This easy chilli con carne recipe is so tasty and full of fiery flavours. It's a low fat SW chilli that's hob friendly, ready in 45 minutes! Includes step-by-step images and video to follow along.
After making my first easy chilli con carne, which is now one of our favourite recipes, it only made sense to make a stove top recipe too.
This hob version is much quicker for the perfect midweek meal if you need to get dinner on the table in less than an hour.
It's still a healthy chilli recipe as it's a low fat chilli for the whole family. Also, if you're feeding little ones, it's easy to make it medium heat using less chili peppers, or simply use mild chilli powder.
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✔️ Why you'll Love this Recipe
- It's low fat
- Quick to prepare
- It's a one pot of chili recipe - less washing up!
- We think it's the best chilli con carne in the world!
🛒 Ingredient List
Please see the printable full recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, daily value info and preparation instructions at the end of this post.
Cooking oil spray - for an unofficial Slimming World chilli con carne, otherwise you can use olive oil
Lean minced beef - we use this as it's a good quality beef mince that's higher in protein per weight. Or, you could try shredded chuck roast, but discard any thick connective tissue.
Red kidney beans - or black beans, pinto beans, etc for fibre
Large onion - (chopped) and adds a warming taste
Red pepper - (chopped) for sweetness and colour
Garlic cloves - minced cloves garlic or garlic puree
Red chillies - or mild chili powder or chilli flakes
Tomato purée - (tomato paste) for a more concentrated flavour
Tins of tomatoes - or use 6 fresh tomatoes, chopped
Dried spices & herbs - smoked paprika, garam masala, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper
Beef stock cube - or you could try adding a couple of squares of dark chocolate or cocoa powder to intensify the ground meat. *Some people use secret ingredients like strong coffee, and achovy paste.
Worcestershire sauce - for some sweetness and a bit of acidity, or you can use brown sugar
Garnish - fresh coriander leaves as a garnish, or stir in some ground coriander towards the beginning and a drizzle of lime or lemon juice
📋 Instructions
To make a SW chilli con carne, first, spray a large pan with a little oil.
Now add the ground beef and brown.
Add the minced garlic, chili, red peppers and onions, along with the herbs, spices and seasonings.
Give it a good stir and continue to sauté until the onion mixture is softened.
Then add the tomato puree along with the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir.
Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. This should take 1-2 minutes.
Then reduce to moderate heat, cover, and cook on a gentle simmer for 40 minutes.
Tips: Once a half hour has passed, check to see if it is catching at the bottom of the pan. If so, you may need to add a little water, but not too much liquid.
Towards the end of cooking, in a separate pan, start cooking your rice if desired.
Once cooked, stir in some coriander or fresh oregano into the finished dish for the ultimate flavour.
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make:
- Oil - instead of oil spray for a healthy chilli con carne, you could use tablespoons oil of your choice
- Meat - swap for turkey mince. lamb or pork, etc
- Vegetarian - use soy mince instead with extra veggies like finely diced carrots, etc, but reduce the final cook time to 5-10 minutes
- Stock - use Gluten Free stock or vegetarian/vegan if required
- Keto - omit the kidney beans and serve with cauliflower rice
⚖️ Variations
- Extra spicy - use a teaspoon ground cumin, hot chilli powder instead of mild or some hot sauce
- Smoky flavor - add smoked or sweet paprika, a dash of liquid smoke
- Deluxe - stir in some red wine, add a bay leaf to the pot and serve with sour cream, guacamole and cheddar cheese
- Kid friendly - we think the best way is to omit any chili or any hot seasoning and replace with a cinnamon stick and serve with nachos or tortilla chips
See this slow cooker chilli con carne recipe on my website!
🔪 Equipment
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- garlic press
- Wooden spoon
- Chopping knife*
- Chopping board
- Weighing scales
- Measuring spoons
- Salt and pepper grinder
- Large saucepan or large frying pan
If preferred, you could use a food processor with a shredder function
❄️ Storage
Storing - we prefer eating this chili con carne recipe fresh, but it can be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
💡Healthy Tips
- Use Fry light instead of oil
- Reduced fat cheese (as part of your healthy extra - but you'd need to check syn values on the SW app).
- Avoid prepacked flavoured rices and just boil your own rice following the packet instructions
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Salad - enjoy as a topping on a leafy green salad if wanting a low carb chilli con carne, like keto chilli
Potatoes - it goes great with dirty fries, oven baked chips as a potato wedge dip
Topping: spoon over crispy jacket potatoes with a chunk of butter and cheese
Meat filling: You could use this as a Mexican lasagne filling, or the base of a cottage pie
Wraps and sandwiches: make some carnitas with leftovers by filling tacos or tortillas and folding into wraps, topped with sour cream. Or serve as spicy Sloppy Joes in wholemeal bread buns.
Pasta: replace as a mat filling ain any italian recipes with pasta like penne, or shells that hold the meat well.
❓ FAQ
Absolutely! It's packed full of speedy veg and protein. However, to ensure you're not consuming extra calories, then you will need to make sure you choose lean mince meat that has 5% fat or less in it.
It used to be quite difficult to find extra lean mince in supermarkets, but thankfully there's now more demand for it, generally lowering the price.
For a chilli sin carne (without meat), you could use Quorn mince for a vegetarian chilli. Or just replace it for extra vegetables and kidney beans for a veg chilli con carne.
Slow cooker chili is perfect for batch cooking and meal prep as you can double up on the ingredients. We think it's the easiest way as there's no pot watching, but there is a long simmer time of:
- 3-4 hours on high heat
- 6-8 hours medium-low heat
You might also like my other slow cooker recipes here. These recipes take a long time, but you can come home to a cooked meal after work!
Yes! You can brown the beef and add everything in the frying-mode of your Instant Pot for a much quicker cooking time of 10 minutes under pressure cooker mode.
Alternatively, you can cook on a traditional high pressure stove version too.
Unfortunately, I've never been a member of WW and so don't understand how SmartPoints work. However, you might like to try this recipe with a breakdown of different plans.
Sauteeing the ingredients helps make the best chili con carne for a richer taste. But the only time I don't is when I'm really busy, but adding a pinch of sweetness at the end is a good workaround.
➕ More Mexican Recipes
Looking for more tasty chili recipes? Then why not take a look at our Mexican food - some of which are new recipes!
🍽️Pairing
Here are some new healthy recipes that go great with this delicious recipe:
📖 Recipe
Easy Chilli Con Carne Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- Frylight
- 500 g 5% or less Extra lean beef mince
- 1 onion peeled & diced
- 1 red pepper deseeded & diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled & minced
- 1 medium red chilli *(or 2 if you don't want it mild). peeled & finely diced
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 beef stockpots or stock cubes
- 800 g chopped tomatoes (2 tins)
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 3 tablespoon tomato puree
- 400 g kidney beans from a tin, washed and drained
- Pinch Salt
- Pinch Pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- First, spray a large pan with Frylight or similar low calorie cooking oil spray.
- Now add the mince meat and brown.
- Add the minced garlic. then the chilli, red peppers and onions.
- Follow with all the herbs, spices and seasonings. Give it a good stir and continue to sauté until everything is softened.
- Next, add the tomato puree and two tins of tomatoes and washed and drained kidney beans before stirring everything again.
- Add the two stockpots or stock cubes and stir, while bringing to a boil.
- Now lower the heat to a gentle simmer, place the lid on top and cook for 40 minutes and serve!
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- Use Fry light instead of oil
- Reduced fat cheese (as part of your healthy extra - but you'd need to check syn values on the SW app).
- Avoid prepacked flavoured rices and just boil your own rice following the packet instructions
James B
So many spices and flavours, the red chillies would go really well. I’ve got to try this yummy chilli con carne!