Damn Good Instant Pot Chili

Instant Pot Chili tastes like it has been simmering all day on your stove top, when actually it is done in a fraction of the time- just 30 minutes in your electric pressure cooker! This is some damn good chili!

Ground beef is seasoned with herbs and chili spices and mixed with onions, celery, and peppers, then blended with chili beans and northern beans in a tomato base.

This Instant Pot Chili recipe will be your new go-to when you want a big bowl of chili on a cold night. Just add some cornbread, buttermilk cornbread, cornbread muffins, or cinnamon rolls (it’s a Midwestern thing… pick these Halloween cinnamon rolls during the fall) and you have a perfect dinner.

Why This Recipe is So Great

Then it makes amazing leftovers. Just like traditional Chili, it gets more flavorful with time. This is a great make-ahead Instant Pot dinner. Save it in your fridge for up to 5 days and reheat portions as needed.

Chili Beans

We are not trying to reinvent the wheel over here. This chili recipe calls for store-bought canned chili beans in sauce. Which are usually red beans or pinto beans in a chili flavored sauce. I generally buy Mild Brooks brand, but if you like spicy chili buy the spicy beans.

Do not drain your chili beans. The sauce is flavored perfectly for your chili and adds the right amount of liquid for the recipe.

I know that there is some controversy as to whether or not chili should have beans. I vote for beans, so obviously this recipe has beans! If you hate the bean- check out this recipe for true Texas Style Chili with no beans.

How To Make Instant Pot Chili

Start with your pot on sauté, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then crumble and brown 1 lb of ground beef. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through. It will continue to cook under pressure.

Drain any excess grease before moving on.

Stir in 1 diced yellow onion, 2 chopped celery stalks, and 3 chopped garlic cloves. Sauté for just a few minutes.

Add the seasonings:

• 1 ½ tablespoon sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of each: ground allspice or clove, and some red pepper flakes

Stir to coat the beef & veggies.

ADD THE NEXT INGREDIENTS IN ORDER, AND DO NOT STIR– ½ cup water, 1 can drained northern beans, 1 can chili beans (NOT drained), 16 oz tomato sauce, 15 oz can diced tomatoes (not drained).

Pop the lid on and set for 10 minutes chili/bean mode (or manual pressure/high), do a 5 minute natural release and then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.

Stir, let cool for a few minutes and serve!

Spice Level

I would say that this chili recipe is mild in spiciness. If you like a real kick of heat when you eat chili you have a couple options:

• When you add all the spices add more red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.
• Use spicy chili beans in sauce.
• Add a jalapeno pepper (the seeds and ribs carry the majority of the heat) with the celery, and onion.
• Dash in some hot sauce while you are eating.

Thickening Chili

If you like your broth a little thicker you can pop your Instant Pot on sauté mode (low or normal) for about 5-10 minutes to simmer out some of the water content and concentrate the flavors.

Toppings

If you are a chili purist and like it just as is, skip this section. But if you like “loaded” chili, here are some great topping ideas:

• sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• green onions or red onions
• jalapenos
• cilantro
• cheese
• fritos or chili cheese fritos
• crumbled cornbread
• hot sauce

Variations

There are so many different types of chili from chili con carne to veggie chili. Here are some great variations for this Instant Pot Chili to make it your own:

1. Use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of the beef. (or check out this Hearty Turkey Chili Recipe)
2. Add a jalapeno with the onion and garlic to make it a little spicier.
3. Sub in 1 chopped bell pepper in place of the diced green chilies.
4. Try different beans in place of the Northern Beans: something like black beans or red kidney beans can work here!
5. Instead of serving as a soup, pour it on top of a baked potato!

No Instant Pot??

No problem, bounce over to this recipe for Classic Chili. This one is made the old fashioned way on the stove top for that simmered all day flavor.

More Chili Recipes

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