Preparing a phenomenal low-carb and beanless chili is all about making a bomb chili base rich in dried spices and layered with flavor.
Dig into this simple one-pot keto chili recipe and learn about various chili powders in the process!
Classic chili recipes are usually bean-heavy, and unfortunately, beans are starchy vegetables that are not so keto-friendly. To make a simple low-carb chili recipe, drop the beans and purchase more meat than you would normally. You can also mix in some low-carbohydrate vegetables such as cauliflower, zucchini, or cabbage!
The goal of any keto diet is to limit your carbohydrate intake to anywhere below 50 grams per day or so (this can vary depending on your size and weight). Limiting your carb intake and increasing your intake of healthy dietary fats will shift your body to enter a metabolic state called ketosis and to utilize more fat for fuel.
If you aren’t sure about how many grams of carbohydrates you need per day to transition into ketosis, get your custom keto carbohydrate count by using the calculator below:
This hearty gluten-free keto chili recipe also includes a variety of seasonings such as roasted red peppers, smoked paprika, and nutmeg to add flavor without sabotaging your macros.
The most important part of your chili recipe is sourcing a quality chili powder or preparing some roasted chili paste to use in your base.
Chili powders are typically a blend of dried chilies with cumin, onion, cayenne, and paprika.
Beware that pre-blended chili-powders can sometimes contain excess sodium, so look for sodium-free blends or prepare your own at home!
You can also opt to purchase specific kinds of ground, powdered chiles. Note that "chili powder" refers to a mixture of spices vs "chile powder" refers to a dried and ground form of one specific chile. To make it even more confusing some dried chile powders are named differently from their fresh counterparts.
Here are a few different types of chile powders you could consider using to flavor and season your chili recipe at home:
Chili’s make a wonderful meal prep addition because you can recycle any leftover vegetables or odd-and-end meal prep from the week.
Whether you are making this chili as a part of your weekly keto meal prep or to feed family and friends we know you’ll love this recipe as you can also prepare it in a slow cooker, crockpot, or Instapot if you’d like.
Here are a few of our favorite keto chili tips and tricks:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
For Garnish and Serving
Gather all of the ingredients needed for your chili recipe. In the culinary world, we call this step gathering our "mise en place" which literally means, to 'put in place'.
This might seem like a silly step, but you'll be happy to have everything right where you need it once you start the cooking process so you don't have to run to the pantry or store while trying to cook! Gathering your ingredients also gives you time to double-check if you would like to use any leftovers in your fridge or choose specific ingredients.
Once you have your ingredients together, cut up your aromatics and other whole vegetables. Small dice the onion, celery, and pre-roasted red pepper and mince your garlic.
Pro tip: use a microplane or grate to 'mince' your garlic instead of having to chop it up finely with a knife.
In a saucepot on medium-high heat, add avocado oil or olive oil, minced garlic, diced onion, celery.
Stirring occasionally cook for 5 minutes or until the onions begin brown.
Add the raw ground beef, and continue to cook on medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until meat begins to brown and is cooked about 3/4 of the way through.
If you are using Trifecta Meal Prep. crumble 4 Trifecta Beyond Meat patties and cook for 3 minutes.
Once the meat and vegetables have browned, add in the spices and roasted red peppers and cook for 1 minute until aromatic and stir to combine.
Continue to cook on medium-high heat and add beef stock to release any of the brown bits stuck to the pan, then stir in the diced tomatoes; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer cook for 20 minutes.
Feel free to substitute the dice tomatoes for ¼ cup tomato paste or ½ cup tomato sauce if you don’t have diced tomatoes.
At this point, you can add in a cup of cauliflower rice to help thicken the chili or any additional vegetables like Trifecta Broccoli or Trifecta Mixed Vegetables for extra flavor and nutrition.
Season with orange juice or apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt or pepper is desired then dig in!
Pro tip: If you like a thick chili you can also stir in a cornstarch slurry. 2 tablespoons cornstarch blended with 3 tablespoons of liquid.
You'll love making this keto chili in advance as the flavor often gets better after sitting for a day in the fridge! Portion out your chili into 1 cup serving sizes and reheat in the microwave for two and a half minutes when ready to eat. It helps to give it a good stir halfway through the reheating process to make sure it is heated all the way through.
Here are a few other tips for this meal prep dish:
Chili makes for a great main meal or can be added to a variety of recipes to add more versatility to your meal prep for the week. Here are some keto-friendly pairings to try:
If you’re adding this great recipe to your weekly keto meal prep, remember you can cross-utilize the ingredients! Use this ground meat as a filling for low-carb tacos or prep extra vegetables for the week.
Following a keto or low-carb diet has its challenges, so we've put together plenty of resources to support you in your wellness journey:
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