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.
Lynda here again
I found some older reviews
I switch to saute and it worked perfectly to finish cooking
I love the name of your site
As I was making this recipe I had
3 dogs and 5 cats all sitting in the kitchen watching me……my zoo……
Love this recipe
Thanks from my zoo to yous
I’ve cooked this many times and it turns out great everytime. I have since moved on from Instapot. Can you please tell me how long to cook with just a normal pot?
You can just simmer it on the stove for about 30 minutes instead of using an Instant Pot!
Best chili I’ve ever had in my life and I’ve had many. Made it measure for measure but added 2 chopped up jalapeños and garlic paste instead of minced garlic. Thank you so much for sharing. Every flavor complemented each other. Topped it with shredded triple mix cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Second bowl with plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. Delicious, healthy and fulfilling.
I prepared this for the most part, as written. I used ground chuck because it was on sale and did not use oil. After browning, I drained it. All other ingredients added as directed. It was very good and we had leftovers, which we ate tonight. It was great! It has been some time since I’ve made beef chili, but this is going in the winter rotation. Thank you for a good, easy recipe.
Delicious.
best chili i’ve ever had! loved it.
Excellent!
Are you to mix the ingredients prior to pressure cooking or just layer them as per the recipe?
I mix them up!
This is a wonderful chili but it is too watery. It is not possible to simmer down in the 5-10 minutes suggested it needed about an hour. Yesterday when I made it again I withheld the stock liquid and just added better than bouillon without liquid. This turned out quite well.
How much better than bouillon did you use? I plan to try this. Thanks
1 tsp
THIS is my go-to chili recipe! It’s excellent as written. And I’ve added to it a bit, in case interested. At the start, I don’t add the oil. While on sauté, I add 3 slices of chopped raw bacon and cook til crispy, then add the ground beef as directed. Once browned, I drain most of the fat. Then I proceed with the onions, etc. Also I split the beef broth portion up with some amber ale. I proceed with the recipe.
MY FAMILY GOES NUTS.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!! We love it.
Mine was quite watery at the end, any suggestions to fix that?
You can remove the lid and turn it to saute mode and let it simmer for a few minutes to have some of the liquid evaporate off!
Set the instant pot to a low sauté and leave the top off until it reduces. This is also an great opportunity to adjust spices!
Easy & delicious. I’m a vegetarian so I substituted Impossible Burger for ground beef and used Better than Bouillon onion instead of beef broth
I’m wanting to add the Better than Bullion as well, how much did you use? Thanks!
This was delicious!! One of my new favorite recipes!!!!
Anything i need to change besides ingredients if I am going to double or triple this? Do you think 3x this would fit in an 8 quart instant pot?
It’s fine to double or triple as is, and I think an 8 quart would work!
This recipe is delicious. You know that for sure when your father says he’s all out and to make sure you bring your Insta pot for Christmas to make me more.
Doubling is fine, but tripling in an 8 quart pot was too much. I had to put the additional in my 3 quart pot.
Double maxes out my five.
I had to throw a cup out,
Sara,
I just looked at the recipe again and see that you have the nutrition info listed.
Can you provide the nutrition info for this recipe? I made it last night for dinner. I used half ground beef and half ground turkey. It was a huge hit with my boys!
Excellent recipe. Rich, flavorful chili. I only used a pound of beef, though. Added carrots, celery, mushrooms, and red bell pepper because I had them on hand. Delicious! Thank you.
If there is no Chili bean setting, what can I do?
Use manual high pressure!
What is the serving size? I know it says 6 servings. But I would like to know how much is one serving for calorie counting.
It’s 1 1/2 cups!
Best chili I’ve ever made! So flavorful! Thanks for the recipe!