This 30 Minute Low Carb Beef Chili is packed with chili flavor without the carbs! By leaving the beans out of this keto chili, you can enjoy it on any low carb diet. Plus with under 300 calories and 7 Weight Watchers SmartPoints, it’s a guilt free way to enjoy chili. This Easy Turkey Chili and Low Carb Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili are also delicious chili options.
Low carb beef chili is one of my favorite things to make ahead of time for fast and hearty weekday lunches. Not only do I enjoy it as a dish on its own, I also love adding low carb chili to leftover spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, and mashed butternut squash. This version stays low carb by eliminating the beans and adding some veggies instead. I usually stick to lower calorie vegetables like zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, or cauliflower. You could also use butternut squash depending on how you daily carb limit.
This recipe always freezes well. To make for easy portions, I usually freeze my chili in a large silicon ice cube tray or in a parchment lined jumbo muffin tin. Fill each one with chili and then place in the freezer for at least four hours. Once everything is frozen, you can pop them into a ziploc bag and pull out individual portions from the freezer. You can reheat them in the microwave or a small sauce pan.
Lastly, you can’t talk about chili without talking about the toppings. If you are following a low carb diet, you will want to stick to low carb options like shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, green onion, diced onion, or pork rinds.
Is this a keto beef chili recipe?
The keto diet usually focused on low carb, high fat, medium protein recipes with many people aiming to eat less than 20 grams of carbs daily. This low carb chili recipe clocks in with only 12 grams of carbs per serving, but you may want to make some adjustments to make it a truly keto chili. First off, many people on keto diets, try to avoid tomatoes. If you want to use less tomatoes, you could replace the diced tomatoes with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and add an extra 1.5 cups of beef broth. You can also use 80-85% ground beef instead of the lean beef. Lastly, you could add in a few slices of chopped bacon at the beginning to add extra fat and flavor.
What about Atkins? Is this an Atkins chili recipe?
This chili works great for any one following an Atkins diet. It contains ingredients that are allowed on Atkins and has only 8 grams of net carbs. For those wondering, net carbs is calculated by subtracting grams dietary fiber from grams of carbohydrates.
Can I make a low carb slow cooker beef chili?
Definitely! The best way to cook this chili in the crockpot is to saute the onions, garlic, peppers, and ground beef as directed. Then add that to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients, except the zucchini. Cook it on low for 4-8 hours. During this time the flavors will deepen. Add the zucchini about 30 minutes before it finished cooking so that it doesn’t overcook.
How can I make a low carb turkey chili?
You can easily swap in ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork for the beef in this recipe. If you are looking to make a keto or Atkins chili, choose a dark meat turkey. For a lower calorie or more Weight Watchers friendly recipe, use 99% lean ground turkey. In fact this is a zero point recipe if you use 99% lean ground turkey or chicken.
What other vegetables can I use in this chili? Are beans low carb?
There are all kinds of vegetables that you can use to make a low carb chili. This recipe calls for zucchini but I also love to make it with mushrooms, cauliflower, and turnips. These are all great bean replacements since beans aren’t low carb. If you absolutely don’t want to give up the beans, you could opt for a lower carb bean like a black soy bean. I tastes similar to black beans but has significantly fewer carbs.
Here are some of the products I used when making this recipe.
- Slow Cooker: There are so many different slow cookers on the market but I personally use this one that allows me to brown, sear, or saute in the same pan. Plus I find the cooking temperature to be really even and consistent.