Texas Style Keto Chili Recipe (2024)

This super easy keto friendly low carb chili is bursting with flavor! Enjoy it mild, or spice it up with more peppers. Prep takes only minutes, and you can make it on the stove, in a slow cooker, or in an Instant Pot.

From the first cool breeze in the fall through the dead of winter, you’ll find me making soups and stews. I love how satisfying they are and they way they warm you up. Plus, they are so easy to make!

But this low carb chili may just be my favorite. Actually, my whole family loves it!

It's been a popular recipe on this blog for several years. Everyone seems to love this hearty, flavorful, dish.

Prep is quick and easy. You simply brown the beef, drain it, then add the rest of the ingredients. That’s it! And you can choose to make it on the stove top, in a slow cooker, or in an Instant Pot.

Low carb chili modifications

Personally, I like my chili seasoning mix to be a bit spicy. Not burning hot, just a bit of a kick. So for me, the amount of peppers used was perfect.

However, if you don’t like spicy food, feel free to adjust. Anyone that doesn’t like spice should probably stay away from hot peppers.

I also like to include black olives to add flavor as well as healthy fat. But please note that they are completely optional! Some people really don’t enjoy black olives. If that’s you, just omit them or add in some chopped veggies like zucchini.

However you customize this keto chili, you can be sure it will warm you up and satisfy!

Step by step instructions

You can choose to make the dish on the stove, in a slow cooker, or in your Instant Pot. Each method will turn out hearty and flavorful.

• Brown the ground beef. This can be done in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat or in an Instant Pot on the sauté setting.

• Chop the peppers and the onions. You can do this as the meat cooks to save time. When chopping your hot peppers, I highly recommend wearing gloves to prevent the juice from getting on your skin. Also be very careful not to get any juice near your eye. I speak from personal experience on that one!
• Drain the fat from the ground beef. Once browned, you can spoon off any excess liquid, but you may want to keep the fat in the chili.
• Add water, vegetables, tomato paste, and seasonings to the meat. Combine the ingredients together in the pot.

• Cook slowly to blend the flavors. First you'll bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally.

You can also cook this keto chili in an Instant Pot or slow cooker . Those instructions are provided in the printable recipe card further down.

Chili with the lowest carb count

The exact nutritional value will always depend on the ingredients you use. Especially in a recipe like this one, where the size of ingredients like peppers may vary.

For precise macros, I recommend weighing and inputting your ingredients into a macro tracker. But out of all my low carb chili recipes, this one has the least amount of carbs.

With the ingredients I used, a 1 cup serving came out to 7 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fiber. This means there's about 5 grams of net carbs per 1 cup serving.

Carbs in black olives

As I mentioned before, black olives are entirely optional in this recipe. Olives tend to be very hit or miss for people. If they’re a miss for you, just leave them out.

If you enjoy olives though, they are a great source of fat and flavor in this chili. They are also very low carb.

This recipe calls for 2.25 oz (about 67 grams) of black olives. That comes out to 4 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fiber. So there are 2 grams of net carbs from black olives in the entire recipe.

Per 1 cup serving, black olives only account for 0.3 grams of net carbs.

What types of chili are keto?

Traditional chili is usually not keto friendly.

Tomato products tend to be higher in carbs. They are fine in moderation, but most traditional chili recipes call for a larger quantity. This contributes to the higher carb count.

You’ll also find beans in many recipes. Beans are a cheap filler that take up space and increase the carb count.

And, of course, many traditional recipes include sugar. Which we definitely don’t want on a ketogenic eating plan.

This keto chili recipe, on the other hand, doesn’t call for sugar or beans. It also uses tomatoes in moderation.

Thanks to a few substitutions, one serving comes out to only 5 net carbs. So this recipe is perfect for any low carb diet!

Other recipes to try

Looking for a few more delicious low carb chili recipes to warm you up on a cold day? Check out a few of these other favorites:

• No Bean Chili uses diced tomatoes and plenty of protein-rich meat to fill you up. A mix of peppers gives a moderate amount of spice.
• Paleo White Chicken Chili is a thick, hearty soup that’s packed with flavor, totally dairy free, and can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
• Turkey Pumpkin Chili made in the slow cooker is super filling and perfect for warming up on a cool fall day!
• Venison Chili is a rich, hearty dish made with ground meat, bacon, veggies, and healthy beef bone broth.
• Slow Cooker Turkey Chili No Beans is a healthy recipe made without beans that’s low carb and full of flavor!

For another Instant Pot recipe, take a look at this easy chili verde. And be sure to check out my other keto Mexican recipes.

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Recipe

First Published: September 18, 2010... Last Updated: January 20, 2020