown it before adding it to the slow cooker is unnecessary. Here however with the addition of the chorizo, I find that it’s way too greasy if you don’t take the time to drain the excess grease first. Even when using the Instant Pot…I drain the grease.

FAQs & Tips

  • Topping suggestions for this easy slow cooker beef chili include jalapeños, cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream, etc. To store the chili, let it cool before packing it away. Store the leftover chili in the frig for up to 3 days or the freezer for 4-6 months.
  • Substitute your preferred ground sausage or more ground beef if you don’t want to use chorizo.
  • If you like spicy, leave the seeds in your jalapeño. I remove the seeds because we are a split household. I like spicy but my husband not so much.
  • The black beans and corn are canned which means they are cooked. Rinse & drain them before adding them to the slow cooker or Instant Pot.  
  • I use a 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot to make this recipe.

 

Chili Recipes

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close up of chorizo beef chili in a white bowl garnished with sliced jalapeno, cheese and cilantro

Slow Cooker Chorizo Beef Chili

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

This slow cooker chorizo beef chili uses chili and Mexican inspired spices & ingredients. Imagine the smoky and spicy goodness of chorizo combined with beef makes for a hearty crockpot chili that’s packed with flavor. Finding time to prepare a delicious, comforting meal can often feel like a large task. This is where the slow cooker comes in, particularly when it comes to making chili. This is a true set-it-and-forget-it Crock-Pot chili recipe. Instructions to make this easy beef chili in the Instant Pot are also included.

  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground chorizo (uncased)
  • 1 pound ground beef, seasoned with salt & pepper
  • 15 ounces diced tomatoes
  • 10 ounces diced tomatoes & green chiles
  • 10 ounces enchilada sauce
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 15 ounce-can corn (drained & rinsed)
  • 15 ounce-can black beans (drained & rinsed)
  • 1 jalapeno, diced (seeds removed)
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon oil

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, chorizo, and onion. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Drain the grease and add the beef, chorizo, and onion to the slow cooker.
  2. Add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  3. Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.

Instant Pot

  1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot add the ground beef, chorizo, onion, and jalapeno to the pot. Cook 5-7 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and vegetables are soft. Crumble the beef and chorizo as it cooks. Add garlic & cook an additional minute. Drain excess grease from the pot.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to mix well.
  3. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 20 minutes. When done, quick release pressure.
  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 3 hours

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on one of the product links, I might receive compensation. For more about my disclosure policy see here: https://fitslowcookerqueen.com/about/disclosure-policy/.

 

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Val

Tuesday 29th of August 2023

Can I substitute a second can of diced tomatoes (rotel) or a can of crushed tomatoes in place of the enchilada sauce? I'm trying to keep the sodium down.

Shannon Epstein

Tuesday 29th of August 2023

Absolutely. That's a fantastic idea.

28 Easy Mexican Ground Beef Recipes - Whimsy & Spice

Tuesday 22nd of November 2022

[…] 25. Spiced Chili […]

Marilyn

Thursday 20th of October 2022

Instant hit! Will make again soon.

Barbara

Saturday 5th of December 2020

I made this today for a potluck tomorrow (you know, chili is always better the second day!). But today it is absolutely delicious! I'm partial to a chill I've been making for 15 years, but this recipe is taking its place! The spices work fabulous together! I can't wait for more!!

Linda B.

Sunday 29th of April 2018

I have an Instant Pot. It has a slow Cook button on it. So, I sautéed my beef, onion and garlic. Then, mixed all my ingredients on Sate' in my Instant Pot then I turned Saute' off. I put the lid on, then turned on my Slow Cook. I'm cooking it for 5 hours on the Slow Cook. I hope I can do this as a slow cooker. Can I? Please let me know. It does not say anything about the slow cook button in the manual. Thank you, Linda B.

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Sunday 29th of April 2018

Yes you make this in your instant pot using the slow cooker function. 5 hours should be enough time. Feel free to email me if you have any further questions. Enjoy!