This slow cooker chili is flavorful and packed full of protein thanks to the farro and chicken. Just add beans, kale and bit of cheese and you’ve got yourself a hearty and healthy meal.
I’ve been wanting to whip out my crock pot recently and I finally got around to doing so. Speaking of crock pot, do you say crock pot or slow cooker? I suppose it’s similar to the Kleenex vs. tissue thing, huh? I say Kleenex which is also why I probably say crock pot, but for the sake of neutrality, I decided to call this Slow Cooker chili. OHHHH what a large decision, I know.
So anyway, I love my slow cooker for many a’ reasons, but mainly for the same reason as everyone else: I can throw food into it and forget about it for HOURS. Do you know what I can accomplish in hours? Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, online shopping, a trip to Starbucks and maybe Target too, a workout+a shower, develop a recipe that doesn’t involve the slow cooker, teach Layla ‘paw’ (I taught her ‘paw’ last night EEEEEE proud mom), binge watch Mad Men or House Hunters or the Real Housewives of anywhere, write five blog posts, sit on Pinterest Ok so the point is I can get a lot of accomplished instead of hovering over my food for hours, which is kind of awesome when you truly think about it.
Chili was a wintertime staple in my house growing up. My mom would make it, I would eat it, the end. Except one time she made it and I wasn’t able to eat dinner with the fam because I had dance practice. Ok actually that happened at least 3x/week, but that’s beside the point. Whenever I wasn’t home for dinner my mom would always pack me whatever meal she made. So, it kind of just made sense for her to pack me chili whenever she made chili, right? Wrong.
Typically dance practice would last from approximately 5-9 pm, with an hour break in between. I’d dance my little heart out, then NOM on some delicious food, and then go back to dancing. Funny thing about chili… it’s a COMFORT FOOD to the core. I remember wanting to vom everywhere when the teacher instructed us to do leaps and turns and whatnot. Note to self/mom: chili is not a pre-workout meal.
So when is the perfect time to eat chili, if not before taking a dance class? Pretty much any other time, but I’d say specifically when it’s chilly outside (ha ha….get it?) and when you have a lot to do but “no time” to do it. Now you do! Make this chili, throw it into the slow cooker and go be productive! Go go go! Just make sure to take it easy afterward 🙂
Slow Cooker Farro and Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8.5 oz 1 package farro
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 cans diced tomatoes I used Muir Glen's fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups kale
- Pinch of oregano
- Cheese for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken and olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add garlic, onions, farro, beans, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and oregano overtop.
- Cook on high for 3 hours, and then add kale.
- Cook for an additional hour and then remove from slow cooker*
- Add cheese on top and enjoy!
Notes
Q: Was chili a staple in your household growing up? What TV show would you like to binge watch while this chili is cooking in the slow cooker?
Finally got around to making this — turned out amazing! FYI for others I used quick cook farro because that’s all I could find (at Trader Joe’s). I did some math on uncooked vs quick cook farro and put the farro in along with the kale for the last hour. Worked well for me.
I also used a 6oz can of tomato paste since I figured that was the average, up’d the garlic to 4-5 cloves, and added a bowl of cremini mushrooms (gives it a nice hearty texture). Next time I’ll probably add a bit of salt up front and another handful of kale.
Thanks for the great recipe Erin! Effort vs reward on this one was huge. Look forward to adding it to my weekly crockpot rotation.
Thanks for reporting back Kyle–I’m so glad you liked it!! 🙂
Hi there — recipe looks great. You mention cutting the chicken after the recipe is done — does that mean you put the whole breast in there at the beginning and then pull it out and cut it up after? Haven’t made meat in a crockpot yet … still learning! Thanks.
hi! You can technically cut it ahead of time, but I find it less time consuming if you just throw in the whole chicken breasts–you don’t even have to take the chicken out of the slow cooker, you can just cut it while it’s in the slow cooker because it’ll be super easy to cut. I hope you try it!
Awesome, thanks Erin! Will definitely be trying it. Quick follow up question — what about for the kale. Chopped or whole?
Whatever you prefer! I tore the kale into bite-size pieces and then just let it cook down in the slow cooker.
Erin,
Just found u & this recipe sounds terrific. By any chance, do u have any of the nutritional statistics?
Due 2 health/dietary needs, it would be so-o-o helpful to know these. Thanks!?
Hi Lori, Unfortunately I do not have the nutritional info on this.. Let me know if you do try it, though.
I know I’m late to the game, but is this with uncooked Farro?
Yes! Uncooked farro and the farro will cook while it’s in the Crock Pot. I also JUST remade this recipe yesterday and ended up adding 1 cup of vegetable broth to make it a bit more soup-y. It’s good either way though! Let me know if you try it.
Could this be cooked on low for a longer amount of time (i.e. my work day at school)?
Hi Nicole- I haven’t tried it myself, but I did some searching through Google and Pinterest and all of the slow cooker farro recipes I found were cooked on low for 5 hours or less.
How many calories is this per serving
I need to make slow cooker chili soon. It was a total staple in my house growing up but I was dumb and didn’t like it. So glad I’ve wisened up.
I don’t know what I would binge watch… I need a new show to binge on.
You come up with the best recipes! I’ve only had chili once this year, which makes me sad, it is so so good!
Pinned this right away! Looks fantastic – love the addition of farro. I say crockpot however 😉
Thanks Dani! “Crock Pot” is just easier than slow cooker I think 🙂
Ohhh I need to try farro! The cheese shot….
Hi Erin! I came across your site via The Balanced Blonde. This recipe looks so delicious and perfect for winter! I have never tried farro before.
Also, what brand of crockpot (yeah, I say crockpot) do you use? I had one a while ago and I LOVED it, but it broke after only a month!!!
Hi Alice–thanks for stopping by! I just have a Crock Pot (that brand) and I’m fairly certain it was one of the cheaper ones from Target. Works pretty well in my opinion!
Oh good lord. This looks too good. I really admire the chunkiness. Like it’s so chunky & hearty & perfect. Now to make a vegetarian version….
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Yes! You could definitely just eliminate the chicken and add a second can of beans instead 🙂
hahaha I can imagine that chili is not the best option pre-workout :-p and as for what TV show I would binge-watch…I’m still making my way through Breaking Bad, so let’s go with that!
Ahhh that’s such a good one to binge watch!
Hahahah note to self chili is not a pre workout meal. Is this an appropriate time to say #datass?
This looks really great! Chili is really the best, and the slow cooker makes it way more accessible & quick. Probably tastier too.
I would be freaking impressed if you can actually do THAT WHOLE LIST in 4 hours. Yes, challenge ya to do it. And then eat all the chili!
Hahah I’m good but I’m not THAT good.
Whyyyyy did I leave my slow cooker in the burbs? I’ve never had farro! This looks so hearty!
I always say crockpot… buuuuuut I don’t actually own one. I know, I know. I’ve been meaning to get one for years and years, but somehow never get around to doing it. I think my problem is that you have to make so many servings, and I like alone and leftovers stress me out 😆 Problems.
Oh man, I remember all those nights at the dance studio. Now the thought of eating dinner at 9:30 PM makes me cringe, cause I’m usually starving by 6!
Despite the fact that we had an office wide chili cook-off yesterday, I’m still managing to crave this one. I love chicken chili and the farro sounds like a good addition!
I go back and forth between slow cooker and crock pot. My dad’s chili used to be the best thing in the world to me. He would add everything to it! I’m not even kidding.. every spoonful was different (he used like 5 different meats, TONS of veggies, a couple different beans, etc. etc.). I would demand it for snowed in weekends hanging around at home.
That looks so good Erin! I’ve never had farro and when I get finished typing this I’m going to look it up and see what it is! 🙂 I also say Kleenex and crock pot. :))
I should have talked a bit more about it huh? Guess that gives me an excuse to make another recipe with it! In short, it’s similar in texture and taste to brown rice. It’s really good!