Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili is a uniquely delicious chili that starts out sweet, then delivers a spicy kick!
Glenn is a business partner of my husband Jack – and he recently told Jack that he makes a ‘killer’ chili! We’re always up for trying new recipes, and today we’re sharing Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili.
Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili is unlike any chili we’ve eaten before! One bite into it – and it starts out quite sweet thanks to the addition of brown sugar, plus some bourbon and brown sugar-flavored canned baked beans. Then a very spicy kick takes over – and your taste buds won’t know what hit them! (In a good way of course!)
The texture of this chili is also perfect – and it’s loaded with a mix of hot Italian sausage, bison (which you can find in most supermarkets these days) and ground beef, plus beans, bell pepper and onions.
Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili is also super easy to make in the slow cooker, and I tell you – it is addictive and you’ll keep going back for more! Glenn also says that serving this chili with shredded cheddar cheese on top, and Saltine crackers on the side is a must – so we stayed true to his recipe.
You can, of course, adjust the spiciness and the sweetness levels by adding in less of the red pepper flakes and less brown sugar than is called for in the recipe. But either way, you’ve got to try this unique and delicious sweet & spicy chili!
Award Winning Chili!
Update: Since we posted this recipe, we’ve had a number of readers write to us to tell us that they used this recipe as an entry in their local chili cook-offs – and they won! Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili really is something special – and we keep telling Glenn that he needs to bottle and sell it!
Give it a try and let us know if you agree!
You may like these other Chili recipes:
PrintGlenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili
Glenn’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chili is a uniquely delicious chili that starts out sweet, then delivers a spicy kick!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large orange bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups sweet onions such as Vidalia, diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 pound Italian hot sausage, removed from casing
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1 pound ground bison (pre-packaged and available in most supermarkets)
- 2 6–ounce cans tomato paste
- 1 15–ounce can tomato sauce (Glenn recommended Contadina so we used that brand)
- 1 16–ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 22–ounce can Bush’s Grillin’ Beans (Bourbon and Brown Sugar)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (or less for less heat)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less for less heat)
- Juice from one lime
- Shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
- Saltine Crackers to serve with chili (Glenn says this is a must)
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, melt butter in two tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
- Add bell pepper, onions and garlic and sauté for 8-10 minutes to caramelize the vegetables.
- Pour this into a large slow cooker.
- Heat the pan to medium high and add the remaining oil.
- Add sausage meat, ground beef and ground bison meat and cook until meat has browned.
- Scrape all of this into the slow cooker with the vegetables.
- Then add all other ingredients to the slow cooker except the lime, cheddar and crackers.
- Stir, cover and set slow cooker to low and cook for five hours.
- Stir after five hours and add lime juice into the cooked chili.
- To serve, dish out into bowls, top with cheddar cheese and serve with the saltine crackers.
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I won my chili cook off at work with this recipe! First time ever making it-it was a hit! 🙂 thanks so much
Congrats Amy!!!
I have made this a couple of times. So delish!
Thanks Chantal!
I’d love to make this but no one in our fam likes kidney beans! Could a different type, i.e. pinto, be used instead? Thanks!
Sure Margo!
Thank you Martha! I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!
The best chili I have ever made. I’m not a big fan of chili but this looked good so I made it. It is delicious! The spicy/sweet combo is perfect. I won an office wide chili cook off with this recipe!
So glad to hear the chili was a hit! (I’ll be sure to tell our friend Glenn that another reader won a chili cookoff with his recipe!)
Best chili recipe I’ve ever come across.
I’ve been making this for several years now.
Starts out sweet, then you taste the heat.
Great combination of flavors.
I also add a can of chick peas; only because I like them.
Thanks Terry!
The best chili
Thanks Denise!
Won 2 Chilli cook offs with this recipe. One of best recipes ever
Thanks Dan – I’ll be sure to tell Glenn!
This chili was amazing!!! Such a unique flavor with the smokiness of the bourbon beans and the sweetness of the brown sugar. Multiple request for the recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome Kim – Glad the recipe was a hit!
I am in Australia and dying to make this recipe BUT our product selection is obviously very different to yours. Is there a meat I can substitute Bison with? Also Grillin Beans? We have baked beans which come in a sauce, is that something similar? I do have a Bourbon grill sauce I can add.
Hi Theresa – You can swap in more ground beef, or plain ground pork (not sausage pork) for the Bison. The Grillin Beans are sweetened/flavored baked beans in a can – similar to baked beans in a sauce, but the sauce has brown sugar and bourbon in it. I think adding some of your Bourbon grill sauce (and maybe some brown sugar too?) is a great adaptation if the Bush’s Grillin Beans aren’t available. Hope you enjoy the recipe!