Easy CrockPot Cornbread Chili

For months the crock pot my mother gave me has sat lonely and sad, high on a shelf in the kitchen. I guess it just screamed “all day cooking” at me which was interpreted somewhere in my head as “ a lot of work.” Of course this couldn’t be farther from the truth for most crock-pot recipes. They’re actually really convenient. This CrockPot Cornbread Chili Casserole combines two family feel good staples into one simple recipe. The best part of this dish is that it needs minimal supervision so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time doing whatever you like.  This chili and cornbread recipe was adapted from Cooking Light cook book.

 CrockPot Chili Cornbread Recipe

You can make this chili and cornbread recipe personalized to fit your mood by using ground beef (traditional), ground turkey (lighter), or black beans (vegetarian).

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb ground turkey (or 1 lb ground beef or 1 can drained black beans)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced thin
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ jalepenos, undrained
• 1 (8 0z) can Mexicorn (optional)
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 3 sprigs of thyme (optional)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp hot sauce

Cornbread Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbls sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (8 1/2 oz) can cream-style corn

How To Make Chili With Cornbread Topping

Lightly grease the crock pot bowl and set on HIGH.

In a large skillet, brown turkey or beef and cook all the way through. Transfer to your crockpot.

In the crock pot, add onion, bell pepper, celery, beans, tomatoes, Mexicorn (optional), tomato sauce, chili powder, paprika, thyme (optional), salt, pepper and hot sauce. Combine with ground turkey and mix together well. Cook mixture on HIGH for approximately 2hrs. Or you can cook on LOW for about 4hrs if that timing works better for you. The goal is to get the base fairly thick and not runny so the cornbread mix wont sink down into the chili. (Above picture is chili with turkey meat, below is a vegetarian option. Just add black beans instead of meat.)

 In a medium bowl, mix together baking powder, cornmeal, flower, eggs, vegetable oil, and cream corn. Gently pour cornbread mixture on top of the cooked chili base.

Cook on HIGH 1.5-2 hrs or until corn bread is completely cooked. You can make sure it’s cooked by using the old tooth pick rule, or just digging in and praying it’s done like I do.

Dish up your chili and cornbread and finish off with sour cream and shredded cheese or any other of your favorite chili toppings.

Printable Chili And Cornbread Recipe

This Crockpot Cornbread Chili makes a great family night meal, or the perfect dish for your NBA playoffs party!

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