If you love the chili at Steak N Shake then you are going to LOVE our copycat recipe for Crock-Pot Copycat Steak N Shake Chili. Ground beef, beans, delicious spices and the secret ingredient…a cup of cola (Coke, Pepsi, RC cola…you choose!). You don’t have to eat out when you can make this hearty chili at home!

Slow Cooker Copycat Steak N Shake Chili
Whenever my family goes out to eat at our local Steak N Shake restaurant my husband always orders a bowl of their delicious chili. He says that the chili has just the right amount of beans, small pieces of meat and a really flavorful sauce that is just the right amount of spicy.
He always tops his chili with oyster crackers. But you can top your chili with shredded cheese, diced onion or whatever YOUR favorite chili topping is.
I made this copycat chili recipe based off of my experience with the yummy Steak N Shake chili and had my husband test it out. He was amazed at how much it tasted like his favorite restaurant chili.
IF there are any leftovers after we have chili for dinner I like to either just heat them up for lunch the next day or the kids love chili dogs. Hot dogs smothered in chili and topped with a bunch of cheese. So good!

Special Diets
Gluten Free | High Fiber | Low Fat | Low Sugar
This recipe for Crock-Pot Copycat Steak N Shake Chili is Weight Watchers Friendly on the new Personal Points plan. You can see the WW personal points for this recipe here on the Weight Watchers website. Click here for MORE of our Weight Watchers Recipes

Recipe Collections:
- Amazing Crock-Pot Chili Recipes
- Beef Slow Cooker Recipes
- Fall Recipes
- Hamburger Slow Cooker Recipes
- Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes

Crock-Pot Copycat Steak N Shake Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 1 cup Cola (such as pepsi, coke, RC cola, generic, etc)
- 13.5 ounces Canned Tomato Sauce
- 6 ounces Canned Tomato Paste
- 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
- 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
- 2 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
- 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 27 ounces Canned Kidney Beans (rinsed and drained)
Instructions
- In a medium skillet on the stove-top, brown and crumble the ground beef. Drain off excess fat.
- Add ground beef and all remaining ingredients EXCEPT beans to a large bowl.
- Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend the ingredients together
- Add the blended mixture to a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Add in the 2 cans of drained and rinsed kidney beans.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Nutrition

This recipe sounds delicious, but is there anything you can use in place of soda? Thanks!
You could try a little more water…but the soda adds to the flavor. or use an organic cola.
I am not a fan of beans in my chili…what are your suggestions as to how to tweak the recipe to compensate for not including them? Thank you and I love your site!!
me personally, I would add a little more meat and just leave the beans out. I have just recently been able to eat beans…I was the type that would eat around them.
Beans got to have them in.chilli. I put sometimes 4 different ones in my deer chilli
I think beans in chili is a regional thing. I like beans in my chili too!
I simply needed to say thanks for saying this. You’re right on.|
Making this now- I added a bit more salt and about 1 tsp of garlic as I felt it needed it after a quick taste test. Otherwise I think this is going to be a winner!
This recipe is a total internet fraud. It has nothing what-so-ever to do with Steak n Shake chili.
I am sorry you feel this way. The name is just a name. The recipe is just something that those of us that love Steak n Shake Chili can make at home and enjoy.
Yeah, but by naming it ‘steak n shake chili’ you imply that it’s going to TASTE like steak n shake chili – it does not. It doesn’t taste BAD but it’s not even close to steak n shake chili.
Looks great and easy! I’m going to try it this week when my brother comes to visit!
Now when you say cocoa you mean the chocolate powder?!
Yes.
You are referring to a standard household blender in the procedure, aren’t you?? Thanks for all your recipes.
I am single and do preparation for a variety of meals for an entire upcoming week and you are helping to keep me organized and my stomach full cheaply as well!! I am getting ready to go on a crockpot kick as cool weather will hit soon. Suggestions??
Yes a standard blender.
So you blend the hamburger too or just the other ingredients (except the beans)? This looks delish by the way! 🙂
I followed the recipe as written and I am sorry to say that this is terrible! Oh my, all I taste is the sweetness from the soda! I’m not sure how to go about saving the batch I made, I have added more chili powder, a little bit of cayenne pepper and some garlic and still all that can be tasted is the sweetness.
I don’t think I will make this again. 🙁
I am sorry that you did not prefer this recipe. Not every recipe is something that 100% of the people will like. We have other chili recipes that might suit you better.
Made this and it was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
It wasn’t a bad chili, although the sweetness was off-putting. It didn’t taste in the least like Steak ‘n Shake chili, though. Not even a bit. I’d honestly go so far as to suggest a name change so that fans of their chili don’t try to use this to reproduce it, the way I did.
The secret sauce on top of the chili is Catsup. I don’t see this in your recipe.
How many people will this recipe serve?
Hey Jessica sorry about that, I have gone ahead and edited the recipe to reflect the servings. This recipe serves 6.
Really good recipe, I modify it a bit but the core is sound! Thanks!
We loved the taste, but we all would have prefered more “broth/juice”. Can I just add a cup of water? Is there something else I could do? Thanks for the help.
Yes you can add more water to you like your chili more juicy. Adding tomato sauce or tomato juice would work too.
I adore Steak-n-Shake chili and have grown up eating it; 45+ years. This tastes NOTHING like Steak-n-Shake chili. It is not even close. Steak-n-Shake may have restaurants in Ohio, but their chili is not just Cincinnati chili with beans; which is exactly what this chili tastes like. It is a good, very thick chili with beans, but again, nothing in any way remotely resembling the chili I can buy down the street.
Thanks for your opinion Zana
I won first place in the church chili cook off because of this recipe! Thanks! First time I have ever entered a cooking contest!
That is AWESOME Josh! Congrats on your winning. We always thought this was an award winning chili recipe but now you have proved it!
It totally is award winning! I did add peanut butter, but it’s great without it, thank you so much!
My son worked at a SnS and he told me that hey use chili sauce in their chili. I think the spices listed will make the same flavor. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
You’re welcome Cheryl, I hope you enjoy the recipe!