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Slow Cooker V8 Chili has plenty of vegetables in it because of the V8 juice in the sauce! This recipe makes a big batch of chili, enough to freeze or share.
If you love making big batches of bean recipes, also try my 15 bean chili and my crockpot red beans and rice recipes.
Table of Contents
Featured Comment
I am a horrible cook and this is the easiest and most delicious recipe for chili ever!! I Would give 100 stars if I could.
- CJ
Why this Recipe is a Keeper
- The recipe was given to my husband by his best friend's mom, Janet. She gave him a handwritten recipe card, and we had it taped on the inside of a cabinet for years at our old house (we make it that often!) Her recipe is made on the stovetop, but I adapted mine for the slow cooker.
- It makes a filling dinner, and we love having the leftovers for lunch throughout the week.
- Feeds a large crowd (think game-day!), and the leftovers freeze well.
What is V8 juice?
V8 juice has eight different vegetables. I mostly taste tomato, but it also has carrots, beets, celery, parsley, spinach, watercress, and lettuce. I love using V8 juice in chili because it adds great tomato flavor along with a variety of vegetables. You can make other recipes with V8 juice such as bloody mary's, goulash, or even spicy braised pork.
The Ingredients
Ground beef - Brown the meat before adding it to your slow cooker.
Stewed tomatoes - These aren’t as common in chili recipes nowadays (most people use diced tomatoes), but we love the texture and flavor they add. Give them a rough chop before adding them to the slow cooker.
V8 Juice Original - The base and star of the recipe.
Kidney beans - Use canned kidney beans for this recipe. Don't use dried kidney beans directly in the slow cooker because they need to be properly boiled first.
Onion and Seasonings: Diced white onion, garlic powder, pepper, and chili seasoning packets add plenty of flavor.
How to Make V8 Chili
- Brown and drain the ground beef.
- Add the beef, V8 juice, tomatoes, beans, onion, and seasonings to the slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
Can I use ground turkey?
Yes! Ground turkey is so good in chili. I love how much flavor turkey gives the broth of soups and chili. Brown the ground turkey the same way as the beef in this recipe for great results.
Can I make this vegetarian?
Yes! Try one or more of these options to make this V8 chili vegetarian.
- Use soy crumbles instead of beef.
- Add more beans such as pinto or chickpeas.
- Add extra vegetables such as bell peppers, celery, corn, or sweet potatoes.
What to serve with this
This is one of the very few chili recipes that I can eat without toppings but I know it's fun to have an array of choices. Here is what I set my table up with alongside the crockpot of V8 Chili.
- Saltine crackers, mini saltinies, or oyster crackers
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Diced sweet onion
- Sour cream
- Cornbread (I love Krusteaz Honey Cornbread or Southern Style)
More Crockpot Chili Recipes
Creamy and mild, white chicken chili pairs perfectly with the bold, slightly sweet flavor of crockpot pumpkin chili in your fall rotation.
For a meaty, satisfying option, venison chili and crockpot hot dog chili both deliver big flavor—great in a bowl or over fries and buns.
With its familiar taste, Wendy’s copycat chili is a cozy favorite, while Crockpot Cincinnati chili brings a spiced twist served over spaghetti.
If you tried this V8 Chili Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Happy Slow Cooking!
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground beef,
- 30 oz. stewed tomatoes, (2 cans) not drained
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2.50 oz. chili seasoning packets, (2 packets)
- 30 oz. kidney beans, (2 cans) drained and rinsed
- 46 oz. V8 juice original, (this is about 6 cups)
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet on the stove-top add the ground beef. Brown and drain.
- Add the stewed tomatoes to the slow cooker. I like to cut them in quarters right in the slow cooker with a butter knife. If you are skilled with a paring knife you can cut them up by hand.
- Add the ground beef to the slow cooker along with the onion, garlic powder, pepper, chili seasoning packets, drained kidney beans and V8 juice.
- Stir and add the lid. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Sarah's Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Replace 1 of the pounds of ground beef with stew beef, add a jalapeno, a green and a red pepper and you have a winner. Maybe use garlic instead of powder as well..
Great ideas!
To the commentator Per, do you sear the beef stew meat, which you are replacing with 1lb of the browned and drained ground beef, before adding it to the other chili ingredients, or do you not brown the beef stew meat at all?
I do not have Chilli seasoning packets. But I can make my own I just don’t know how tablespoons to put in this Chilli re I’ve. I have made my own version of Chilli with V8 juice. I the only Chilli I loved. But no one else could handle the heat. I also added Rotel tomatoes also.
Just use 2 1/2-3 Tbsp Chili seasoning mix × the amount the recipe calls for seasoning packets.
Being a single gal, I love recipes that I can cut in half. I used low sodium V8. I had a lonely jalapeno in the fridge, so I put that guy in there as well. (Seemed like the right thing to do). This chili is STELLAR!!!! I was able to easily control the liquid factor by using individual V8 cans. I couldn’t find the big bottle at the store. I’m happy to have a righteous chili recipe that I’ll use for years to come!
So happy you loved this recipe! That’s why I started this website so others could also have these amazing recipes. This by far is one of our favorites.
Very good
What size is a serving for this recipe?
I do not figure that out. Sorry!
I got my math smart husband to do it! According to his calculations, a serving is a little bit less than 1 3/4 cups! We really liked this recipe…used ground Turkey for half the meat! So easy! Thank you!
Looks kind of watery. I like a thicker chili. Any suggestions?
Add less tomato juice and add a can of tomato paste.
Yes
Here’s another tip for a great chili I add 4 cans of kidney beans plus one cup of coffee and 1 can of dark beer I use Guinness dark tall can beer like 16/20 OZ, yes you still can the 64oz V8 Too. Also, I’m a big onions lover myself I used 3 different onions 1 each white/red/sweet onions.
Im currently making this… Its been in the crockpot for about 3 hours or so… I cut the recipe in half but it seems to liquidy any suggestion how to thicken?
Tomato paste will thicken it, a can of refried beans or leave the lid off for a bit after it’s done cooking.
If you can get datil pepper sauce try adding some to heat things up but be cautious!
Texas there s no beans in chili