Home » Recipes » Dish Type » » Slow Cooker Momma’s Roadhouse Chili
4.50 from 2 votes
by Gale Compton
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Published: October 1, 2012 Last Updated: March 17, 2021
Momma's spicy chili recipe made healthy.
Our top-rated Momma’s Roadhouse Chili makes for a fantastic dinner on a busy weeknight! It’s a classic chili, packed with meat and beans that fill you up on a frigid winter’s night. It’s an easy chili recipe that requires little prep time. Just brown the meat and toss all ingredients in the slow cooker. It’s that simple. This chili version was created from an old family recipe that used sausage instead of ground turkey. We’ve included our recipe for spicy sausage if you’d like to try the original version.
4.50 from 2 votes
Slow Cooker Momma's Roadhouse Chili
With little prep time and exquisite taste, this slow cooker chili recipe will make your momma proud.
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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 8 hours hours
Total Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Yield 8 people
Serving Size 1.5 cups
Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine Universal
Author Gale Compton
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Ingredients
US Customary - Metric
- 1 pound lean ground turkey about 93% lean (optional, lean ground chicken or beef)
- 1 sweet onion small
- 30 ounces kidney beans canned, drained
- 15 ounces black beans canned, drained
- 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes canned
- 6 ounces tomato paste canned
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup tomato juice or veggie juice
- 3 cups water for a thicker chili, use 2 1/2 cups
Instructions
Cook turkey and onion in a skillet on medium heat, breaking up into small chunks. Cook until no longer pink. Drain off fat and discard.
Add cooked meat and all other ingredients to slow cooker, cook on low 6-8 hours. 4-6 quart slow cooker recommended. Add diced onions and cheddar cheese, if desired.
Notes
If you prefer spicier chili use our recipe for Turkey Sausagein place of using just ground turkey.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 671mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g |
SmartPoints (Freestyle): 7
Keywords Budget-Friendly, Kid-Friendly, Slow Cooker
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Gale Compton
Gale co-founded SkinnyMs. with a goal to provide women with delicious recipes, fitness routines, and ways to reach their ideal weight. Gale has been featured on the Today Show in which she won a cook off for the best Lasagna. Be sure to search for her winning recipe, Skinny Lasagna Rolls.
Guided by her firm belief in healthy eating and the power of exercise, Gale has written two cookbooks and several fitness ebooks. She earned her Fitness Training Certification from, National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association. Gale loves to run with her dog Maggie and has completed numerous half-marathons.
More by Gale
Beans Budget Friendly Chili Powder Diced Tomatoes Ground Turkey Kidney Beans Onion Red Pepper Flakes Tomato Juice Tomato Paste Turkey Turkey Chili
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Made this last night! Delicious and even better tonight!
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Susan, GREAT! I agree with you…better the second night. 🙂
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This is a great recipe…everyone that got a taste of it loved it! Thanks for sharing.
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I'll let Momma know! 🙂
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My family and I love this recipe!
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Weight Watcher Points Plus = 6 instead of 5
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Jeanne, Thanks for letting us know…got that backwards! I must have been falling asleep when I calculated the points. lol 🙂
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This is gonna go good while watching football. So easy – who says healthy has to be hard or boring. thanks.
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Love this recipe!! My family loves chili and this is smart chili!!!
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chili is a fall staple in our house…..everyone loves this!!!! Even the kids!!!
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Delicious! Always on the lookout for good chili recipes. One of the best parts of fall.
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Yum, thank you for the recipe, can't wait to cook this
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I have some awesome chili recipes but this is my favorite! My husband and kids devour it every time!
I usually make this in my slow cooker, LOVE IT! I'm short on time….any way to make it stove top?
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Monica, Sure…just add all the ingredients to a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook about 1-2 hours.
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Mine is in crockpot now and smells delish. I didn't have black beans so I used Kidney and Canelli. Can't wait to try it.
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Micky, I do that all the time. How’d it turn out?
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This was so good! Made it for dinner tonight and it's gone. My kids, ages 5 and 3, loved it!! Thank you! Better than my old recipe and healthier too. 🙂
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Can you freeze leftover chili in a container for later?
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Raelyn, Yes…allow to cool to room temp before freezing.
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Yes, chili freezes really well for up to 4 months.
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Made this chili last night for dinner this evening. LOVED IT! My kids totally loved it! I loaded several of your recipes and grocery lists! Made shopping a breeze!
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Tracey, Thanks so much. We’re working on an app now, should make shopping even easier! 🙂
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Chili is one of my favorite meals in the winter. We had a few friends over last weekend so I thought I would try your recipe and I have to say it was a big hit. It was so good, everyone wanted the recipe. Thanks, well done!
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Thank you!
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made this yesterday and everyone loved it!
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Hi there is this very spicy? I have young children who don't tolerate food that is too spicy. Cheers
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Katie, If you omit the cayenne pepper it is not too spicy at all. Add half of the chili powder, and allow to cook for half of the time. Add the additional chili powder if necessary.
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I make this recipe at least once a month and my entire family LOVES it. Did this recipe change in the last few weeks? What happened to the sage and oregano that you add to the turkey? Also, I don't remember tomato or veggie juice in the recipe. Thanks.
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Carolyn, Are you thinking of our Slow Cooker Texas Chili https://skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-texas-chili/?
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No. It was definitely Momma's Roadhouse Chili. I just used this recipe last month. You added sage, oregano, and pepper to the turkey and onion. I make it enough that I have it committed to memory. I just like to check the recipe to make sure I don't forget anything 🙂
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Carolyn, You are correct. Yes, we did change it but just added the recipe for our turkey sausage, which is what was there before. You just needs to go here https://skinnyms.com/skinny-breakfast-sausage/ to get the exact recipe for the ground turkey. Hope that helps:).
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Thank you!
I think this recipe has been updated. The last recipe had you rub the spices, including oregano, sage, ground cumin (I think) into the ground meat, before cooking the meat. So disappointed this has been changed. It was certainly a favourite and I have no copy.
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Melissa, It has been updated, but the same seasoned ground turkey or ground beef can still be used if you follow our Skinny Breakfast Sausage recipe: https://skinnyms.com/skinny-breakfast-sausage/.
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SOOOOO yummy! Thanks for the recipe! I used this for one of my meal prep recipes this week and it is delicious and freezes really well. I like mine to have a little kick so i added diced jalepenos and used hot mexican chili powder. This is my new go to chili recipe!!!
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I made this today in the crock pot….yummy!!
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Cherie, Great! This was my mom's recipe with some tweaks. My all time favorite. 🙂 Thanks for the feedback.
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Can I cook this on high in the crockpot for less time?
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Margaret, Yes, on high cook in the slow cooker for about 4 hours.
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I am making it tonight for the first time.I am cooking it on high for 4 hrs..it has an hour to go. I tasted it and it has a spicy kick…With all the posts stating children love it I guess I did not expect it to be spicy hot….Can’t wait to have it for dinner tomorrow..we will let you know how we like it
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Joan, YAH!!! If you think it’s too spicy for the kids, try one of these tricks for toning down the “heat”:
– add a little yogurt, sour cream, or milk to their bowls of chili
OR
– add a touch of honey to individual bowlsReply
Loved it! Will be my new favorite chili!
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Joan, YAH!!! Mine too. 🙂
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I put this recipe into my food tracker and the calories don’t add up to what is here. It is significantly more than listed. Did this recipe have one can of kidney beans at one time? That’s the only way I could get the calories to add up to what’s listed here.
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Charley, The serving amounts/yield was wrong in the data but has been corrected. This recipe yields 8, 1-1/2 cup servings for 253 calories per serving and 7 SP.
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do you i need to add the tomato juice or veggir juice?
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Hi Michelle,
You can use tomato or vegetable juice. Which ever you prefer. The juice is added with all the ingredients to the slow cooker at the beginning of the recipe.
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Is it 16 or 6 oz can of tomato paste? It has an x symbol on my phone. I originally read six so bought six but am now looking to make it and don’t want to mess it up
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Corrie, 6 ounce can. 🙂
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Thanks! Its super watery though. I followed all the directions so I am not sure why?
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Hi Corrie! For a thicker chili you can reduce the amount of water. Try using 2 or 2 1/2 cups next time!
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Hi Gale and SkinnyMs friends,
Is there a vegetarian version of this chilli. Im doing the 6week emergency makeover.
Im getting married in October and just got back from a mini holiday in Eataly!
Would love to hear from youCANDICE
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Hi Candice,
Sure do. Check out this recipes https://skinnyms.com/?s=vegetarian+chili. I would recommend making this recipe but adding 1 cup uncooked lentils in place of meat. YUMMY!
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