To wrap up Crocktober, I made one of my go-to recipes. Pork and Black Bean Slow Cooker Chili. This recipe is great for several reasons.
1. It is made in the slow cooker (thanks, “Kate“).
2. It cooks for 8+ hours (practical for a weekday meal).
3. I always have the ingredients on hand (and they are nutritious)- hey, I AM a dietitian…
4. It is an excuse to make my mother-in-law’s delicious corn bread (recipe in a future post).
5. Everyone in my family loves it!
You can’t get much better than that.

This recipe is simple enough to throw together in the morning and uses common ingredients that I always have on hand.

To your 5-6 quart crock pot, add a 2-3 pound pork roast and 3 cans of beans. Any variety will do. I typically add black beans, but today I only had 2 cans on hand so I threw in 1 can of kidney beans. Make sure to rinse and drain your beans. *Health note: rinsing and draining your beans lowers the salt by 40%!

Dump in 1 can of Hunt’s Fire Roasted tomatoes (don’t drain). Fire roasted really is better, but you can use any variety in this dish. If you haven’t tried fire roasted tomatoes, you must!

Add 1 jar of thick and chunky salsa and 1 cup chicken broth. I love the convenience (and taste) of the 1-cup packages of Pacific Natural Foods chicken broth. Canned broth tastes… well… like a can. And I don’t typically use a full quart of broth that is in the larger boxed broths. So the 1-cup size is perfect.

Stir in the spices and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

Before serving break up the roast into coarse pieces and dish into bowls. Top with plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream). I was so excited for this chili (and the golden-brown corn bread), that I forgot to take a photo of the completed dish. So you’ll have to use your imagination.

Imagine a steaming bowl of chili filled with chunks of fork-tender pork, beans, fire-roasted tomatoes and delicious spices, all topped with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. Mmmmmm….. Now dip your hot-from-the-oven cornbread into the fragrant mix. Heavenly!

Pork and Black Bean Slow Cooker Chili

Serves 8
All you need:
2-3 pound pork roast
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 (15 oz) cans beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can fire roasted, diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz) jar thick and chunky salsa
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
Plain Greek yogurt (for serving)

All you do:
1. Put pork, onion, beans, tomatoes, salsa, broth, oregano, cumin and chili powder into slow cooker.
2. Mix ingredients together and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.
3. Right before serving, take pork out and break into chunks. Put the pork back in the chili.
4. Serve in bowls and top with plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream).