Beef and Lentil Chilli

Starting off with a classic slow cooker meal, and one of the very first I made in a slow cooker, Chilli! Easy and effective dish, perfect for slow cooking.

Chilli is very versatile, you could serve with rice, jacket potato, tacos or make a burrito. Also, you could serve it up with a salsa, guacamole or sour cream for an extra twist. It is also great to make in bulk and freeze for tasty leftovers.

I like to make my chilli with beef mince and lentils as lentils help bulk out the meal to have more to freeze and slightly more environmentally friendly then using just beef. However, this recipe is also delicious if you use just lentils or just beef, just remember to adjust the cups of stock accordingly (approx 3 cups stock for 1 cup lentils)! Try playing round with the spices and chillies for your personal taste.

Beef and Lentil Chilli

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince

• 1 cup dried lentils

• 2 1/2 cups stock or 1 stock cube and 2 1/2 cups water

• 600g passata (or chopped tomatoes)

• 1 large onion diced

• 4 spicy chillies (for medium spice)

• 480g kidney beans (drained)

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 2 tsp cumin

• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat a pan with a little cooking oil and fry of the onion and beef mince until the mince has browned

2. Transfer beef and onion into the slow cooker, mix in the rest of the ingredients, spices and season with salt and pepper (it will look very watery but the lentils will soak this all up)

3. Cover with lid and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high

4. Serve with your choice of side and optional extras!

Let me know how you get on in the comments!