The best fall meal ever has got to be chili! This black bean chili is a lower-carb version of the original. So you can have that same great chili feeling but stay within your carb budget.
We make chili in the crockpot year-round, but it always tastes better when it’s cold outside. Who am I kidding? Here in Arizona, it’s definitely not cold yet, but you can just tell that fall is coming. The fall feeling is here and that means, it’s time for some chili.
This chili is a little different...if you been following me for a while, you know that I've had to battle with leaky gut in the past. Even though I've won the battle and recovered from leaky gut, while I was reacting to a ton of different foods, I had to figure out how to substitute those foods out in recipes.
Kidney beans were one of those foods that I was reacting to for a period of time. So this chili is made with black beans. You can use black soybeans for an even lower carb count and if you’re looking to lower the carb count even further, you can easily omit the beans altogether and the chili will be just as scrumptious.
This black bean chili recipe makes for fabulous leftovers, I use it for chili dogs and chili burgers! It's also really yummy to scoop with pork rinds.
Are Black Beans Keto?
No, black beans are typically not on keto-friendly food lists. Legumes in general tend to be omitted when following a ketogenic diet.
Black beans are higher in starch than other foods and they can be inflammatory for some folks.
How Many Carbs Do Black Beans Have?
According to the USDA, a one-cup serving (about 172 grams) of cooked black beans nutrition provides approximately:
- 227 calories
- 40.8 grams carbohydrates
- 15.2 grams protein
- 0.9 gram fat
- 15 grams fiber
- If you count net carbs and subtract fiber, you're looking at 25.8 grams of carbohydrates per cup of black beans.
That's a lot of carbs! But is it really?
Are you going to eat a whole cup of black beans in one sitting? Probably not. It's more likely that you'll include them in a recipe like this black bean chili and eat a much smaller portion than a cup.
If you're following a therapeutic ketogenic diet to manage chronic illness like cancer, it's definitely too many carbs. But if you're watching your carbohydrate intake to maintain health or lose weight, black beans can definitely be included in a well-balanced low-carb diet. If you can tolerate them, go for it!
Keto Corn Bread
Julia over at The Roasted Root has a pretty awesome faux cornbread recipe using almond flour. If you're into cornbread with your chili, it's totally worth checking out. The recipe is gluten-free but calls for coconut sugar and ghee, of course, you can easily substitute these out for coconut oil and your favorite sweetener.
Sounds like a great meal to me! Top your chili with some diced yellow or green onions, cheese or sour cream (if you can tolerate dairy), or hot sauce. Pair it with an awesome keto corn bread and dig in. On a cold fall or winter day, this would be the a wonderfully warm and comforting lunch.
I'd love to know what you think of both the black bean chili and the paleo cornbread if you decide to whip these up on a blustery fall afternoon. Let me know in the comments how things turn out!
Recipe
Low-Carb Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped, divided
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 30 oz. black beans 2 cans
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes 2 small cans or 1 large
- 14 oz. beef broth 1 can
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the meat is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in ¾ of the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes and add to crock pot. Stir in the drained meat along with the black beans, diced tomatoes, and beef broth. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce to low heat. Simmer at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The longer you let it go, the better it tastes. The black beans hold up nicely.
- Optional: Top chili with whatever you prefer - cheese, sour cream, crumbled bacon, or chopped green onion.
Denise Rich says
I'm going to make this recipe with black soybeans, very very low carb! Sounds great!
Heather Cooan says
Awesome! It's yummy with black soybeans and that substitute definitely brings down the carb count. Enjoy!
A Magical Life says
Just a heads up, Eden recently changed their labels to say that their black soybeans are 5 grams of net carbs per 1/2 cup serving instead of 1 gram of carbs (one half-cup serving is now listed as 11 grams of carbs and 6 grams of fiber). The company says they have not changed their recipe but that the FDA changed labeling laws. The numbers listed online are from their original labels (even the FDA says they use numbers provided by manufacturers).
One can of Eden organic black soybeans used to be 3 net carbs according to their label, and now their label says it's 18 net grams of carbs.
Since they say the ingredients are the same as always, I'm kind of suspicious that they have had incorrect numbers all this time and people have inadvertently consuming way more carbs than they thought. The national nutrition database says they get their numbers from the manufacturers, so it's Eden's original numbers that are still online and used by most sites/apps.
Heather Cooan says
Interesting. This recipe uses two cans of black beans for a total carb count of 141g and 59g of fiber. The nutrition information appears to be accurate despite any changes to Eden's labeling. Thanks for the heads up.
Kristi says
Best chili I have ever eaten. I added sweet peppers. Yummy!!! Hubby approved!
Heather Cooan says
YAY!! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! It's always a bonus when hubby or the kiddos like it. 🙂
Claire says
Thanks for the recipe, Heather! I'm sorry to hear that you struggled with leaky gut syndrome. I suspect that's a contributor to some of my sudden food allergies, so I'm trying to keep my carbs on the low side, while still enjoying as much variety as I can. I recently came across a recipe for a chili cheese dog chaffle and that sent me on a quest to find a recipe for low-carb chili. And here we are 🙂 I appreciate your suggestion of black soy beans. Not everybody knows about those. I only recently heard of them, myself. I'm going to use regular black beans, this time, but it's great to have options. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying your recipe and thanks for taking the time to post it 😀
Heather Cooan says
Hi Claire, I hope you love the chili for your chaffle! Sending healing vibes on that gut, it can be a long journey to healing. Way to choose you!