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.
Excellent recipe! Changed things up a little, simmered the beans (2 cans of drained Red Kidney) with a coating of olive oil and 2 Tbsp Chili powder, I do this to get rid of the “metallic taste” of canned beans and to liven them up. At step 2 – I first added the broth to the cooked meat/onions/garlic then mixed the remaining ingredients in a bowl before layering them on top, this avoided the burn notice some people mentioned. I also added a can (540ml) of diced tomatoes with chili spices. Cooked as directed. I natural released for 10 minutes, opened it up, stirred, and left it closed up on Keep warm till supper time (about 3 hours). Served with garlic bread covered with melted Tex-Mex cheese. Recipe ended up with a tiny little kick to it. but not much. The whole family loved it.
Hi, thanks for posting a handy recipe!
I’m just a little confused on what you mean by tomato sauce. Do you mean tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, or actual, premade, seasoned tomato sauce?
Thanks 🙂
Actual premade seasoned tomato sauce in cans!
If u go to the canned tomato isle in the store, you will find tomato sauce in cans 🙂
I’ve loved this recipe for a couple years now and was so excited to make it in my BF’s bigger instant pot. Until I couldn’t find a chili/bean button!!?? Please help, what do I do?
You can just use manual high pressure!
Good recipe! First time making chili in an instant pot. 😋 I panicked for a minute because my instant pot duo Evo plus doesn’t have the chili/bean button. But came to the comments gladly to find that you can just cook it on high. Which was my best guess. Thx for the recipe. Perhaps that tip would help in the instructions!
Literally the best chili recipe I’ve made. My whole family loves it. For some reason it unpinned from my board and I wanted to cry when I went to look for it. So happy I finally found it again. Also—don’t skip the cocoa powder. It gives it so much depth!!
I also add pinto and black beans. Sometimes substituting ground turkey. It’s soooo good!
I just made this chili for the first time my daughter has been asking me to make chili for a long while so I looked up online and found yours and I made it. My family and I loved it so I pinned it, we will be doing this again.
How big is the serving size?
It’s 1 1/2 cups!
Will it all fit in s6qt instant pot if I double the recipe? If not, can I do 1-1/2 recipe and it not be too full? We’re having a small get- together and I want to be sure I have enough. Thanks!
A 1 1/2 serving should fit fine in a 6 quart pot!
I didn’t have a go-to chili recipe – but now I do! The depth of flavor in this chili is so great. It’s got just the right amount of spice for me (I don’t like super spicy) but if you like more spice, throw in some jalapeños, cayenne pepper, or your favorite hot sauce. I highly recommend this recipe!
What size Instant Pot is this for? How much chili does this make?
You can use a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot!
Great as is. I didn’t stir the spices in and followed directions exactly. It was a little runny for my liking even after trying to saute it down, so I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with about 1 tablespoon of water (separately mixed together) and poured that in and it was perfect. Will for sure make again. No burn notice for me
Really yummy looking
This was so so good!! My go to recipe for chili. The chili wasn’t thick enough though, I recommend draining the tomato for a standard chili thickness. Putting the chili on sauté mode did not work for me.
My instapot stopped pressurizing! 🙁 any tips on how long to cook on stovetop?
You can just simmer it over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes!
I am making chili as I right this. You can avoid the burn notice on your Instant Pot by adding the tomatoes and sauce last (on top) and not stirring. Love your recipes, my favorite site.
Super easy and ended up delicious!
Great basic chili recipe. I was skeptical about some of the ingredients, cocoa and sugar in particular. I’m still not certain what they might have contributed to the overall flavor, but my wife and I both really enjoyed this, so I’ll continue to make it as written. There were a couple of changes that I made because of personal preferences and what I had on hand. I used pre-cut beef stew meat, cut into small, bite sized pieces instead of hamburger. I added a can of black beans, 2 stalks of celery, and diced bell pepper. Again, I think that the basic recipe lends itself to a variety of changes based on what you have on hand, your desired level of spiciness, or your personal preferences. We’ll absolutely use this as our base going forward.
This is a delicious recipe and I will make it again. I used 1 lb of dry red beans that I cooked and drained earlier in the day, but otherwise followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Unfortunately as soon as the IP came to pressure, I got a burn notice. I did a quick release, gave it a good stir and started again, but got a second burn notice. By this time, it was thoroughly cooked, so I served it anyway. Should I add more than 3/4 cup of beef broth the next time?
Stirring it should get rid of the burn notice. I don’t think you’d need to add any more broth!
Thank you for helping me to win 1st place in a chili cook-off! I would like to venmo you a tip! Cheers
This is absolutely our favorite chili recipe. I have made it at least a dozen times. It never disappoints. Ty 🥰
It says it serves 6, do you know how big each portion is? I have To measure food for bariatric reasons, so i was wondering how many ounces or cups a serving is?
It should be 1 1/2 cups!