I’ve been on keto for over a year now. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed the health benefits and miss very few foods. That being said, early in my keto journey I knew I HAD to have a keto chili recipe. I thought it would be impossible. Some foods are just supposed to taste a certain way and I thought chili needed beans. Until now….
As a frugally minded Southerner, beans were a regular part of our weekly meal plan before keto. Red beans and rice, white beans and ham, black bean soup- all music to my ears! (Which was also their downside, lol!) But the thing that I have missed the most was chili. The smell of a pot of chili simmering in the fall air. Making a whole crockpot for the big game and praying it didn’t tip on the drive over. Chili; thick with beans, onions, tomatoes, seasonings, beef, and unfortunately carbs. I had successfully found keto-friendly swaps for so many bean dishes. I just knew there had to be a good keto chili. Read More
Try, Try Again, and Fail.
So of course, I searched “keto chili recipes”. Pinterest and Google each returned loads of keto chili recipes and I tried
I am NOT a food waster but one keto chili recipe I just couldn’t save, we did our best to eat what we could but the leftovers were abandoned in the fridge. They died a slow death and were resigned to the trash when they started growing fuzzies. I promise you, that happens very rarely happens in our home.
Everything IS Better in Texas… Maybe
I had about given up hope of finding a suitable keto chili, a thought that truly broke my heart! Then out of the blue, it occurred to me! Texans don’t even put beans in their chili! So I started searching for Texas chili recipes.
I discovered 2 things: Texas hates beans in their chili. And Texans like doing things the old fashioned way. Now I’m no stranger to doing things purely for tradition’s sake. However, in this case, traditional meant the unnecessarily difficult way. These home cooks were roasting and drying and peeling and grinding peppers like they thought they would surely be smite-ed by the Almighty himself if they didn’t…. or at least their neighbors would talk noise about them.
So I had found recipes that, with a few tweaks, could be made into keto chili…. but it would take me 3 days and 23 steps to make it. Srsly?!? So close, but not a winner in my book!
Goldilocks and the Keto Chili
Armed with the seasoning profile I had always used for chili and a few inventive ideas from reviewing dozens of classic Texas chili recipes, I headed back to the kitchen. Two failed attempts under my belt, I figured it would take a few more tries but I was determined. Amazingly, as I took a bite of my first renewed attempt I knew it! Finally, I had it!
My keto chili that was juuust right!
Honestly, it surprised me that it is so different from my pre-keto chili yet, somehow, it checked all the happy belly boxes I need chili to check. Plus, since it doesn’t have any keto swaps in it, this keto chili is sure to be a hit with your non-keto friends and family as well. Make this recipe and you will experience the pure bliss of being the MVP of this year’s Super Bowl party!.
Touchdown!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe!
Make sure you drop your email address below for recipes to be sent straight to your inbox. You will also receive my subscriber-exclusive weekly family-friendly keto meal plans in a couple of weeks when they roll out!
Keto Chili
Ingredients
- 3 lb Beef Roast (bottom round, chuck or other inexpensive cut)
- 1 can Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, divided
- 2 C Onions, diced ( 8oz )
- 14 oz can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 T Cumin
- 2 tsp Corriander
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Chipotle Powder (or your favorite pepper powder)
- Black Pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum
Instructions
- Place trivet into bottom of pressure cooker.(*See notes)
- Trim beef roast of major chunks of fat, reserving the largest chunks. Cut beef into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch chunks. Place into pressure cooker.
- Roughly chop 7 of the chipotle peppers and add them to the pressure cooker, along with 2 Tbsp of the adobo sauce from the chipotles peppers can.
- Add onions, tomatoes and the garlic, cumin, corriander, chili powder, salt, paprika, chipotle powder and black pepper to the pressure cooker.
- Stir ingredients well. Place reserved fat on top of meat mixture. (This gives the chili a great amount of flavor, don't skip this step!)
- Seal pressure cooker and cook for 1 hour on meat setting.
- Once it has finished cooking you can wait for it to depressurize naturally or place a towel over the pressure release valve and do a quick release.
- Remove fat chunks. Add xantham gum. Using back of a wooden spoon, press the beef against the side of the basin to shred.
- Serve, topped with your favorite chili toppings
Notes
*I HAVE NOT TESTED ALTERNATIVE METHODS But, if you don't have a pressure cooker you could do this recipe in a slow cooker until meat is very tender (About 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low). Alternatively, it could be done on the stove top. In a heavy bottomed pan, adding 32 oz beef broth with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and heat to a rapid simmer. Add water or additional broth, if needed. Cook about 2.5 hours or until meat can be shredded. These methods should work just as well, just not as quickly. If you use these methods please comment below, let me know how it worked out!
** The servings for this is set at a 15oz bowl- which is 3 full ladles at our house. That's a pretty big bowl of chili! This recipe would make more servings if y'all do smaller portions.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6** Serving Size: 15oz net wt.Amount Per Serving: Calories: 758Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 286mgSodium: 1016mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 75g
Nutritional information isn't always accurate due to variations in ingredients. Such as cut of meat or brand of chipotle peppers used for this recipe. I encourage you to calculate your own nutritional information to ensure accuracy for your macros.