My kids love pizza. So when I told them that we were going to have this pizza chili for dinner, they were sold right away. I also served crusty bread and salad with it too.
I got this idea from my blogging friend Michelle from Simplify Live Love. She has a meatloaf on her blog with all Italian flavors. It is a fantastic recipe, so I thought I would try all Italian flavors in Chili.
I took this opportunity to add an entire bag of chopped spinach into this recipe. When I was a teenager, the deep dish spinach pizza at the mall’s food court was my favorite thing EVER. Plus, it cooks right down. Adding spinach to any meal in the crock pot is a great way for kids . ( and adults) to get some extra veggies!
You can really add any extra ” Pizza toppings” in this chili that you like. Olives, Peppers, Caramelized Onions, or basil would all be great additions to this Chili.
Slow Cooker Pizza Chili
Ingredients
2 pounds of ground meat. I used 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of Italian sausage. You can use less Italian Sausage if you like- or use beef too.
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of pizza sauce
2 cans of cannellini beans – you can use other beans too- it just makes sense to me to use cannellini beans because they’re used frequently in Italian cooking.
1 bag of chopped spinach
4 cloves of minced garlic
2-3 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning
Garnish
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
Parmesan Cheese
Method: Cook and drain meat. Place all the ingredients in your slow cooker, and let cook on low for 4-6 hours. garnish with additional pizza toppings and serve!
This was really tasty! I think that it tasted best and most like pizza when I topped it with Mozzarella Cheese!
