Warm yourself with a hearty bowl of authentic American-style gluten free chilli cooked in the slow cooker for 9 hours for a flavourful autumn meal!
 

Yield: 6 to 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 9 hours

Gluten-Free 9 Hour American Chilli

It seems the weather has suddenly turned frigid here in Manchester! I've swapped ballerina pumps for suede ankle boots and can't dare leave the house without a wrap or a throw. The leaves are changing on the trees and my Instagram feed (come join me on Instagram & get your fill of gluten-free food porn) is overrun with snaps of pumpkin spice lattes. And even though fall doesn't officially kick off until Friday, I've begun to indulge in it just a little bit early this year.

Autumn was made for hearty meals that cook themselves, leaving you plenty of time to watch the leaves change and curl up with a hot drink. And nothing says autumn in the American south quite like a bowl of hearty chilli, bursting with beans and packed with meat--this is a protein hit that you'll want to indulge in time and time again. Your family will absolutely love this easy gluten free American chilli recipe. Serve it up southwest style with crunchy tortilla chips for dipping and then use the leftovers to fill fluffy baked potatoes the day after; you'll get two meals from the effort of one!

Ingredients:

For the chilli
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground almonds
1 tin pinto beans
1 tin chilli beans*
1 beef stock cube
2 tins kidney beans
2 tins chopped tomatoes
155 grams diced smoked bacon
450 grams beef mince
500 grams lamb mince
sugar
salt
pepper

To serve
gluten-free tortilla chips
Need a conversion? Use this handy chart.

Classic American Chilli vs. UK Chilli con Carne

While my husband scraped the last bits of chilli from his bowl, he turned to me and asked, "What's the difference between this and chilli con carne?" Now this is the $1 million question. Google seems to think there's not a difference in chilli and chilli con carne, but, sorry Google; you're wrong. There's a huge difference!

First of all, what I've called American chilli (so as not to confuse it with the British iteration of chilli con carne) is a different kettle of beans. British chilli con carne is served over rice. In America, chilli is served with tortilla chips as shown or with salted crackers. No rice involved.

British chilli con carne is overrun with veggies! I mean they chuck everything at it: bell peppers, carrots, celery, cinnamon, chickpeas, yogurt. Pure American chilli is a simple combination of lots of meat and lots of beans. No further bastardization than that.

British chilli con carne is probably a take on American chilli, which is thought to be a take on Mexican chilli. But they vastly differ in the way they are prepared and the ingredients used to make them. So this is not a chilli con carne recipe. This is an American chilli recipe. Now go forth and feel smugly American when you make it.

Instructions:

1. Put the bacon, mince, beans, tomatoes, stock cube, tomato paste, paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar and oregano in a slow cooker and stir to combine.
2. Top with a little bit of water - you may not use the whole 1/2 of a cup and this is fine.
3. Cook on low for 9 hours. 
4. Stir in ground almonds and pepper and serve with tortilla chips.