Servings: Serves 12 1x
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium bell pepper, diced (any color)
- 12 ounces uncooked bacon, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (14-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (may substitute kidney beans)
- 1 (14-ounce) can black eyed peas or navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup no-sugar-added ketchup
- ½ cup water or broth
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or substitute chili powder)
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- Optional for serving: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mist the skillet with cooking spray. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up using a large spoon or spatula. Cook meat for 3 minutes, then add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; stir. Continue to cook 7-8 minutes more, or until the beef is no longer pink and the onions start to soften.
- Drain the beef, if necessary. Add the meat mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and return to medium-high heat. Mist skillet again with cooking spray, then add the chopped bacon. Cook 8-10 minutes or until the bacon pieces are crispy, stirring occasionally.
- When bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess fat. Add cooked bacon to the slow cooker.
- To the meat and bacon mixture in the slow cooker, add the drained beans, ketchup, maple syrup, water (or broth), mustard, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Set the slow cooker to the low setting and cook for 4 hours (or cook for 2 hours on the high setting).
- Before serving, stir then taste and season with additional salt and pepper and garnish with fresh parsley as desired.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/12th of recipe
- Calories: 207
- Fat: 4 g
- (Sat Fat: 2 g)
- Sodium: 735 mg
- Carbohydrate: 20 g
- (Fiber: 3 g
- Sugar: 6 g)
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 27 mg