Description

This slow cooker black bean chili is a hearty, flavorful, and low-calorie vegetarian dish packed with spices, fresh vegetables, and smoky chipotle chili paste. Perfect for a comforting family meal, it combines slow-cooked black beans with aromatic vegetables and warm spices, served with soft corn tortillas, sour cream, and fresh lime wedges.

Ingredients

Scale

Vegetables and Aromatics

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 large red onion (½ finely chopped, ½ thinly sliced)
2 sticks celery, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 limes (½ juiced, rest cut into wedges)

Spices and Seasonings

1 tsp smoked paprika (hot or sweet, to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2-3 tsp chipotle chili paste
Salt, to taste

Other Ingredients

400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 x 400g tins black beans, rinsed and drained
Soured cream, to serve
Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
Soft corn tortillas, to serve
Chili sauce (jalapeño or habanero), to serve

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Instructions

Prepare Slow Cooker and Vegetables: Heat the slow cooker to high or low setting depending on your desired cooking time. In a pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and fry the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, finely chopped onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft, turning golden and fragrant.
Prepare Pickled Onion: While frying the vegetables, place the thinly sliced onion in a small pan, cover with boiling water, and simmer for 1 minute. Drain well, then season with a pinch of salt and squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
Combine Ingredients and Boil: Add the chopped tomatoes, toasted and ground cumin seeds, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili paste to the softened vegetables in the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the rinsed and drained black beans, mixing thoroughly.
Transfer to Slow Cooker and Cook: Pour the bean and tomato mixture into the slow cooker. Season with salt and extra chili if desired. Cook for 1-2 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low, allowing the beans to absorb the flavors and the sauce to become rich and thick.
Final Seasoning and Serve: Check the seasoning and adjust salt or chili to taste. Serve the chili by topping soft corn tortillas with the black bean mixture, dollops of soured cream, pickled red onions, chopped coriander, and lime wedges. Offer chili sauce on the side for added heat.

Notes

This slow cooker black bean chili is a wholesome, low-calorie vegetarian option perfect for family meals.
Adjust the amount of chipotle chili paste based on your preferred spice level.
Pickled red onions add a fresh tangy contrast to the rich chili – don’t skip them!
Serve with soft corn tortillas to keep the dish gluten-free.
The chili sauce side gives extra heat and flavor variation; jalapeño or habanero are recommended choices.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving (approximately 1/4 of recipe)
Calories: 218
Sugar: 9 g
Sodium: 700 mg
Fat: 7.3 g
Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
Unsaturated Fat: 6.2 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 24.6 g
Fiber: 11 g
Protein: 8 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg