A super simple Mexican-style crock pot chili, simmered all day with a bottle of your favorite beer!
I am a HUGE chili fan.
It is, hands down, one of my all-time favorite meals. I love it all year round, but especially when it starts getting cold (which it totally is, you can’t tell me different!)
Kind of a no brainer, really.
Ice on your sidewalk, snow on your car, blustery wind in your face, cold in your bones.
What better way to warm yourself to the core than with a hot bowl of spicy chili!?
Namely, this Crock Pot Mexican Beer Chili, which came together in my crock pot all day Sunday, just in time for dinner.
Last Saturday was great! The early days of vacation, sleeping in, and our annual Friend-O-Ween Party were all the activities on our short to-do list that day.
After a late start on the 45-minute drive to the party, a very long, fun night (we pulled in our driveway at 3am!), and way too little sleep, Sunday morning was not something I wanted to participate in.
At all.
Like, despite the hour we gained from returning to Standard Time, I still hit the snooze button about a dozen times before I finally, miserably rolled out of bed.
A big glass of water and an aspirin later, my normal, morning-tolerant self was still nowhere to be found.
And I was supposed to produce a crock pot dinner involving something I’d had a bit too much of the night before?
(I was still feeling pretty light-headed and sour-bellied at this point.)
Oh well. I sucked it up. I dumped everything in the crock and went to lay down on the couch for a bit.
You can trust me when I say, by the time dinner was ready, I was ready for beer again.
Guys. Beer is good.
But can we talk for a second about how good it is in food?
Hops and barley and yeast and all that nonsense aside, beer brings out the best in dishes with deep, rich flavor. It makes a great marinade, holds its own in BBQ sauce, gives bread an entirely new dimension of flavor, and makes boiled bratwurst that much better!
Even in sweets, beer enhances the most simple flavors. (Like pairing Guinness and chocolate in my Boozy Chocolate Bomb Cupcakes!)
As for chili, it gives it a bold taste that it deserves.
Beer generally makes a great companion for chili, but you almost don’t need to drink one with this – the recipe takes a whole bottle!
Don’t worry about the alcohol content, though. It cooks right out!.
Yeah, feel free to crack open that brewski, my friend. Have a little beer with your beer.
More recipes using beer!
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Crock Pot Mexican Beer Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large onion chopped
- 3 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1 ¼ lbs. ground beef
- ¾ lb. ground pork
- 2 cans tomato sauce
- 1 bottle beer I recommend Corona, Sol, Presidente, or Dos Equis
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can diced tomatoes & chiles
- 1 can red kidney beans
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can sweet kernel corn
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook together until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Place onions and garlic in crock and return pan to heat. Add ground beef and pork to pan and cook thoroughly, until no pink remains. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of grease, and place meat and remaining grease in crock.
- Add tomato sauce, beer, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, cocoa powder, and spices to crock and stir until everything is well distributed.
- Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and a garnish of green onion.
Alli Smith says
Your Mexican Beer Chili looks amazing! I’m a chili lover and I like it spicy! Pinning!
erica acevedo says
Yes! The spicier the better! Thanks Alli!
Jenna Brussee says
This looks so good! I made chili the other night because it was really cold. It’s the perfect thing to warm you up!
erica acevedo says
Haha, on our one really cold night? Yep, a lot of my friends had their crock pots cranking that night! 🙂
Andrea B. says
I’m itching for chili and might make some tonight. This looks amazing. How “beer-y” does it taste?
erica acevedo says
It was moderately beer-y, Andrea, but if you want to go for less, just use half a bottle and then add some beef broth! I usually use beef broth in my regular chili, I just thought beer would be interesting to try. 🙂
Adler D says
I love chili..I will have to try this when i have time. great pictures also
erica acevedo says
The crock pot makes time a non-issue! 🙂 Thanks, Adler!
Adler D says
thanks for the article and the pictures erica!
Neatly-Packaged says
OMG this looks so good! 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
http://neatly-packaged.com/
erica acevedo says
It tastes even better! Thank you!
≈ CARMEN ≈ says
Love the addition of the Mexican beer. Genius. I’ll have to make a vegetarian version of this. It looks incredible. :] // itsCarmen.com ☼ ☯
erica acevedo says
Vegetarian-style would be just as good 🙂 I hope you try it, and let me know how it comes out!
Heather Smith says
Seriously there is no better way to warm up than with a great bowl of chili! Def want to try this…I need a new chili recipe…I don’t like the one I have. LOL
erica acevedo says
Oh, then give this one a shot, Heather! Extra warm when the beer hits ya! LOL
Stephanie Pass says
I love trying new chili recipes, and I love cooking with beer. It just adds such a great flavor.
erica acevedo says
I hope you give it a try, Stephanie!
Madison says
I may be drooling at 10AM. Just maybe. This looks amazing! Too bad my husband doesn’t like beans 🙁
erica acevedo says
Wait, the guy who hated potatoes hates beans too??? Men can be so frustrating! LOL
Lara says
I’ll be scouring your fridge when I let out Vadar today. I hope to find some of these left overs in there!
erica acevedo says
Hahaha I meant to tell you I ate the rest of it for dinner the night before!
Harry Weger says
Great pics and the chili sounds very tasty!
erica acevedo says
Thank you, Harry!!
Michelle Nahom says
I love trying new chili recipes…and yours looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at #FoodieFridays! Pinning and sharing!
erica acevedo says
Thank you, Michelle! <3 #FoodieFridays!!
Deb Clem-Buckert says
Love chili! This looks like a great recipe!
erica acevedo says
I hope you give it a try, Deb! Thank you!
ken says
I swear I see corn kernels in the pictures but not mentioned in ingredients or directions. Big fan of corn in chili and will certainly add – it ain’t baking.
Erica says
Oh my goodness, you’re so right! How could I miss mentioning my favorite ingredient in this chili? Thank you for calling it to my attention! It has been fixed.
Kristi says
It is on my list to try. Just wondering what kind of garnishes you add for your chili?
Erica says
My favorite things to top chili with include, but are not limited to, shredded cheese, sour cream, mashed avocado, scallions or chives, crushed crackers, oyster crackers, tortilla chips… the sky is the limit! This particular one I simply added cheese to, however, but I ate it with tortilla chips instead of crackers, for that Mexican feel.
Kate says
hi! I ‘m making this today so future me will be very happy that present me made dinner already. One question: did you drain the tomatoes, beans, corn or add all the juices?
Erica says
Smart lady!! I threw it all in there, but if you like your chili thicker, i would drain the corn and beans! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Kate says
Thanks for the quick reply! Thanks! I will let you know!
Kate says
This was SO good!. I had to make one change: I didn’t have enough meat (just 1 lb of gr beef and I wasn’t going to the store) so i added a second can of kidney beans. I drained the black beans, the corn and one of the kidney beans and then threw it all in with the cooked beef and other stuff. It filled my crock pot and I had enough for dinner, lunch the next day and I froze half of it to have in two weeks! Thanks for the recipe!
Kelly says
Hi! I’ve made this chili recipe several times and, while we love it, it is SOOOO spicy! Any recommendations on how I should cut back the spice? Less chili powder? Less red pepper flakes? I don’t want to lose the flavor…just some of the spice! Thanks!
Erica says
Hi Kelly! I’m so glad to hear you love this chili as much as I do! If you’re finding it too spicy, I would suggest cutting back the red pepper a bit, OR instead of using the tomatoes + chiles (RoTel), just use two cans of your favorite diced tomatoes. That RoTel can be pretty hot for some folks, so that may be the way to go. 🙂
Sandy says
My Mexican Beer Chili is simmering as I type this. Didn’t have a big enough crockpot so I’m slow simmering it on the stove. Smells delicious! I’m entering it in my Moose Lodge’s Annual Chili Cook off tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it does. Hope it tastes as good as it smells. By the way, I only used 1/2 bottle of beer. Wish me luck in the cook off!
Amy says
Can’t wait to try this chili! I am having around 8 people over tonight and wondering how many servings this makes and if I will need to double it or just throw in an extra can of beans. Thank you!
Erica says
Happy to hear it!! We usually get 4-5 servings out of one crock of it – and my hubby is a chili freak so his bowls tend to be pretty big. I would personally make double in your case, but we love having leftovers so it’s up to you! You might be able to swing it by adding more meat, and an extra can of beans and tomatoes!
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Anna /adbrucephotos says
I’ve made this chili over 10 times and it never disappoints. I’m making a batch today since it chilly here in Colorado!
Mouses says
Made this on July 31, 2018 – came out perfect! I upped the chili powder / red pepper by 20%, and gave the beef a shot of sriracha while cooking, everything came out great.
Thanks for sharing!
Rick says
What size cans are you using when you say can tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, etc?