Looking for an easy recipe for your next holiday party? This Cheesy Chili Bean Dip is easy to make, it’s naturally gluten-free and you won’t feel guilty if you  “accidentally” eat the whole bowl by yourself.

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There are many advantages to blogging with your mother. The biggest advantage is that whenever I want my mom’s recipe for something (homemade croutons, pie crust, or no-bake pudding pies for example). I just have to log onto my own blog and look it up! I honestly do this on a regular basis.

Mother-Daughter Team

Another advantage is we are constantly bouncing blogging and new recipe ideas off of each other, which ultimately makes this blogging business much easier! So that’s how this recipe came about.

One day my mom called me up and said, “I found some cool orange and black corn chips. You need to create a dip to eat these with.”
Me, “uhh…. okay, sure.”
Mom, “Use black beans too.”
Me, “Okay.”

I mean honestly, who doesn’t love appetizers? An excuse for me to try out a new chip dip recipe and eat it all by myself!!! Yes please! (okay, okay I let my family eat some of it too!)

So besides the insistence suggestion from my mom to use black beans, I had a few other requirements I wanted for this dip.

1). Because I’m in the third trimester of my fourth pregnancy I wanted this dip to be healthy.
2). I wanted this dip to double as a meal (because mamma doesn’t have enough energy to cook an appetizer AND supper!) <- Another reason to make it healthy.
3). I’ve been craving chili…so there’s that too.

This is basically a modified version of how I make my Simple and Easy Crockpot Chili but I made it less soupy and more dippy (is that even a word?).

Ground Beef

I started with a pound of ground beef. Since I was having this double as supper I wanted it to have some protein. If you are making this as an appetizer to take to a party or event you could leave the ground beef out. After all, appetizers aren’t supposed to be the main, filling portion of the meal.

Onion & Pepper

Next, I chopped up an onion and bell pepper (yellow, that’s just what I had) and cooked those in the grease drippings from the meat. The bell pepper took longer to cook than the onion, so add it first and saute for a few minutes then add the onion. If you skipped the meat part you can saute the veggies in oil, butter, or a small amount of chicken broth.

Since I love using my crockpot I threw the meat and veggies in and set it on high for about 2 hours. This was long enough for the flavors to get hot and blend together. I also the mixture hot enough to melt/incorporate the brown sugar.

Finally, top with cheese, green onion, and sour cream (optional).

This recipe is so versatile. If you want it to be spicier add some cayenne pepper or jalapenos. If you want it to be sweeter add some more brown sugar and bit of cinnamon.

P.S. On the off chance that you have leftovers this works fantastic for making chili dogs or a topping for baked potatoes!!! (Ugh, I think that sentence just set off a new pregnancy craving!)

• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• small onion, finely chopped
• bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can chili beans, not drained
• 1 can tomatoes and green chilies, drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp Chili powder
• pinch of Cinnamon

1. Cook meat and remove from pan
2. Add pepper and onion and saute until tender
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and the cooked meat and vegetables to the crockpot.
4. Cook on low for 2 hours.

Top with:

• Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Green onions

Cheesy Chili Bean Dip

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can chili beans, not drained
• 1 can tomatoes and green chilies, drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp Chili powder
• pinch of Cinnamon
• Toppings:
• Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Green onions

Instructions

1. Cook meat and remove from pan
2. Add pepper and onion and saute until tender
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and the cooked meat and vegetables to the crock pot.
4. Cook on low for 2 hours

Notes

This recipe is so versatile. If you want it to be spicier add some cayenne pepper or jalapenos. If you want it to be sweeter add some more brown sugar and bit of cinnamon.

Remember to Pin It! 

Do you like sweet or spicy chili?

Anna

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