The perfect kid-friendly easy keto chili casserole. It's a mid-week winter family favourite and the perfect high-protein comfort food.
You won't believe how easy it is to make for dinner tonight and it's only 7g net carbs per serving.
This recipe has recently been featured on Diet Doctor.
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Is chili keto?
Chili can be keto but you have to watch out for added sugars and added carbs such as kidney beans, rice, and tomato sauce with added sugars. These are the first types of ingredients and unwanted carbs that you can easily avoid when starting your low carb diet.
When you make homemade chili, you can control the ingredients, the carb count, and the calories for your low-carb chili recipe.
Is it chili, chilli or chile?
All three spellings are correct, depending on where you live. American English commonly uses chili, British English is chilli, and if you're in Spain, the most common spelling is chile.
Is canned chili keto?
No, most canned chili meals have added sugars, starches, and unhealthy oils.
This homemade chili recipe is extremely low in carbs and high in protein (especially when compared to canned chili). It fits perfectly into your low carb keto diet and makes for an easy ground beef meal prep recipe.
Nutrition information:
Canned beef chile with beans (1 cup, 247g): 24.5 g net carbs, 17.3 g protein, 8.1 g fat.
Homemade beef chili casserole (1 serve): 7 g net carbs, 29.5 g protein, 36.3 g fat.
Nutritional values from cronometer.com
Photo credit: Lenkas_lens
How to make chili keto
We love chili but without the kidney beans and the high starch rice, but how can you make it low-carb and a family-friendly meal? By bumping up the meat, the cheese, the sour cream, and the bell peppers make this tasty and healthy alternative to regular chili.
By adding lots of low-carb vegetables, spices, and vibrant colours. The extra peppers, tomatoes, and spices make up for the lack of traditional kidney beans.
And if you love your chili with cornbread, I've got you covered too. Try my keto cornbread recipe. It's a quick and easy low-carb bread made with coconut flour.
Instructions
All quantities, ingredients, and instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat, cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the minced/ground beef, and cook until all the meat has browned. You may need to drain fat, not because we want this to be low fat, but because we don't want a sloppy Joe's chili casserole.
Add the peppers/capsicums, bell pepper and cook until soft.
Add spices and all the other casserole ingredients, stir and cook for a few minutes (the ground beef is already cooked) then pour into a baking dish or casserole dish.
Before you bake your low-carb chili, remember to load it up with plenty of grated/shredded cheese. Every kid (and adult for that matter) loves a gooey melted cheesy topping.
Preheat oven to 180C/350F and cook for 20 minutes.
Some areas of the melted cheese crust are soft and stringy whilst other areas turn into crispy cheese corners.
What to serve with chili?
The two most popular ways to serve this keto chili recipe is to spoon your chili into individual serving bowls. Garnish with sour cream and a sprinkle of coriander/cilantro.
The other popular meal is to make keto chili dogs. What are chili dogs? They are regular hot dogs in a wheat flour bun with beef chili spooned over the top. Generally served with beans, fries, and a sugary drink.
There are so many delicious side dishes to serve with beef, these are just 2 ideas.
So next time you make your keto chili, make double and reserve the other casserole dish as a keto chili dog casserole. Make your own keto hot dog buns and sugar-free BBQ sauce.
Variations
There are a number of substitutions to the keto recipe so you can make it exactly to your liking.
- Spices - use dried chili powder, dried chili flakes or your own chili powder you have made from your family recipe. Smoked paprika is also a wonderful addition if you love a smokey flavour.
- Onion - instead of using a fresh raw onion, you can use onion powder or onoin flakes. It will also reduce the carbs, perfect fro your low-carb diet.
- Canned tomaotes - you can use fresh diced tomatoes, just make sure to drain any excess water to avoid a watery sloppy low-carb casserole.
- Tomato paste - instead of canned tomaotes, using a little tomato paste is the secret to giving a tomato flavour, but without the extra unwanted carbs.
- Garlic - use fresh garlic, crushed or flakes.
- Garnish with sliced jalapenos, tabasco sauce, tabasco chipotle, or sugar-free BBQ sauce.
Recipe FAQ
I like to serve chili with cauliflower rice spiced with some extra dried chili flakes powder, dried or fresh coriander (cilantro), and ground cumin. You can also serve keto cornbread, cheesy keto garlic bread, or even a Mexican spicy coleslaw with lime dressing.
Pre-shredded mild cheese such as shredded mozzarella cheese or shredded cheddar cheese. But always read the nutrition label to ensure there are no added starches that prevent the shredded cheese from clumping together. I often spot potato starch as a hidden ingredient. Or you can shred your own cheese in a food processor such as cheddar. It's cheaper and you know there are no additives or starches.
I used a 11 inch x 10 inch x 3 inch deep (29cm x 25cm x 7cm deep) rectangle casserole dish. If you use a smaller or larger baking dish, your cooking time will vary.
Make a hot dog bread bun using my hamburger bun recipe, place a (keto) hotdog in the center, then top with homemade keto chili dog casserole, cheese, and sour cream. Beef hot dogs with a sugar-free tomato sauce are perfect for game night.
To make the recipe even more low carb reduce how much canned tomato and sliced vegetables. Increase the ground beef and the ratio of carbs will drop and protein will be raise.
Yes, just throw it all together in the morning and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours. When it's dinner time, place shredded cheese all over the top for the final 15 minutes of cooking time.
Yes, if you love your Instant Pot, here is the Instant Pot chili recipe.
Yes, store any leftover chili in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes, just cook the ground beef, sices, and vegetables ahead of time. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. On the day you want to serve, place the cooked beef chili in a baking dish, cover with shredded cheese and bake until piping hot and the cheese has melted. Such an easy dish for a mid-week dinner the whole family will love.
More spicy keto recipes
There is no deprivation when living low-carb especially when making delicious spicy meals such as chicken curry with pumpkin, slow-cooker beef rendang curry, Instant Pot lamb curry, or easy keto kebabs with a curry dipping sauce.
Chicken and pumpkin coconut curry Keto beef rendang 
Instant Pot lamb curry Lamb kebabs with curry sauce
📖 Recipe
Easy Keto Chilli Casserole (chili dog casserole)
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Recipe Video
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Ingredients
- 1 onion quartered and sliced
- 500 g (1 lb) mince/ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ red pepper/capsicum diced
- ½ green pepper/capsicum diced
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander/cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon tomato paste
- 250 ml (1 cup) tinned/canned tomatoes
- salt/pepper to taste
- 100 g (1 cup) shredded/grated cheese
To serve
- 50 g (½ cup) sour cream
Equipment
Instructions
- Fry the onion and garlic until soft, add the minced/ground beef, and cook until all the meat has browned.
- Add the peppers/capsicums and cook until soft.
- Add all the other ingredients, stir and cook for a few minutes (the beef is already cooked) then pour into a baking dish.
- Sprinkle the shredded/grated cheese over and cook at 180C/350F for 20 minutes.
- Spoon into individual serving bowls. Garnish with sour cream and a sprinkle of coriander.
Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Jennifer S
Oh my word, this keto chili is sooo good. My kids ate 2 bowls tonight! Next time I'm making double so I can make them keto chili dogs for after Saturday football.
Jennifer Davis
Hi Libby. This looks great. However, I was switching between metric and US, and I definitely see a discrepancy. The 250 mL of tomatoes suddenly becomes 2 cups. That would be Double the tomatoes in US measurements, vs metric.... Please, which would be the correct quantity to use? I'm in Canada, we switched to metric when I was in Grade 10, so I recognize the conversion error. Thanks for great recipes and info!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Oh dear, thank you so much for pointing this out. Sometimes no matter how many times I check and double-check, I occasionally miss something super obvious. I have corrected it now back to the 1 cup = 250ml.
Judith
Hi Libby - I love your recipes and website! I just wondered if you could answer a question about total versus net carbs - I always count total carbs, or so I thought! But I just watched a video by Dr Westman and apparently on New Zealand labels the ‘Total’ carbs is actually net carbs! So would I need to add the fibre back in to get the true total carbs? I’m confused because I don’t think you label yours like that? Eg. on the above recipe the total carbs really is total carbs, right?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
You are correct, NZ and AUS labels tend to show net carbs and the fibre is stated separately. US labels show total carbs, and I also show total carbs here on the website then it is up to each reader whether they count total or net. Be aware though, many foods are imported from other countries which use a different system and many apps have "user added" entries and so net/total is not consistent there either. A general rule of thumb, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
EvilQueen
If you miss beans, check out the nutritional info of black soy beans! They have a fraction of the carbs!
Jannine Sotiropoulos
Does the nutritional info include the sour cream?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
No because how much sour cream you add is completely a personal choice. I have seen how much sour cream some readers add to their chilli casserole recipe and Lordy Lordy, it is completely different to how much I would add.
Cynthia A Robinson
For what it is worth... Does anyone proof read any longer, or use spell check??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
For what it's worth - yes I do spell check and grammar check. If you are referring to chilli vs chili, it is only those in the US that spell it with one l - that can be my little fact for the day 🙂
Anita
I couldn't find any spelling/grammar errors either!
Excellent recipe, I like to spoon my chilli on top of a bed of shredded lettuce and then top with the cheese and sour cream. Delish!!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Myrna
Do you think this could be adapted for the intant pot? So that I could saute and slow cook all in one pot? Not sure how long to cook for.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, this would work in the Instant Pot. I have only just got my Instant Pot so am still developing recipes so can't give you an accurate time. But I have begun a new recipe finder for Instant Pot and Slow Cooker recipes here.
Myrna
Thank you! I just got mine as well and love it!
Lynn Benoit
Thank you, this was so great.
Denise
This is delicious! It makes enough for two for two nights and is even more flavoursome the second night. Definitely one to repeat over and over!
Page
If you wanted a more fried chicken taste to the sesame chicken you could spray the chicken with oil before baking. I do that with my friends and onion rings.
Liz
This is amazing...an easy but delicious meal that I can make and take as lunch for a week. Next time I will be doubling the recipe. thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
YAY - what a result!
Tracey
We are making this again tonight! Love it! Serving avocado on the side and homemade garlic and olive oil tortilla chips baked in the oven. ?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yummmmm, avocado makes everything taste good. Have you tried my Fat Head nachos yet?
Deryk Pedersen
Awesome recipe!
I added some picked jalapenos for some more heat and substituted 1/2 the cheddar for mozzarella (ran out). 😛
Will definitely make again.
Sean
Hey Libby,
Another super recipe from you. Just had my third for dinner, I used 600g of mince and everything else the same. I think I need more chilli!!
Thanks again
Jo
This recipe is to die for!! I made exactly to the recipe and boy it has a chilli kick, that good you don't even miss the kidney beans. I served this on a bed of crunchy cabbage. My husband had left overs 2 days later and it was even better he tells me.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Jo, you have just made my day - 🙂
Cindy Smith
Is the nutritional value for the total batch or per serving (I finally found servings is 4).
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Nutrition panels are per serving 🙂
Lisa Waller
This recipe is the bomb!!!! Will definitely be preparing this over and over again. Might even sub chicken from time to time.
Sweta
Hi Libby,thanks for all the amazing recipes!! I can't wait to try this one !! Can we substitute the canned tomatoes with freshly diced ones?TIA
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Sure thing! I buy a lot of canned tomatoes because they are so much cheaper than fresh, but fresh would taste amazing. Go for it!
Denise Farr
I made this tonight, actually doubled the recipe so I have left-overs or maybe tomorrow night's dinner! I will definitely be making this again, a little spicy and tasty with the sour cream.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Wow, this really is becoming a family favourite recipe here, so soon after it was published - hurrah!!
Jen
What is the serving size ?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
There recipe states serves 4, so 1/4 of the recipe per person. Some people may wish to eat less or serve with a side salad.