Crockpot venison chili is a healthy recipe with deer meat you’ll love. Add dry or canned beans to make this hearty dinner packed with protein and flavor. Homemade from scratch, this is a delicious protein to use.
So you made our Venison Meatloaf Recipe but have some left so now you are wondering how to make chili with this meat. This is killer I tell you, even my kids love it. If you’re a hunter you might have a lot of this on hand, you can buy a package of it at the store too though. (affiliate links present)
Slow Cooker Deer Meat Chili we make rather often with ground meat or slices of Venison Sausage. We are in Idaho which means that deer season is between August and December. If you got lucky last year and have some in your deep freezer you might want something beyond stew at this point (though that is good). Boy do we have a treat for you.
Yes I make our Instant Pot chili all the time. It’s super cheap, a dump and go meal, but low and slow is honestly best when it comes to this Southern dish. The sauce and flavors get more of a chance to meld and soak together for the most flavorful bites possible.
Ingredient Notes
As you can see with ground venison is usually less fat than if you bought a package of 80/20 at the store. That means it will cook up faster and not be as bland as it’s cheaper counterpart. If you are new to cooking with it you shouldn’t be scared though. Start with ground and move on to bite size pieces, and then later you’ll feel more comfortable with a steak.
I like to use freshly diced yellow or white Onions into the mix with this meal in general, doesn’t matter whether I make our 5 ingredient Crockpot Chili with this meat or another.
You will want a bit of olive oil or avocado oil to brown the venison with the onions so it is no longer pink before adding. When prepping your venison chili recipe you always need to precook meat at least halfway before slow cooking.
Crushed tomatoes can be found canned. They are more mashed than diced tomatoes which gives this meal a good smoother texture. You could use the other though, I would suggest petite sized if so.
Canned kidney beans are way easier but any beans will do. If you are from Texas you may be of the “no beans” family so I suppose they are optional but a must for us.
As for seasonings they can be changed, omitted or added more of depending on your preferences. Chili powder or cayenne pepper will add a bit of spicy kick to the dish. Chopped garlic would be fantastic if you had it on hand, garlic powder works too.
Beef bone broth homemade or beef broth is way better than just using water for the liquid element necessary, same goes for when we make venison stroganoff too..
Optional When Serving
I like to add “all the things” to the top when serving to add a bit of coolness like a dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese. Some like freshly diced onions or a bit of greenery like diced parsley. If you feel you need a side, go for some rolls!
Venison Chili Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
- 1 pan for sauteing meat
Ingredients
- 1 pound venison, ground
- 1 medium onion, yellow, diced
- 2 cans beans, chili beans, 15 oz each
- 1 can tomatoes, crushed, 28 oz.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp basil
- 1 cup corn, frozen, optional
- 28 oz beef broth, or water
Instructions
- In a skillet, brown venison and diced onions until it is lightly browned on outside.
- Dump contents into a slow cooker with all of your seasonings, mix together to coat. Dump in chili beans and crushed tomatoes.
- Fill tomato can with water or beef broth and pour into slow cooker, add corn now if desired, stir everything together.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours until beans are more tender as desired.
- Top with cheese and more diced onions and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What spices are good on deer meat?
Bay leaves, rosemary and sage work well with Ground Venison Recipes from us every week. Some think it tastes a bit gamey, meaning that it has a strong flavor so stronger seasonings are suggested to tame that down a bit. Cooking it with low heat for a longer duration will help marry all of it together well, and make it quite tender at the same time.
What can I do with fresh deer meat?
If you are making a venison stew with it would cut it into smaller pieces, and braise the pieces before add it into the pot. This will get rid of some of the blood and fat. Adding onions, garlic and bacon with Venison Cube Steak will tame the more intense flavors of this type of meat, and are a great add into that meal anyway.
Follow these same tips if you make any of our other stew meat recipes using this instead of beef. If you have it ground by the butcher it will cook up more similar to any of our eas ground beef recipes EXCEPT for the fact that it is much leaner. SO you may need to add some olive oil to moisten things up.
When done we usually serve this on a bed of Ninja Foodi rice (if you haven’t tried it it’s our go to method) with shredded cheese on top. OR just ladle it into bowls with freshly diced onions on top and go with that. 😉
FAQ
Yes, you can cook similarly in many recipes, but there are some differences to keep in mind due to the fact that it is much leaner and often gamey flavor; you may want to add seasonings with the meat to tone down the flavor, be careful not to cook too long and dry it out (it doesn’t need long)
Venison ground meat should be cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160° F. If you had a really large pot you could easily double this for a large get together. There are only 4 of us left at home so I typically use my 6 quart for this. I will say that chili is by far the best Super Bowl meal to make. It is super duper cheap, feeds a crowd and everyone loves it.
Cooking Tips
If you are serving this for a brunch or event where people are eating for a number of hours just leave it on warm once it is done. It won’t hurt anything for an additional 2-3 hours this way, in fact it will make the flavors even better. With another slow cooker you could make a batch of Crockpot cornbread for a side dish.
If you have kids or someone who is sensitive to anything spicy you might want to leave the chili seasonings out and just add those later on. I am all about mild chili but my husband and daughter like it more medium/hot so that has been the best way to adjust things for everyone.
How to save leftovers
Once you are all done consuming your slow cooker venison chili you need to cool it down completely before storing it. Once it is room temperature ladle it into containers that are about what you would heat up in one serving. It will last 3-4 days in your fridge. If you don’t think you’ll eat it before then then freeze it. Then make cowboy cornbread casserole with it!
You can use freezer bags or airtight containers to do this. Mark the date you did this and reheat within 3 months for best results. Allowing it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator is best, then pour into a microwave safe bowl for about 2 minutes stirring halfway thru. Or reheat on a pot on the stovetop. Print recipe below and let us know what you think!
