Hearty Crock Pot Chili Stew-
This Hearty Crock Pot Chili Stew recipe is meaty, gluten free, paleo, low carb and full of flavor!
What if chili and beef stew had a love child? Then this would be the result. This is my absolute favorite chili. So good, you won’t even miss the beans. My husband, who is not paleo, said its the best chili he has ever eaten.
This chili has two kinds of beef in it and uses chopped mushrooms instead of beans. I combined the best ingredients from chili and from beef stew to make a hearty, delicious, hot bowl of paleo comfort food.
Makes plenty of leftovers to make Chili Squash Boats for lunch the next day, click here for that recipe: Chili Squash Boats
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 lb Cubed Beef Stew Meat
- 1 28 ounce Can Tomato Puree or Tomato Sauce one with tomatoes as only ingredient
- 2 Cups Organic GF Beef Broth or homemade.
- 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin or can use 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree for thickening.
- 2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms
- 1 Medium Zucchini Squash chopped
- 1 Medium Onion Minced
- 6 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Cumin
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- Brown ground beef in a large pan, then add to crock pot, set on high.
- Add: Tomato Puree, Beef Broth, Pumpkin puree, 2 Tbsp Chili powder, 1 Tsp Garlic Powder, and 1 Tbsp Cumin to crock pot and stir.
- Add 1 Tbsp Olive oil to the same pan you browned the beef in, and saute on medium high the: Onion, Minced Garlic, Mushrooms, and Zucchini Squash.
- Saute until veggies have softened.
- Add all of the sauteed veggies to the crock pot.
- In the same saute pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil and 1 Tbsp Chili powder, and mix together.
- Add Beef stew meat to the pan, and coat meat with the chili- oil mixture in pan.
- Brown the Beef Stew Meat on all sides.
- Add Stew Meat to the crock pot.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, then put on low for 2 to 5 hours.( or can cook on low for 5-8 hours)
Nutrition Facts: Yield: 12, Serving size: 1 Cup, Calories: 265.1, Fat: 16 g, Carbohydrates: 9.5 g / Net Carbs: 7 g , Sugar: 4 g, Fiber: 2.5 g, Protein: 20.4 g
*All nutritional data are estimates based on the products I used*
I added carrots, celery and peppers. I also added yellow squash and extra zucchini in place of mushroom. I hope it all turns out okay. What do you think of my substitutions? I also rinsed really well kidney beans and added them. Did I ruin my carb count?
Karen, all of those ingredients sound like they would be very good in chili. It will have more carbs with the beans, but should not be very high carb (depending on how many beans were added). If you added just a small amount of beans and carrots it should be okay.
This was very good..i did have to add a bit of salt and some more chili powder as it was slightly bland…it was funny as i kept telling my husband i wonder how i could make it more tomato tasting..yet i kept filling my bowl and eating while i was pondering laugh…i might try this over a bit of cauliflower fauxtatoes…yummmm
Jeanette, I like mine with more spices too! I’ve had people tell me it is too spicy, and I was thinking it could use even more spices, lol! It would be good over fauxtatoes! Thanks for trying the recipe and taking the time to comment! 🙂
I had to makethis twice today. I made the first recipe and my family ate every bite.
Susan, Thank you for your kind words. I think we have the same hungry family. If there are no leftovers, then I know it is a keeper.
Can I use crushed tomatoes? I have some already in the pantry.
Love your recipes.
Hi Annette, yes crushed tomatoes would work, it might be more chunky texture though.
Allergic to mushrooms – any suggestions for a substitution.
April, you can use chopped yellow squash more zucchini in place of the mushrooms. 🙂
I was forwarding this delicious recipe to my sister and realized I never rated it. This Chili Stew recipe is a keeper. My husband and I don’t miss my bean laden recipe at all. I’ve made this severfal times on the stove top so far. 10 stars!
Kimberly, thank you so much for trying the recipe and your most kind words! Thank you for sharing it. I really appreciate your kindness 🙂
I made this chili over the weekend and it turned out great!! I absolutely loved it and didn’t miss the beans at all!! I will definitely make this again! Thank you! 🙂
Marci, thank you so much for trying the recipe, and taking the time to leave a nice comment. 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight. A family member has not been dealing well with beef so we substituted pork in both forms. I didn’t have any pumpkin puree so put some butternut squash soup for it — didn’t want to lose any layers of flavor. I didn’t need to add oil to saute the vegetables because there was ample from the ground pork. Did add coconut oil for the stew meat. It cooked on high in the crock pot for two hours. We checked a piece of the stew meat and it was done. Perhaps pork cooks more rapidly than beef.
Verdict: A couple members did not care for the mushrooms in it. One of them doesn’t like the texture of most cooked mushrooms. One person commented that it was very ‘tomatoey’. He’s not the biggest fan of tomatoes.
Upshot: Yes make it again. Leave the mushrooms out. Add sweet potato or yam next time instead. Maybe a smaller can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomato. Might not be such a strong tomato flavor. not sure about that one.
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Gail,
I am thinking pork would work better in a “white chili” recipe that does not use a tomato base. This one is definitely geared for beef, but may work with some tweaking. I know what you mean, I have a family of 5 and it is hard to please everyone’s particular tastes, dislikes and allergies. So I’m always changing recipes around to make it work for everyone. 🙂
I need clarification ….what do you actually mean by the tomato purée/sauce. What are you using? Like a “spaghetti sauce”?
Sorry Stacia, what I meant was tomato puree or tomato sauce.
This is fantastic!!!! I made a double batch and I’m glad I did. This should freeze well. Thank you!! I can’t tell there are no beans. Mmmmmm
Jennifer, I am happy that you enjoyed the recipe. Doubling the recipe and freezing it is a great idea.
If I don’t want to add the mushrooms, is there something I could substitute? I’m assuming 2 cups volume needs to be replaced by something. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t like mushrooms and my daughter cannot eat them, but this sounds so good. Thanks
Kathy, you can replace the mushrooms with chopped yellow squash. Or double the zucchini.
~Stacey
This is hands down the best chili recipe I have ever tasted. My husband loves it, too.
Janet, I love you for saying that!! Thank you for your kind words and enthusiasm. 🙂 Really made my week.
sincerely,
Stacey
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Many thanks, Dianne
sure Dianne, Thank you so much.