This Instant Pot chili is a blend of beef, beans, tomatoes and spices, all simmered together in a pressure cooker until tender and flavorful. The easiest way to make chili; everyone will think you spent all day on it!
There’s nothing better than a big bowl of chili on a cool day, and this Instant Pot version is full of bold flavors, but ready in no time at all. Serve your pressure cooker chili with honey cornbread or garlic knots for a complete meal.
Sometimes I crave a bowl of chili, but I just don’t have the time to let it simmer all day. Enter the Instant Pot; rich, flavorful chili ready in less than an hour! This recipe is so easy to make and is mild enough that the whole family can enjoy it.
How do you make Instant Pot chili?
To make Instant Pot chili, you’ll need to first saute your ground beef and onions in the pot. After the beef is browned and the onions have softened, an array of seasonings go into the pot along with two types of beans, tomatoes and beef broth. Seal the Instant Pot, turn it to the Chili/Bean setting, then wait for your dinner to be ready!
How long does it take to cook chili in an Instant Pot?
It takes 20 minutes to cook chili under pressure, in addition to the time it takes you to saute the ground beef and onions. You can either release the pressure manually, or wait for the pressure to naturally release depending on how quickly you want to eat.
How do you thicken chili in an Instant Pot?
This chili comes out quite thick because it only contains a small amount of broth. If you prefer your chili to be even thicker, you can simmer it on Saute mode for 5-10 minutes after it’s already been cooked under pressure.
Tips for Instant Pot Chili
- I like to use 90% lean ground beef, as it has plenty of flavor but isn’t overly greasy. You can also use ground turkey or ground chicken.
- I use a blend of beans, with one can of kidney beans and one can of pinto beans. Feel free to use other types of beans to suit your taste, such as black beans or red beans.
- This chili makes for great leftovers. You can store the chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
- This is a mild chili, but if you prefer a spicy chili, you can add some hot sauce to taste.
- I like to serve my chili with a variety of toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, tortilla strips, avocado and green onions.
This recipe can easily be doubled to serve a crowd. Sometimes I make a double batch just for my own family, then freeze half for another night. You’ll find yourself making this recipe over and over again!
More soups and stews
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Chicken Vegetable Soup
- Beef Noodle Soup
- Hamburger Soup
Instant Pot Chili
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 3 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- Assorted toppings such as shredded cheese, tomatoes, green onions and sour cream
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to Saute, then select More. Add the olive oil to the pot. Add the meat and cook until browned, breaking up the beef with a spatula as you stir.
- Add the onion and cook for 3 more minutes or until softened.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, pepper and beans to the pot.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the Chili/Beans setting and place the lid on the pot. Cook for 20 minutes. Release the pressure either manually or allow it to release naturally.
- Serve with assorted toppings.
This chili was delicious! will definitely makes again.
I’m looking forward to making this for a football party this weekend, and love the simplicity!
Question- The “8 ounce cans tomato sauce” – I’ve only ever seen tomato paste, not sauce, in 8oz cans. Can you confirm?
Thanks!
Most cans of tomato paste are 6 ounces, they are smaller than cans of tomato sauce. Are you in America? Sometimes tomato sauce can be labeled differently in other countries.
You definitely cook the beans first in the instant pot- 1 pound dried beans
Boil the red kidney beans for 10 mins.
Then in your instant pot.
8 cups water…(don’t go over half full)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons salt (salt is key do not omit)
2 to 3 cloves peeled garlic, optional
1 bay leaf, optionalRed kidney beans: 25-30 minutes (boil for 10 minutes before pressure cooking)
Natural release for another 20-30 mins.
First time trying this recipe for Instant Pot chili…I’ll let you know how it goes!
I probably shouldn’t schedule everything based on recipe cook times but if helpful: this took about 10-15 minutes to saute 2lbs of beef until it was all brown; another 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to warm up and start pressure cooking; then another 20 minutes to actually cook. A little runny for our taste so another 5-10 minutes on saute mode. So cook time (not including prep) was actually a full hour!
This is excellent information! I’m always trying to add all the times in my head. IP Recipes always underestimate times IMHO. Cheers!
Love love love this recipe . I won 3rd place at our campgrounds chili cook off last year . I plan on entering again this year for repeat win .
Hello, how do I adjust the recipe to use uncooked raw beans? How many cups of beans and stock and cooking time is needed for this recipe? Thanks.
This recipe is really meant for pre-cooked beans. I’d recommend cooking the beans first in the Instant Pot by themselves, then following this recipe. Otherwise the meat will be overcooked if it cooks with the beans!
I have been making this for YEARS. It is a staple in our kitchen but also for our many camping trips. Everyone loves it. The only thing I add is a tablespoon of curry – because I used it once to replace maybe paprika? But anyway, THANK YOU for this easy recipe that was one of the first I used with my InstaPot.
This has become my go-to chili recipe for my family. Dark chocolate cocoa gives it a rich flavor. It smells heavenly and I wish I could eat it (allergic to nightshades, unfortunately).
Note: if you have a 6 quart Instant Pot and want to double the recipe, leave out the beans, 8 oz of the tomato sauce, and the beef broth and it will make it right to the PC fill line. you can add the tomato sauce and beef broth back in and allow it to simmer after you take a couple of servings out.
Oh yeah, I add 2 cans of green chiles, Hatch if I can get them.
So I have a ninja Pressure cooker and do not have a beans options. So I just did pressure cook for 6min. Was not sure what to do in this case.
You’d just use the manual pressure setting!
Consistently good. I add Anaheim and jalapeño peppers along with Rotel diced tomatoes to add to the zing. This recipe offers a lot of room for flavor experimentation. Or it’s delicious just as it’s published. Thank you for sharing!
This is always my go-to chili recipe. It has good flavor, but oddly it had a lot of extra liquid when I made it last night following the recipe. I think next time I will add the beef broth bullion without the extra water. I made it with ground yak meat and the spice nicely complemented the yak. It is not spicy so if you like spicy, add your own hot spice. This is always my go-to chili recipe. I think a little less oil could be used as well as I was skimming some off the top (and yak is not particularly fatty).
I can no longer eat chili (no nightshades anymore, so chili powder makes this a no-go), but this has been the go-to recipe for the men in my house. I add two cans of diced Hatch chilis and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and they’ll add hot sauce of their choosing. Always a hit. It’s cooking right now and my husband begged me to double the recipe – it’s that good.
I would like to make this in the instapot and can it. What alternations should I make?
Unfortunately I am not a canning expert so I’m not sure how you would can it!
I cook for my elderly father, and he loves this recipe. It is so easy to make and quite tasty. It has just enough spice. Thank you for the great directions! They were so easy to follow, too!
Hello. When you get a burn notice. Do you need to start the 20 min over?!? Or just what ever time would have been left? Thank you advance.
I’d just do whatever time is left.
Just give it a good stir and allow the time to keep going.
Hello, I’m pretty new to cooking with Instant Pot so please excuse my ignorance. But when I pressed Sauté it showed me 30, then I pressed More (as per instructions) and it went to 1. Am I supposed to then select how many minutes I want the Saute function to stay on? And also when I press Bean/Chili it shows me 30 again, but the recipe says cook for 20 minutes, so should I change that setting? Thank you!
You should be able to adjust the time up and down with the plus and minus buttons!
I love this recipe! I made it all winter long. We are winter campers and this is the perfect dish to freeze and reheat when we are camping!
Has been my go to chili recipe for over 2 years!!! My friends and family love this recipe
Excellent! Perfect balanced flavor! I used kidney beans soaked overnight and 4 c beef broth because I like it soupy
Delicious, quick and easy! Definitely will make this again when need a fast recipe for chili.
I normally make bad chilli. I’ve made this several times and loved it every time.