This is a super simple and amazing Spicy Pineapple Chili. We know we made this in the middle of the summer, so just to make it feel like amazing, soul-warming comfort food. Either way, the chili was amazing so on that note, you should probably start making your grocery list for this one right now. Why not add some habanero pepper to that list, for those that like it extra spicy?
Ok, so we’re sure you are all bored of us typing already, but there is a point to this whole charade, and that is we are just straight-up, little kid excited. Today we received a GIBOSTICbox waiting for us and had an inclination as to what it was. Sure enough, it was our new brand new, stainless steel, super sleek and sexy Sous Vide Supreme. We have wanted one of these since one of our Paleo idols (who we now call a wonderful friend Nom Nom Paleo) started posting all of her amazing recipes with it.
We can’t wait to start using it. But don’t expect anything original right away. We are going to copy Nom Nom’s posts until we figure this thing out. But yes that was the huge news: all that reading and all you got was us having a new toy. Hope you’re excited for us. We know you’re dying for the recipe now, but if you haven’t figured out that you can just scroll down and ignore our banter, we are both sorry and grateful. Sorry because you have to “listen” to us, but grateful because you love Civilized Caveman enough to read this. And let’s be honest, we wouldn’t be anything without all you awesome people. End of story.
Spicy Pineapple Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon cut into thin strips
- 2 medium onions diced
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 2 jalapeños diced (seeds optional)
- 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 2 pounds grass fed ground beef
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- red pepper flakes optional
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 20-ounce can of diced pineapple
- 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 14-ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat a large Stock Pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat (You can do this in the Crock Pot as well, see notes below)
- Brown your thin strips of bacon in your pan
- Add in your onions, peppers, jalapeños, and garlic and continue to cook, stirring often for 5 minutes or until your onions become translucent
- Now add in your Grass fed Ground Beef, chili powder, and cumin and stir until your ground beef is cooked through
- Add in all your remaining ingredients, stir well, and increase heat until your chili comes to a boil
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 Minutes
Notes
Want to unlock greater wellness?
Listen to our friends over at the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast to unlock your best self with Drew Canole of Organifi:
Lemon Cucumber Noodles with Cumin
Who knew that the refreshing taste of pineapple and the hotness of chili would be perfect together! This recipe is definitely worth checking.
Isaac Robertson
https://totalshape.com/
My husband and I have made this dozens of times…many ways (stovetop or crockpot, beef, turkey, leftover brisket, with or without bacon). It’s our favorite!
The peppers (we use several habaneros or serranos, cuz we love heat!) and drained pineapple is the key. Thanks for our favorite chili recipe!
Any thoughts on using fried prosciutto instead of bacon?
That would be AMAZING. Do that :)
This was fabulous! I made a few modifications based on my personal taste and absolutely loved this. First, I don’t know where you get your paleo bacon but around here, it’s too valuable to use an entire pound in chili like that so I just used 1/2 pound. It still had plenty of bacony goodness. Also, I used just 1 jalapeno and about 3 T of chili powder and it was just the right amount of heat for me. I drained the pineapple (reserving the juice) and when I got it all mixed up and ready to simmer, it looked like it needed a bit more liquid so I added a splash or two of the pineapple juice. I love your Beasty BBQ sauce with pineapple, so I knew I’d love this chili. Thank you!
Thank you so much for all of the awesome things you said in your comment. I love your preservation of bacon :)
Do you cook the pineapple in the cockpot? Or just garnish at on the side?
You can do either. I prefer to cook it with it
This was delicious! Really enjoyed it. I am wondering about the micronutrient breakdown though.. Trying to track my Micro’s right now (pretty new at it) and dont see any nutritional values to this chili… Any numbers?
I don’t calculate that but you can at http://www.fitday.com or http://www.myfitnesspal.com
Why grass fed hamburg?
Grassfed means that the animal was raised on a natural grass diet, as opposed to being raised on a vegetable diet full of soy and other products that are bad for our bodies. You can also tell the difference between ground beef and grassfed ground beef. Grassfed ground beef has a better taste overall, and is much healthier for you. I highly recommend you give it a try.
Just had to tell you – I made this chili over the weekend and it was a big hit. My husband went to a chili cook off yesterday and said not a single pot he tried was nearly as good as yours! So you won our company cook off in absentia! Congrats.
We always have some of this chili in the freezer. I haven’t met a person yet that hasn’t loved it and most of them ask for the recipe. The only modification I do is instead of a can of tomato sauce I just used crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste (only ingredients are tomatoes in both) so that there are no hidden sugars (great, compliant meal for a Whole30!). This is one of my absolute favorite recipes from your site and my super-fussy eater of a husband prefers it to the kind I used to make with beans! Thanks!
Hi George
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Could you clarify the “1 (15-ounce) can of tomato sauce” ingredient? Is that concentrated tomato puree? or more like passata. I’m in the UK and we often call things different to you guys in the US. Also, we don’t have “fire roasted diced tomatoes” here, but I’ll use regular chopped tomatoes.
Thanks in advance!
This was delicious! I substituted ground turkey for the beef and chipotles in adobo for the fresh jalapenos. Also, I cooked the recipe in the slow cooker and it was very easily put together. It made about four ~600 cal servings and came out perfectly! This would be great to freeze in portions but I know we’ll easily finish the rest of this week :)
*The rating feature won’t let me give it 5 stars or else that’s what it would be!
Hehe, glad you’re going to be gobbling it up quickly :)
I just made this for a pot luck this weekend. It was a huge hit. A ton of people asked me for the recipe. And it was super easy in the crock pot.
Hi, I follow you on Twitter, and this post showed up in my Twitter feed just now. How random this showed up, because I’m making Hawaiian Chili for a work get together later this coming week. This recipe seems perfect for Hawaiian Chili. I’ll definitely try this recipe out by buying the ingredients later today and cooking the recipe on Wednesday.
Let me know how you like it!!
OK, just prepped the stuff for the crockpot later today! I thought that 2 large onions (couldn’t find any medium onions) were too much, so I only put in 1 1/2 large onions. Hope not too little onion! The test is later today. We’ll see if it’s approved.
I removed the seeds from the jalapenos. However, I had a can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies, and not without the green chilies. Oops. 1/4 cup of chili powder? OK. I almost ran out of chili powder! :-D I decided to omit the red pepper flakes. Probably a good thing, as I have de-seeded jalapenos, fire roasted tomatoes *with* green chilies, and chili powder! :-) Hope it’s not *too* spicy! :-D Then again, we’ll have lots of bread, so we probably will be all right if it’s too spicy.
The instructions didn’t say whether the cans needed to be drained or not, so I did not drain the pineapple and the tomatoes. Whoops, I see now in the comments that the pineapple needs to be drained. Oh well. Crockpot cooking needs liquid, anyway, so that might be all right. Now, I’m wondering if there is enough liquid in the crockpot… I might just put it on low for 4 hours and not let it go past 6 hours – it might burn otherwise. I have a very powerful crockpot. Those big Rival ones from 2008…
I’ll return with the verdict later tonight. Thanks, Anna
I don’t care if it hot outside here in Florida or not I’m making this tomorrow night! I’ve got fresh pineapple. I can’t wait to get your book!!!!
I can’t wait for you to get my book either :)
I am wondering what your serving size is for this recipe, I am serving a large gathering this weekend and thought this would be awesome! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! It will serve about 6-10 people… I’d say 8 :)
Oh My Wow, this hit the spot last night for our superbowl feast. The game sucked, the chili was awesome–perfect smokey/sweet/spicy/salty combo. The only thing I might change next time is draining off a little bit of the bacon grease before continuing with the recipe…I love me some bacon fat, but a whole pound’s worth is probably a little much! That said, it was super satisfying as is.
At least the chili was awesome ;) thank you!!
I love this chili. I made it a couple of weeks ago with 1.5 pounds of chuck eye.
That sounds AWESOME.
OH MY, WOW!!!! This is AHH-MAZING. Yum.
And I added 1 cup of homemade beef broth/gelatin
Do you use the piñapple juice in the can as well? I am making this tonight and cannot wait!
I rinsed the pineapple before adding it.
Second time making this, I cannot wait for it be done cooking in the crock pot. This time I made extra bacon since I knew I would end up eating like 10 pieces while I was getting everything ready.
Haha that is so awesome David
I came across this recipe when I was searching for a unique chili recipe for a chili dinner. Typically one person has claimed themselves as the champion of chili. I just wanted to bring a unique spin and potentially shock and awe the tasters. I chose this recipe and tweaked it a little bit (not much of a spicy person, so I toned down that level with regular tomatoes and no jalapenos). I also added a can of kidney and pinto beans. Well, LET ME JUST TELL YOU….so many people LOVED it. Especially the bacon part, because honestly you can’t go wrong with bacon. Moral of the story: your recipe is super delish and will be talked about now and when this dinner rolls around again. Thanks for your creation and inspiration!
Woohoo, thank you
So I mentioned to the girls at the gym that I’m going to make spicy pineapple chili today. Both of them said it was “different” and they didn’t like it. I was disappointed to hear that since I was looking forward to making it. I decided to make it anyways. Omg it’s the best chili recipe ever!!! I’ve tried several other recipes and didn’t like them. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to those Bs!!! Lol thank you!!!
Thank you so much Barbara
This is by far my favorite chili recipe. The combination of sweet and spicy is the best! I have made it multiple times and now have multiple coworkers making it. Yum!!!
This is my favorite too
So you mentioned in this post that you like to make huge batches of things for freezing and eating later. I take it this is one of those concoctions that lends itself well to that. Do you have other recommendations or a section of the website devoted to those type recipes? Thabnks for all the great recipes
This is one of those recipes that I love to freeze. I do not have a dedicated section for that, sorry
George,
This is the best chili I have ever had! Thanks so much for posting the recipe.
Your so welcome
Made this for the first time in the Crockpot today. Ah-may-zing!!! Probably my most favorite Paleo chili recipe ever!
Woohoo Mrs. Duh. I love this one as well
This recipe was amazing and helped our group win the schools chili cook-off! We added half a can of pinto beans and half a can of kidney beans and it was delicious!
Awesome
I made this last weekend and subbed the bell pepper for one shredded sweet potato and used spicy turkey sausage (uncased) instead of beef. I also left out the bacon because I forgot to get it at the store :|
HOLY COW. I couldn’t stop eating it. It fueled me for my workouts and was perfect after them as well! I was raving about it for days but wouldn’t share with anyone haha.
SO glad you made it work for you and you loved it
i made this but substituted pulled pork loin that i had made in the crockpot. holy delish!! great recipe :)
Woohoo, so glad you loved it Kelly
This is one of my favorite go-to recipes when I’m cooking for my non-paleo boyfriend. He and I absolutely love it. Your recipes are the best, George. Keep up the great work!
So glad you both love it
I made this chili! It’s awesome! Yay for BACON !!!!! :)
Woohoo
This is my all-time favorite chili recipe. I’ve made it a bunch of times.
Thank you Elissa, I am flattered
George, should you drain the bacon fat after you brown the strips before adding the onions/peppers, etc?
Nope keep it in there. I never drain it but you can if you want to just leave a little
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! This is also the recipe that convinced my husband he could go paleo too (it’s only been 1 week today, but he’s doing great!). I make this about 1x/week – we have it for dinner one night and then a couple days of lunches. I didn’t use the bacon (since I haven’t had any good bacon in stock for a while) and used 3 lbs grassfed ground beef instead. Also, I started using the chunked pineapple but the pieces were too big for me (still delicious, but felt like I was trying to chew a flaming piece of pineapple flavored charcoal :) they hold a lot of heat!) and we went to the ones labled “tidbits” or something like that. Perfection. Thank you for taking the time to make and post this recipe.
Awesome, and congrats to your husband. That is great news :) Keep up the awesome work and I will try this with ground beef.
Thank you very much for this recipe! My husband, myself and 2 little ones really love this and it tastes great on a cold Sunday in Illinois. All of our CrossFit friends love this too. Thank you for a wonderful free website. We really appreciate it! Happy Holidays and thanks for your service to our great country.
Liz thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I am so glad you all love it. I hope you love many more as I will keep posting them :)
When I am clueless about what to make for supper that will be healthy and delicious, this site is my go to page! This recipe is easy, awesome, and packed with flavor. My husband works on the oil rigs and gets really mad if I make it when he is gone. Thanks for the supper ideas and I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!
Hi George, Happy early Thanksgiving!
I echo the other comments, this chili (and you) is amazing! Everything from your website and PDF cookbook has been exceptional not only in taste, but also in ease of creation. Thanks for the simplicity, which is great for those of us who are stuck working/commuting most hours of the days.
WRT the pineapple chili…I’ve now made it three times just in the last month and on the last two batches I added about a tablespoon of arrowroot powder, which helped thicken it up a tad and didn’t really affect the taste — though it does give the chili an oddish color.
Thanks George, for your service in the kitchen and for our country!
PS: That almond dressing for the broccoli is probably one of the best things I have ever eaten.
Thank you so much Nicole. I truly am humbled by your words and appreciate all the support
AMAZEBALLS!!!!!! I cannot tell you how much the Hubs and I enjoyed this! So so so good! I did it in the crockpot with FRESH pineapple. We will be having this again. Also, just wanted to let you know I have had one of your recipes every night for the last week. Could not be happier. You have made giving up my grains and dairy so much easier!!! Thank you! Xo
Thank you so much, so glad you guys enjoyed and I love you have made one every day. Thank you so much for the support.
ZOMG. My first paleo recipe and certainly not my last. So freaking amazing! Even the carb-loving boyfriend requested seconds and took leftovers for lunch. I’d say he approved as well. :)
That’s so awesome :) I hope you both enjoy many more
So efffing Amazing!
Thank you Faye
I’m late to the game on this chili, but holy wow! This is probably the BEST chili (hands down) that I have ever had. It’s fatty enough to be decadent, and I love the balance of acidity and sweetness. It’s a nice change of pace from the pumpkin-cocoa-tomato bases I’ve been using.
Thanks for putting this out there!
So glad you enjoyed. I out did myself on this one :)
This is a great recipe! I shared with a co-worker and she went bananas over it!
I blended grass-fed beef and bison….little avocado. Delish!
That sounds amazing. I am so glad you both liked it :)
Thanks for the amazing recipe! I made it for my chili contest and took first place! :) There were nine total entries and around 40-45 people voted. It is a keeper!
That is amazing :) hopefully you won Something ;)
I have this already to throw in the crock pot tomorrow–looks delicious. One question–do I drain the pineapple or not? Thanks!
I don’t Jessica but If you don’t want it as soupy then yes
OMG! Let me just tell you, I have 5 kids ages 2-11 and every single one of them not only devoured this but went back for seconds! Hands down best chili ever!!! Thank you so much! I’ve already told friends its a must have chili recipe! :-)
Oh that’s amazing. Hope your love many more :)
Loved it! Making it for the 3rd time in less than 2 weeks :)
Thats amazing, thank you so much Tammy
So, so good! I really loved this chili, and judging by the dancing that’s currently going on, the tiny human that I’m growing enjoyed it too. Thanks for sharing!
Woohoo thats awesome
Ooops….rating is
Good stuff! Made it last night and loved it! Thanks for creating :)
i literally just got done eating a bowl of this my lady made for us. instead of bacon, we doubled the beef, because i am not eating sugar at all through the week, and i don’t want to spend money on the bacon without any. now that i have finished that run on sentence…
this chili is killer. i’m really glad i found this website. thank you for it. also: thank you for your service to this nation that i love. seriously.
Thank you for all the awesome words and I am super stoked you love it. Hope you like many more recipes
My husband was skeptical at first because of the pineapple, but he had two servings! Even my 9-year old really liked the chili! Keep those good recipes coming!
Woohoo, I love that they loved it. I hope you guys make this and many more :)
I made this last night and couldn’t stop after one bowl. This is DELICIOUS! Sometimes too much beef is rough on my stomach so I used ground turkey and it was amazing. I am counting down the minutes until I get to eat some leftovers at lunch. Thanks for the great recipe!
You are so welcome Cyndi, I am so glad you made this work for you. Enjoy your lunch
My husband told me this is the best thing I have ever made! My 3 year old also loved it! I love the combination of flavors. Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome.
Found this recipe in Paleo magazine. Really good. Although next time I may drain some of the bacon grease, its just a little too oily on top :)
Awesome Mike. Sounds like a plan
When I told my daughter I was making this, she immediately responded, “where’s my invite?” WE LOVE THIS RECIPE!! (She actually had two bowls of it!) The combination of flavors is perfect…like a party in your mouth. Thanks so much for this recipe! I know this is going to be a winter favorite in my house. :)
You are so welcome. I love this recipe too so I am glad people share in my taste buds :)
Ooops, forgot to rate it!
Just started following you on here, Facebook and on Instagram and have already tried 3 incredible recipes including this one! Thanks so much!! We truly commend all of your efforts whether it be by sharing your recipes, or paying for strangers’ coffee :), or just giving away random stuff for free! Keep on….
Your friends from Philly
Eric and Robyn
Thank you so much for the support. Welcome to my page and hope you stick around
This was fantastic! Such a great combination of flavors! Thanks for the recipe.
Your welcome. Glad you enjoyed
My hubby cooked this one up in the crockpot and it is an instant favorite in our household! And the leftovers were good even though we ran short on pineapple. Your recipes rock and the photos are great. Thanks for all your hard work. You are an inspiration to me to spend more time “playing with my food” and experiment with recipes.
I’m so glad you loved it. Just made my night. Keep playing with your food
This was very good! The sweet/spicy flavors go well together. My non-paleo friends enjoyed it too :) AND I’ve got some “emergency” meals in the freezer from it. Thanks George!
Awesome, I am so glad you loved it and so did your non paleo friends :)
What an interesting chili! I have never heard of using pineapple in a chili before….what an awesome idea.
Are you going to try it? It may be interesting but it is DELICIOUS
If using the crockpot do you drain the pineapples or dump the entire can in?
In this case I would drain them since the chili will condensate quite a bit in the crock pot
Lucky you! I want a Sous Vide Supreme!! (also thanks to NomNom)
Gonna have to try this chili. Just thawed 2lbs of bison to make something freezer-friendly and this is gonna be it. Thank you! :)
Your so welcome Jen. If you like it please come back and comment and rate it :)
Done and done. It came out great. Thanks again!
This recipe is great! The thought of pineapple in chili was gross sounding but in actuality was super good!! Will be a favorite!
I am so glad you tried it anyways and liked it :)
Oh man, bacon and pineapple? In chili? You sir, are a genius.
Haha thanks Kate
Pineapple on the 21 DSD?
I am on day 10 of mine and feeling really good! I dragged my bf into it with me and he hates me because I took away his beer for 21 days. Boo hoo. Pineapple sounds really good…
PS. I think chili should be made year round!
No I didn’t eat this on my detox. It is frozen for when I get off :)
Oh ok, it’s not like I would have reported you to the detox police :D
I have had a few green tipped bananas, one of the limit foods, and haven’t experienced any intense sugar cravings at all. Some days I wonder if my body is actually being weaned off sugar because I expected to have a lot more cravings.
Love your site btw, definitely a lot of approachable recipes here I will be trying!
Haha I am the Paleo police most times haha. Thanks for all the compliments. I hve poured my heart and soul into my site. Hope you enjoy
Looks and sounds amazing! btw, beautiful job with the presentation and photography! (worth the pain in the ass)
Thank you Beth. It really does taste amazing
Ooh, thank you for posting Crock Pot instructions! I can’t wait to try this!
:)
You are so welcome. I hope you enjoy
This may be the first chili of the college football season! Looks delicious!
Oh that would be awesome Ashley, let me know how you like it
Wow!! Bacon? Pineapple? Chili? I’m sold :) That looks divine!
It is amazing
You have to try this! I was a little hesitant w/ the combo of pineapple and beef but it was so good! I don’t handle very spicy things so I substitued jalapenos with mild diced chili peppers and omitted onions. This would be so good for leftovers over spag squash or sweet potatoes. Love this site, I have made many recipes off of it. Thanks for the great food inspiration!
So awesome Leah, I am so glad you hear you tried it anyways and even happier to hear you enjoyed it :)