Rinse the cooked beans thoroughly under cold water to remove excess starch and sodium, which helps prevent a gummy texture in the final chili. While the beans drain, mince the garlic cloves finely and dice the onion into uniform 1/4-inch pieces. This mise en place ensures you're ready to layer flavors efficiently when the crockpot comes into play.

Add the rinsed beans, diced onions, minced garlic, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and bulgur wheat to your crockpot. Stir to combine these base ingredients evenly. The bulgur will absorb liquid as it cooks and add body to the chili, while the tomatoes and broth create the foundational liquid component. I find that using fire-roasted tomatoes really elevates the depth of flavor compared to regular canned tomatoes.

Add the chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt to the crockpot. Stir thoroughly to distribute the spices evenly throughout the mixture, ensuring no clumps form. This layering of warm spices at the beginning allows them to bloom and develop deeper, more complex flavors as they cook low and slow in the moist environment of the crockpot.

Pour in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and maple syrup. Stir well to integrate these ingredients, breaking up any clumps of ketchup. These components add natural sweetness, depth, and richness—the ketchup brings tomato and tang, the Worcestershire adds savory complexity, and the maple syrup rounds out the spice profile with subtle sweetness. I always add these mid-way through assembly rather than at the start so they don't separate during the long cook time.

Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on medium for 4 hours. The long cooking time allows the bulgur to fully absorb liquid and soften, the spices to mellow and marry together, and all the flavors to deepen and intensify. Stir occasionally (about halfway through) if you're home, though it's not essential. The chili will develop the best flavor when given time to simmer gently rather than cook quickly.