Buffalo Chili Recipe

Name: Buffalo Chili Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon coconut oil; ½ cup chopped onions; 2 medium garlic cloves, minced; 1½ cups chopped celery; 1 cup chopped green pepper; 1½ pounds grass-fed ground bison or grass-fed ground beef; 2 teaspoons thyme; 2 teaspoons chili powder; 2 teaspoons cumin; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 8 ounces diced tomatoes (no sugar added); 12 ounce jar salsa (homemade or all-natural)

January 8, 2025 by Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN

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Few things hit the spot during the big game or on a cold, frigid day better than a big pot of chili, and while there are sodium-laden canned varieties with questionable ingredients you can buy at your local grocer, nothing beats a homemade chili that uses natural foods. Better yet, a homemade buffalo chili recipe can amp up the flavor and nutrition when done just right.

This buffalo chili recipe is easy, healthy and delicious, and it’s chockfull of nutrients to boost your health.

Plus, you can make it in the crockpot or on the stovetop. This recipe caters to you!

Key ingredients

This buffalo chili recipe uses a variety of vegetables and spices to really bring out a flavorful, hearty dish. Here are some of the main ingredients:

Bell peppers: Just about every chili recipe out there calls for peppers, and this buffalo chili recipe is no different. Whether you choose red, green, orange or yellow bell peppers is up to you. They’re all high in vitamins A, C and B6 and support immune health.
Bison meat or ground beef: Your standard chili recipe calls for ground beef as the animal protein source of choice. You can certainly use it here, but make sure it’s grass-fed beef, which is more nutritious and better for the cow and the environment. If you want to switch it up and make this buffalo chili recipe stand out, however, you may want to go with bison meat, which offers many of the same nutritional benefits as grass-fed beef but is a leaner red meat.
Chili powder: Chili powder is made specifically for chili recipes, so naturally it’s the base of the spices in this one. In addition, it also mixes in cumin (another chili regular), garlic, sea salt and thyme to both kick up the flavor and health benefits.
Tomatoes: Many homemade chilis use beans, and you certainly can add them here. However, tomatoes do the heavy lifting in this buffalo chili recipe, replacing the beans you’re likely familiar with. The tomatoes provide lots of vitamins C, K and A, along with potassium, folate and manganese.

This buffalo chili recipe also includes celery, coconut oil, onions and salsa to round it out. (You can make your own salsa if you’d like. Try this Chunky Tomato Salsa recipe.)

How to make buffalo chili

You can make this homemade buffalo chili on the stovetop or in a crockpot. These directions are for the stovetop, which takes about 90 minutes in total. If you choose the crockpot option, you can cook it on low for three to eight hours, following similar steps as the stovetop directions.

To start, combine the coconut oil, onions, garlic, celery and pepper in a large stock pot. Sauté on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent (usually about three to four minutes).

Next, add the meat, thyme, chili powder and cumin, and cook it about five to six minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour the salt, tomatoes and salsa into the pot. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for at least one hour.

You can also add the mixture to a slow cooker from here and cook it on low for at least three hours if you prefer to set it and forget it.

Once your chili is cooked to your liking, it’s ready to eat!

More homemade chili recipes

This buffalo chili recipe is a great one to start with, but it’s far from the only delicious, nutritious chile recipe out there. Here are some more homemade chili recipes to give a try: