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Keto Steak and Sausage Chili – a rich and hearty keto chili bursting with steak and sausage flavor that is naturally low carb, spicy, and full of meaty flavor!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Easy Low Carb Chili
This steak and sausage chili is seriously one of the most delicious recipes I’ve developed in a long, long time – it is hearty and meaty, really filling, but keto compliant since it is a totally beanless chili.
Even though there are no beans in this chili, it has a very similar texture to other chili thanks to the ground sausage and vegetables – and the hearty, beefy steak chunks are totally irresistible!
If you’re missing your favorite chili flavors because you’re not using beans in chili anymore, you’re going to absolutely love this easy keto chili dinner.
How To Make Keto Chili
This chili is simple and delicious, but we’re adding some modifications below to help make it perfect, every time you whip up a batch!
What Kind of Sausage to Use In Chili:
This keto steak and sausage chili has some different flavors – in part because I love to use slightly sweet ground breakfast sausage (regular Jimmy Dean flavor) in it.
I think adding ground sausage gives a rich flavor that isn’t overpowering in chili – much like beans!
It crumbles perfectly and has a similar shape and texture to beans in this chili, so it’s an easy swap for keto chili.
If you’d like to change it up, you can also add chorizo or ground italian sausage as well for a spicy and less sweet kick.
Instant Pot Modification
This recipe is great for beginner Instant Pot cooks, because it is pretty foolproof – the number one thing you need to remember is to make sure there is no burnt bits on the bottom of the instant pot after browning the meat and vegetables so that it can seal properly and come to pressure.
Quickly deglaze the base of the instant pot with stock before adding in all ingredients after browning to be sure the instant pot can seal properly.
- Add ground sausage to instant pot on medium (without the lid) and cook on medium high heat until crumbled and cooked through.
- Remove sausage from instant pot, do not drain fat.
- Add stew meat to pan and cook until browned on all sides.
- When meat has been browned, remove from pan and set aside with sausage.
- Stir in onions and let soften and lightly brown, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking.
- Stir in garlic, carrots, celery, and peppers.
- Cook until vegetables are soft, another 7 minutes.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, broth, beef, sausage.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the Chili/Beans setting and place the lid on the pot.
- Cook for 18 minutes.
- Release the pressure either manually or allow it to release naturally.
- Serve with assorted toppings.
Tips to Perfect Keto Chili and Recipe FAQs:
We’ve discovered a couple tips and tricks we like to suggest because we get a lot of questions about them, so if you’re troubleshooting your recipe or would like to change it up a bit, start here.
How to Freeze Keto Chili
This keto chili is great because it makes a big, hearty batch – that can easily be frozen and saved for later!
I like to make a big double batch when I make chili, so we can eat half of it, and pre-portion single servings that I can pop in the freezer and pull out whenever I need a hearty and comforting meal.
Reheat Frozen Chili
- Freeze in the smallest amount possible.
- For best results, add just the amount you will eat when reheating to a bag – it will freeze faster and thaw more evenly so there is less chance of freezer burn.
- Freeze in freezer-style plastic bags that can lay flat.
- This will help the chili to freeze
- Do not overfill bags.
- Let freeze flat to “set”.
- Keep in freezer less than three months.
- Let thaw naturally in refrigerator, and then simmer to reheat.
- Add up to 2 cups of water (slowly, add as you go) if chili is too thick when re-heated.
How to Thicken Keto Chili or Soup
Since tomato paste is usually used to thicken chili, but it is pretty high in carbs if you’re closely watching macros, I’m listing our favorite ways to thicken a keto chili or soup:
Keto Soup Thickeners
- Guar Gum
- Xantham gum
- Pureed Vegetables
- Finely ground nuts (I prefer walnuts for their texture in soups, they mimic ground beef well.)
Recipe FAQs
To make this keto chili in the slow cooker, brown steak, sausage, and vegetables lightly before adding to slow cooker (this is most important with the ground sausage – if you don’t brown it lightly, it can clump up into big balls when in the slow cooker).
Add meat and vegetables in, then liquids, and seasonings.
Let cook on high for 3-4 hours, until reduced and thickened.
Or cook on low for up to 6 hours, until chili has thickened, stew meat has softened, and chili is dark red.
Stew meat is fully cooked when it has reached over 135 degrees F with a digital thermometer, and ground beef is fully cooked at over 160 degrees F.
For this recipe, we will be cooking both past their minimum temperature for doneness and won’t be paying much attention to the temperature of the meat itself, rather keeping our chili bubbling hot, as we will go beyond the minimum temperature for food safety for the meat in this recipe.
This chili can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days or frozen for up to four months.
Easy Keto Dinner Ideas:
If you love this easy steak and sausage chili, you will love my other easy keto dishes!
Click each link to find the low carb printable recipes:
You can find our complete keto recipe archives here.
What to Serve With Keto Chili
Looking for the best side dishes to serve with keto chili?
We love serving this hearty main with Bacon Wrapped Cheddar and Garlic Jalapeno Poppers, Easy Keto Garlic Butter Rolls, Easy Air Fryer Broccoli , or one of our recent keto sides:
You can find our complete keto side dish recipe archives here.
Keto Steak and Sausage Chili Recipe
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Easy Keto Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 2 pounds stew meat, see note, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, choppeed
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp good quality sweet imported Hungarian paprika
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded/membranes removed, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 5 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add ground sausage to enameled dutch oven and cook on medium high heat until crumbled and cooked through.
- Remove sausage from pan, do not drain fat.
- Add stew meat to pan and cook until browned on all sides.
- When meat has been browned, remove from pan and set aside with sausage.
- Stir in onions and let soften and lightly brown, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking.
- Stir in garlic, carrots, celery, and peppers.
- Cook until vegetables are soft, another 7 minutes.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, broth, beef, sausage, and seasonings and turn heat to high.
- Bring chili to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until chili has thickened up slightly and reduced.
- If using an Instant Pot, turn the Instant Pot to the Chili/Beans setting and place the lid on the pot – cook for 18 minutes and release naturally or manually.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other Popular Sweet C’s Recipes:
If you love this easy keto chili, be sure to check out some of my other favorite popular recipes!
Tons of delicious meals the whole family will love – many are low carb and keto compatible!
I needed a good keto chili recipe and this one delivered!! This will be my new go-to recipe!
Such a delicious and hearty meal!