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.
I am not a person that comments on recipes, but this was the best chili I have ever made. Seriously this is my new forever recipe for chili. I did end up making it in the slow cooker, because I doubled the recipe and like an idiot it wasn’t until I put the meat in the instant pot that I realized it was’t all going to fit, but I had done all my prep already so it went in the slow cooker for 7 hours on low. Which honestly was fine because I was meal prepping, but I think next time I will actually make it in the instant pot! Flavor is out of this world. I’m planning on eating it for lunch today as is without any sour cream or cheese or anything. Oh! And I like heat so I added 2 jalapeños and put them in with the onions to brown with the meat (that then got transferred to the slow cooker).
Seriously though, if you are looking for a chili recipe, THIS IS IT. Thanks for sharing, and I will definitely be looking for my next meal prep dinner here!
amazing. my whole family loved it. Easy to make cheap as well. my kids at their whole bowl and normally it’s hard for me to get them to eat anything different.
Loved the recipe. Only thing I would change is add green peppers to it. Other than that, delicious
I was about to write and say this! My dear mother-in-law used to use diced green pepper in the chili for flavor and a bit of crunch. Delicious! Next time for sure 😄
New to instant pot. Do I start counting 20 minutes from when I close the lid or when it stops saying preheat ing
20 minutes after it preheats!
I got a “burn” notification on my instant pot while making this. Any tips to prevent this?
I’m sorry that happened! You can try adding 1/3 cup of water to the pot, then stir everything together and re-start the pot.
@brittany…Be sure the seal is in the sealed position; I say this because I forgot once with potato soup.🤫 Got the burn notif. and soup turned into dry mashed potato with burned bottom. A disaster.
@sara…what does the cocoa powder do? I’ve never heard of adding cocoa powder before…my brother used to add a Tbsp of grape jelly in spaghetti sauce, (which I’d never heard of either), but it was great.
Thanks for this recipe, going to try it this week; it’s actually cool enough, at the moment anyway, in south Louisiana for some chili!
The cocoa powder just adds a complex flavor, you don’t even taste it specifically!
This is my new favorite chili! I make it with 3 lbs of 93% ground beef so it winds up being 40% protein, 30% fat, 30% carbs. It is perfect for my macro diet goals and so tasty and easy. Thank you so much!
Well, all my ingredients are in the Insta Pot but I don’t have s chili/beans setting. What do you think I would set it at if I were doing manual? Got get this cooking so I hit the soup/broth button. Crossing my fingers it turns out.
It should cook the same way on manual!
Very easy to make and my whole family loved it! Even my 1 year old and very picky 4 year old daughter devoured her plate! Thank you this will be a weekly staple at my house! Only change I made was using 3 pounds of lean ground Turkey!
Eating this as we speak.. The flavor is pretty fabulous! The only thing I did differently was to add a chopped jalapeno. The husband loves it too. It has a little kick but is not overly spicey. Great recipe. Thank you
Do you drain the beans?
Yes you do!
Thank you!
Does this mean I need 3 of 8 oz cans? So 24oz total?? or 38 oz total.
3 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
3 8-ounce cans, 24 ounces total
I made this chili tonight. The flavors are amazing for chili.
I will make this again.
Thank you
Sara!
Thank you. Mom of 4 and wife to 1 (who is out of town). My 4year old helped me and we were dancing with delight. Great for after soccer or just cause you want a kick ass bowl of chili! Thanks, it is a total keeper. I added fresh onions to the mix while in the instant pot, I find this way the onion flavor really comes through. Still, the bomb!
I see the nutritional info, but no serving size. What is the serving size?
It’s 1 1/2 cups!
Oh wow I am eating this now and it is incredibly good. I followed the recipe exactly the only change was, I was too cheap to buy a whole can of cocoa powder, so I just bought a Hersheys’ chocolate bar and used a few blocks of that and reduced the sugar to 1/2 tsp. Super delicious and so simple! This is going to be my go-to chili recipe!
We made this recently and it was great! I’m planning on making it again and adding some chopped chipotle in adobo sauce to add some heat. This is a very good recipe though, and we loved the texture and thickness.
This chili came out amazingly delicious!
We made three changes.
First, we had added in another pound of ground beef for a total of three. Secondly, I added in chopped bell peppers with the onions. And last I made a slurry from cornstarch to thicken up the sauce after it finished cooking.
Perfection!
One of the best chili recipes I have ever tried! Two small modifications, added 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a half can of pumpkin puree. I think the pumpkin does a nice job thickening things up and adds fiber too! Just a great tasting chili.
This was so delish! I did some modifications: I didn’t use canned beans, I soaked over night red beans, black turtle beans and red kidney beans. I don’t know how much I exactly used but my guess is a about 3 1/2 to 4 can’s worth of beans. I also added a green pepper as someone had mentioned in comments. Because I had more beans I was a bit worried about moisture, so I used a full can of beef broth and two 15 oz cans of tomato sauce. The rest was pretty much the same. I have to say this is the best chili I have made in my life! The sauce was so rich and thick! Wish I could upload a pic! I really feel it has to do with using the dried beans. My instant pot took about 38 mins for the natural release which I think is a good thing to mention 🙂
Great Chili, I added a small green pepper and a few jalapeños but would suggest adding tomato paste after the onions and before the rest of the ingredients to help thicken the sauce up a bit. You want to add the paste and cook it out a bit to remove the bitter taste from the paste.
How much tomato paste did you add?
You should add corn meal at the end! Thickens it up and adds great flavor.
Made this in my instant pot this evening and it was awesome. I followed recipe exactly but added a red and green pepper. Turned out awesome.
What size instapot is this recipe for?
It works with most sizes of pots!