This Easy Venison Chili Recipe is perfect for your next tailgate party, or when you are looking for a simple slow cooker dinner idea for the venison in your freezer. I have to be honest and tell you that, although this venison chili is pretty amazing, my Deer Steak Chili made in a Dutch oven is my absolute favorite.

The cold winter months of North Dakota make most of us up here yearn for warm, soul-satisfying home-cooked meals like a delicious venison chili recipe. But right now, it's the end of August, and I'm more concerned with coming up with more great tailgate food ideas in time for the North Dakota State Football season that kicks off next week.

This Easy Venison Chili Recipe is one that is loaded with ground venison and beans and absolutely full of flavor! Chili is hands down one of my wife and daughter's favorite meals (and I love it because it’s easy to make)! It's not only perfect for the cold months of hunting season, but any time you have ground venison in your freezer.

Venison Chili For Tailgating Food

I don't have a big fancy pellet grill or smoker, and if I did, I don't want to spend game day setting it up in the Fargodome parking lot to showcase a smoked duck recipe or smoked bear ribs. I'd much rather show up with a slow cooker full of my favorite tailgating food like Buffalo Pheasant Dip, Venison Meatballs, or a thick and flavorful Venison Chili like this one. When it's kickoff time, I can just unplug the slow cooker and set it in my truck for easy cleanup later that evening.

When transporting food to a football game, it's always important to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. I'm the "Wild Game Guy" so I don't have to worry about showing up with cold food like a potato salad or coleslaw and then having to serve it by placing the serving bowls inside larger bowls of ice. Everyone expects me to show up with some wild game meat I shot during duck season or deer season.

Keeping this venison chili hot during pre-game won't be a problem because I'll have access to an outlet with the dozens of generators running within 50 yards of our tailgating set up.

I top my venison chili with a spoonful of homemade French Onion Dip and it's amazing!

Back to School Dinner

This Easy Venison Chili Recipe is also one of those easy dinner recipes that requires little effort. And that's what all of us busy parents need when school starts. If you are anything like me, you love coming home at the end of a crazy day of commitments to a ready-to-go family meal! From kid-friendly Sloppy Doe Sandwiches, an Easy Venison Spaghetti, and my Venison Tater Tot Skillet Casserole, I've got you covered with plenty of great Venison Recipes to fuel your family throughout the year.

How to Make Venison Chili in a Slow Cooker

1. Gather your ingredients.

Kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, and seasonings

2. Mix ground venison with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Reserve the remaining salt and pepper to season more later.

3. In a large skillet, add oil, ground venison, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook over medium-high heat. Stir until venison crumbles and is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Ground Venison with diced onion and green bell pepper

4. Transfer cooked mixture in a slow cooker. Stir in broth, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook at HIGH for 3 to 4 or at LOW for 5 to 6 hours.

5. Top with all your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream, or my personal favorite French Onion Dip! And don't forget the saltine crackers!!

Easy Venison Chili with Saltine Crackers

How to Store Leftover Chili

When it’s time to store your venison chili, how it’s stored makes all the difference in keeping leftovers safe to eat.

First and foremost, the venison chili should be stored in an airtight container, so put away any notion of putting the slow cooker basin directly into the refrigerator.

And even with that, it shouldn't stay in the refrigerator longer than four days.

f you won't eat all your leftovers before the four-day window has come and gone, freezing chili is a great option. According to the USDA, chili can be safely frozen for three to four months.

Come Deer Hunting in North Dakota

If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

Join Our Wild Game Cooking Community

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE

If you make this Venison Chili Recipe, tag @wildgameandfish so I can share it on my Instagram stories.

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Easy Venison Chili Recipe

5 from 21 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: best chili recipe, chili recipe, ground venison recipe, kid friendly recipes, slow cooker, soups, venison, venison chili, venison chili recipe

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 3 10

Servings: servings

Author: Jeff Benda

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds ground venison
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil or olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups venison or beef broth
15 ounce can red kidney beans
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Mix ground venison with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Reserve the remaining salt and pepper to season more later.
In a large skillet, add oil, ground venison, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook over medium-high heat. Stir until venison crumbles and is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Transfer cooked mixture in a slow cooker. Stir in broth, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook at HIGH for 3 to 4 or at LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
Top with all your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream, or my personal favorite French Onion Dip! And don't forget the saltine crackers!!