Easy Keto Chili Recipe filled with Southwest flavors, tender ground beef and plenty of diced vegetables can have dinner on the table in a flash thanks to your Instant Pot. And, yes! This recipe is great in the slow cooker as well.
Who said Chili can't fit into your Keto diet plan? We've taken one of our family's favorite recipes for chili and made it low carb with no beans. Then, we boosted the ground beef and vegetables and tossed it in the Instant Pot for an easy weeknight dinner idea.
Can you eat Chili on a Keto Diet?
Yes and no. Most chili recipes have beans and beans are not Keto friendly. There are also other ingredients that are higher in carbs and do not fit into a low carb diet such as tomato juice and spice mixes that contain starches and sugars. Some recipes call for flour or corn meal to thicken chili, these are not keto friendly.
BUT, if you choose a recipe that does not have beans, like Authentic Texas Chili or Chili con Carne, you can make a flavorful, Keto friendly chili.
What can I substitute for beans in Keto Chili?
Tips to make your favorite chili recipe Keto friendly-
It is very easy to remove the beans from a chili recipe but, you have to ask yourself, "What do I add in place of beans?" Extra meat? more onion?
Try these ingredients as a substitute for beans or come up with ideas of your own.
- Mushrooms
- Winter squashes such as diced butternut squash, turban squash, or Hubbard Squash
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Black soy beans
How to reduce carbs in chili
- Red Chili Puree-trade tomato sauce or tomato paste for red chili puree. Click here Red Chile Puree (affiliate link) to see one of the brands I use. Notice that the ingredient list is ONLY Hatch chile, water, lime juice, garlic and salt. The carb count is 5 carbs for an eyelash under ½ cup. There are other brands that have only chile and water.
- Chili Seasoning Mix- If you use a pre-packaged seasoning mix, be sure to check the ingredients list. There can be hidden sugars and starches in the packet (ie: corn starch, flour, glucose, etc...). You can make your own mix with no added carbs.
- Onions- onions are a delicious part of most chili recipes but, they can throw off your keto diet if used in large amounts. So, when you increase the veggies in your chili, be mindful of increasing the onions too much. White onions tend to be lower in carbs and stay away from pearl onions that are among the highest.
Ingredients for this Keto Chili Recipe
- Olive oil
- White or yellow onion
- Red pepper
- Celery
- fresh garlic (1 clove)
- Ground Beef (may use ground chicken, turkey, pork or tofu)
- Chili powder (your favorite chili powder mix that has cumin included)
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper
- 1 can (14 oz) fire roasted, diced tomatoes
- 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- beef broth
- tomato paste (2 tablespoons)
- Sea salt or kosher salt
- Bay leaves
- Fresh parsley, chopped
How to cook Keto Chili in the Instant Pot
- Turn the Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker to sear.
- Pour one tablespoon of oil into pot to coat the bottom.
- Sauté the onion, red pepper, celery until they begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour in remaining oil and stir in the spices into the mixture. Cook 1 to 2 minutes to develop the flavors.
- Add ground beef and sauté until browned and crumbled. Drain excess fat, if desired.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients (fire roasted tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, salt and bay leaves), mix well.
- Save the Parsley until the keto chili is done.
Garnishes and Side Dishes
Finding Keto Friendly garnishes and side dishes can be a challenge. Here are a few ideas that yummy with chili.
Keto Friendly Garnishes-
- Dollup of full fat sour cream or drizzle of Mexican crema
- Spoonful of full fat greek yogurt, whipped cottage cheese (full fat) or coconut cream give that creamy, tangy flavor with a few less carbs than sour cream.
- Grated cheddar cheese or hard cheese such as cotjja cheese ( a hard, salty Mexican cheese similar to parmesan cheese but, not as funky.
- Sliced green onions or finely diced white onions.
- Avocado slices
Keto friendly side dishes for your keto chili recipe-
It's hard to think of a warm bowl of keto chili without a slice of cornbread. It's time tho think outside the bowl!
- Serve chili along the side of spaghetti squash. Yes, I said it, "think outside the bowl."
- Vegetable "zoodles" for an even faster version of side dish. Zucchini and Butternut Squash zoodles are available at most grocery stores.
- Spoon chili over crunchy ice burg lettuce and garnish as desired. I also spoon my family's favorite meat sauce for spaghetti over crunchy lettuce while my family eats pasta.
- 3 to 5 count them... no more than 5 thin, salty corn chips (I check the back of the package to make sure how many chips equal 5 (or so) carbs,
- Keto Cornbread Mix of you choice. (affliate link)
- Keto Crackers or Chips of your choice (affiliate link) check them out, there are some really great ones.
Instant Pot and Electric Pressure Cooker Recommendations-
If you haven't taken the dive and gotten an electric pressure cooker yet, here are a few recommended models to consider-
- Instant Pot 6 qt Stainless Steel Electric Pressure Cooker -I use this relatively basic model that is budget friendly. I couldn't find it on Amazon but, I did find it on Home Depot and Target's Website.
- Instant Pot Pro - is a newer model with lots of user friendly features
- Ninja Foodie Smart XL with Thermometer - Great new technology that has a thermometer that tells you what is going on inside the pressure cooker. It is a little out of my price range but, I have heard great things about it from my "foodie" friends.
- Crock-pot Express Easy Release 6qt Multi Cooker- My friends say this one comes to temperature very quickly and more quietly than other pressure cookers.
Keto Chili Recipe in Instant Pot
This Easy Keto Chili Recipe with No Beans is loaded with Southwest flavor. We have taken out the beans and boosted the veggies but we kept the Southwest flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoon Vegetable or Olive Oil, divided
- ½ Cup Onion, diced
- 1 Red pepper, diced
- ½ Cup celery sliced
- 1 Clove of garlic, minced
- 1 Lb Grass-fed lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 14oz Can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 14 oz Can crushed tomatoes
- ½ Cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- Pinch of Sea salt
- 2 Bay leaves
- ¼ Cup Parsley, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into the Instant Pot and turn to saute mode. Add the onion, pepper, celery and garlic and sauté until they begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the remaining oil and lean ground beef. Ccok until it begins to turn brown, about 3-4 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
- Add the seasonings and cook until the beef is browned and crumbled, about 3-4 additional minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, and mix until well combined. Cover with the Instant Pot lid and turn the knob to sealing. Set to cook on manual mode at high pressure for 10 minutes.
- After it’s finished cooking, allow the steam to release naturally. (Until the pin drops down to indicate its fully released).
- Remove the lid and turn on thesaute feature. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the chili thickens up a bit.
- Add in the chopped parsley and serve warm.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 257Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 67mgSodium 414mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 4gSugar 7gProtein 25g
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