Bean-free chili! Omit the beans and you have a delicious low-carb, keto chili. Make this paleo & whole30 compliant chili recipe in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.

PIN FOR LATER
I never thought I would like a bean-free chili until I made this & now I don’t know if I’ll ever add beans to my chili again. Ok I’m exaggerating, of course I will add beans to chili again but still, I can honestly say I didn’t miss them in this recipe.

before (Instant Pot)

after (Instant Pot)
No Bean, No Problem
This recipe recently went through a slight revision because my sister referred to it as ground beef soup. That got me thinking about it and in a way she was right, it needed more ingredients since I removed the beans. If you made the previous version, you’ll find this new, updated recipe now includes two bell peppers and diced green chiles. Of course you can only use 1 bell pepper if you don’t want to use two. I only add 15 ounces of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of low-sodium beef broth to my bean-free chili. I know that might not seem like enough liquid for some people. My reasoning for this is 1) I want this to be keto-friendly so I don’t want to use too many tomatoes and 2) there will naturally be extra liquid in the pot when this is done cooking because when you use a slow cooker or pressure cooker, there’s nowhere for liquid to evaporate while the food cooks. I also personally like chunky chili versus watery chili. If you want to add more diced tomatoes or broth to this be my guest, it absolutely will not ruin the dish.
What Meats To Use In This Chili
For this bean-free chili I used a combination of ground beef and mild ground pork sausage. If you don’t eat pork, you can use a beef sausage or all ground beef. Don’t eat red meat? Make this a low-carb turkey chili by simply using ground turkey and turkey sausage. Ground chicken is another option. Or even a combination of ground chicken and turkey sausage. See where I’m going here? Make this recipe work for you.
Other chili recipes you might enjoy:
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot The Best Turkey Chili
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili (Paleo, Whole30)
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Old Fashioned Chili
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Indian Chili (Paleo, Whole30)
Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Bean-Free Chili (Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30)
Browning Your Meat
Should you brown your meat before adding it to the slow cooker? I always do specifically so I can drain the excess grease out before I start my chili. There’s nothing I hate more than a greasy chili. If you are using a very lean ground meat, you may find that you normally don’t need brown it before adding it to the slow cooker. Here however with the addition of sausage, I find that it’s too greasy if you don’t take the time to brown & drain the excess grease first. Even when using the electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot)…I drain my grease.

PIN FOR LATER
Jazz this chili up with your favorite toppings. I used fresh cilantro, avocado, green onions, and sliced jalapeño. Of course there’s always….cheese! Which is suitable for low-carb/keto but not for paleo/whole30. I used a 6-quart slow cooker /or Instant Pot.

{VIDEO} Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Bean-Free Chili (Keto, Paleo, Whole30)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 10 minutes 4 hours
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1/3 cup onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces diced green chiles
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tbsp oil (or more)
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Add oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef & sausage to pan and cook a few minutes until meat is browned. Drain excess grease. Add meat to the slow cooker.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
- Cook HIGH 3-4 hours, LOW 6-8.
Instant Pot
- Turn on the IP and select sauté. Once hot add oil, ground beef, ground sausage, bell pepper & onion. Cook a 5-7 minutes, until meat is browned and vegetables soften. Crumble meat as it cooks. Drain grease if you need to.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the IP. Stir to mix well.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 20 minutes. Natural release pressure for 5 minutes then manually the remaining pressure.
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This is such a flavorful, easy meal! My family gets bored w chili, but they love this recipe combo!
This looks great! if I wanted to add beans, would I put them in for the whole time? And drain beans before or no? Thanks!
I would add them the entire time. If you’re using canned beans (which is what I use) drain & rinse them & them in with the rest of the ingredients at the start of cooking. Enjoy!
This looks amazing!