Instant Pot Chili

Instant Pot Chili is delicious, easy, and healthy meal. It’s a perfect dump & start recipe and great for weeknight dinners. Use for meal prepping as leftovers are great for reheating.

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Chili is one of my husband’s absolutely favourite meals. He can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am not exaggerating as I have seen him do just that.

I tried making chili the old-fashion way on the stove a few times but I lacked the patience, so it was my husband’s recipe to make for years. He spent days making it, soaking beans, cooking everything from scratch.

Once I got my Instant Pot, I knew that I had to come up with an easy way to make chili in Instant Pot. And I’m so glad I did. I’ve been making this Instant Pot Chili for two winters now and it comes out perfect and delicious every time. It is also super easy to make and great for those days when you don’t have time to go to a grocery store.

This Instant Pot Chili is delicious, easy, and very affordable. Made with a few good quality canned goods and a little bit of ground meat, it tastes like it’s been simmering on the stove for hours!

Ingredients to make easy Instant Pot Chili

• Onion
• Extra lean ground beef (or other lean ground meat of choice)
• Canned black beans
• Canned red beans
• Canned mixed beans
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Chili Seasoning (I use homemade chili seasoning, if I don’t have homemade, this is the kind I like)
• Water

How to make Chili in Instant Pot

1. Add all the ingredients to Instant Pot, no need to mix, just layer everything.
2. Cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes then do a natural pressure release.
3. Mix and enjoy!

Serve with: sour cream or yogurt, cheddar cheese, cilantro, green onion, and crusty bread.

Yes, it is that easy!

Tips for making Instant Pot Chili

• To speed up the time it takes for Instant Pot to come to pressure, turn saute mode one while you are getting all the ingredients ready. Add the onion and let it cook while you are getting the meat from the fridge. Add the meat and let everything cook while you are draining and rinsing the beans and getting everything into the electric pressure cooker. Make sure to scrape everything really well if there are any burnt onion bits in the pot, should you choose to saute.

 

• You can use fresh ground meat or frozen ground meat without defrosting. There’s no need to adjust the cooking time. If you use frozen ground meat, you’ll just need to break it into bite-size pieces with a spatula once everything is cooked.

• You can use any ground meat as long as it’s lean, so extra lean ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey. If you use regular ground beef then chili might be a bit too greasy.

 

• If you are using fresh ground meat, you can mix it with the onion if you’d like. It’ll help the meat separate into smaller pieces. However, you don’t have to mix at all. If you do not mix, then you will just need to break the meat with a spatula once everything is cooked. 

 

• Please dice the onion as finely as possible. There’s nothing worse than big chunks of stewed onion!

 

• If you are using my Homemade Chili Seasoning mix then note that it uses a fair bit of cumin, which is absolutely delicious in this recipe, however it will leave the smell on your Instant Pot sealing ring!! 
  • I highly recommend having a few extra sealing rings for just such an occasion. This way you can use one for all the savoury foods that have strong smells.
  • Note, you can actually wash the lid in a dishwasher. Check your manual for the specific directions.
  • It usually takes about 3-4 washes in a dishwasher to remove the smell. However, the smell does not transfer to the food.

• If you are using store-bought chili seasoning packets, then I suggest adding a pinch of cinnamon and a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder just to bring it to the next level. 
  • You’ll need one packet of store-bought chili seasoning. It’s usually 35g, or about 3 tablespoons.
  • This is the the kind I like seasoning packet that I like and use when I don’t have homemade seasoning available.

 

• You can use any combination of canned beans you like but I prefer black beans, red beans, and then a can of mixed beans.

 

• Fun tip: you can leave this chili in Instant Pot on keep warm for the whole day. I’ve done it a few times on snowy winter days. Made it in the morning for lunch and we just kept getting small servings of chili throughout the day.

 

• IMPORTANT: I have made this Instant Pot Chili at least a dozen times and I use my Duo usually with no problems. My Smart Wifi Instant Pot model is a bit iffy and it works half of the time and gives burn notice the other half time. If you are worried that 1/2 cup liquid is not enough and you know that your Instant Pot easily gives out burn notice, then add 1 cup liquid. Once everything is cooked and Instant Pot is open, then use saute function for another 10-15 minutes to cook out some of the extra liquid.
  • 1/2 cup cooking liquid should be enough for most some Instant Pot 6 quart models as there’s liquid in vegetables, tomatoes, and juices in the meat also. But some models may require more liquid.

More warming instant pot recipes

• Cranberry Braised Beef Short Ribs (instant pot or oven)
• The Ultimate Guide for Making Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Creamy Salmon Pasta
• Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie
• Instant Pot Beet Risotto Recipe

DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?

Join my Real Ingredients Instant Pot Recipes Facebook Group!!! It’s a fun and safe place to share your own Instant Pot recipes made with Real Ingredients.