19 Nov Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili

This Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili will warm your bones. Sweet apple cider, apples and cinnamon combine with chili powder for the perfect fall treat!

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One of my favorite things about fall is apple cider. I love the smell. The taste. The way it warms my bones. It makes me want to light a fire and put on my fuzzy socks and curl up on the couch with my fat cat and watch Love Actually.

I hope I haven’t burnt y’all out on fall yet with my Paleo and Whole Pumpkin Spiced Chili and Paleo and Whole30 Pumpkin Spiced Latte because I’m continuing my autumn-inspired recipes theme with this Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili.

And you’re going to love it. I’m always at a loss when I first start making chili with no beans. I’ve subbed everything from white potatoes and sweet potatoes to zucchini and carrots, and they’ve all turned out just fine. But these apples. Man, oh man! They soak up the apple pie spices, and the sweetness of the apples collide with the traditional chili spices. It’s like combining dinner with dessert, but everything is healthy!

So I kind of stumbled upon this Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili by mistake. It was a chilly Saturday, and we needed lunch pronto. I found a pound of ground beef thawed in the fridge, so chili was the first thing that came to mind. Chilly = chili, amiright? I made my basic Easy 8-Ingredient Paleo and Whole30 Chili recipe but added a little cinnamon because I was feeling fall-festive. I ended up going a little overboard with the Himalayan pink sea salt, so I added some apple cider to offset the saltiness. Bingo! Spicy chili combined with sweet apple cider and cinnamon might be one of the best ideas I never had.

A little warning for my Whole30 folks: They like you to stay away from eating a lot of fruit while you’re doing a rigorous Whole30. This recipe is technically Whole30-complaint. The only sweeteners are 100% no-sugar-added apple cider and Granny Smith apples.

Just make sure not to overdo it on your fruit intake, and read these official Whole30 resources if you’re concerned:

• It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways
• The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
• The Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond
• The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook: 150 Simply Delicious Everyday Recipes for Your Whole30
• Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food by the Co-Creator of the Whole30

Also, see the bottom of the post to learn how I managed to read It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways and Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food by the Co-Creator of the Whole30 with four kids, a full-time job and a part-time blog.

Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, are you ready for this Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili recipe?

Paleo and Whole30 Apple Cider Chili

Kristi Barnes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories

Ingredients

  

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• 1 tbsp. beef tallow
• 1 lb. grass fed ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion chopped
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder 1/4 tsp. or omit completely if you don’t like spicy foods
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 3 c. beef broth
• 1 c. 100% apple cider
• 2 large Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and chopped

Instructions

 

• In a Dutch oven, melt the beef tallow over medium-high heat. Add the onions. Cook 2 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and cook 5-7 minutes, or until browned.
• Add the tomato paste and spices.
• Cook 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
• Add the beef broth, apple cider and apples.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, or until liquid has cooked down.
• Add additional sea salt and chipotle powder to taste.

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I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what foods are Whole30-compliant and why some aren’t. I’m so happy to help, but I would definitely recommend reading the Whole30 books if you haven’t already. Knowledge really is power, especially when you’re just trying to make it through the workday and that 3 pm chocolate bar craving hits. You’ll know why you’re feeling the way you are and what you can do to squash it.

If you’re like me, a busy working mom with too much to do to sit down and stop everything to read a book, you should definitely check out Amazon’s Audible program. That’s how I found time to read It Starts With Food, by having it read to me. I love, love Audible.  I just recently purchased Food Freedom Forever with one of my monthly credits, and it’s another winner so far. I listen to it in the car to and from work and also while I’m cooking and doing chores.

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