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Home » Main Meals

Instant Pot Chili Recipe Made Easy

Published: Nov 8, 2020 · Modified: Jul 1, 2021 by Muna · This post may contain affiliate links ·

Recipe

Are you looking for a quick and delicious dinner? This Instant Pot Chili recipe is what you should go for. It’s flavorful because I used warm earthy spices, the meat is tender and perfectly browned, and the sauce alone is just luscious. You can have it with cornbread, over rice, or with biscuits if you want to go southern style. The texture of chili is very close to Sloppy Joes but with more sauce.

In this post, I will share how to cook chili in a crockpot, on a stovetop, plus many tips on storing the leftover and step by step images, so please read on!

Instant pot chili recipe served in a bowl. #chili #recipe #dinner #instantpot

What is Chili?

It is called chili in the USA, but in the UK and Australia, it is chili con carne. In case you were wondering, Con Carne means with meat. This dish is Mexican/Spanish. However, some claim that it’s originated in Texas! Chili has three main ingredients, meat, beans, and onion. Some say that Chili refers to the hot green chili or jalapeno added to the dish; others think it’s referring to the spice mix used in the recipe—more about chili powder in the list of ingredients below.

This quick meal is not only for Winter, but you can enjoy it all year long. There are different versions of the chili recipe, but the difference won’t be major. People usually change the type of beans or change the spices a little. I know that some even add unsweetened cocoa powder, which gives it a deeper and more intense flavor!

My sister is the one who introduced Chili con carne to me, and I’m glad she did. I remember that she served it over pasta, topping it with cheese. It was an unforgettable dinner indeed!

What type of beans to use?

It depends on you really, to this chili recipe, you can add red beans, pinto beans, or black beans. I like to add both red and black beans. This recipe is so forgiving and will taste great with any beans you choose. I have used canned beans, but you can also add homecooked plain boiled beans.

Side shot of Instant pot chili recipe with slice of lemon on the side. #instantpot #chili #chilirecipe #dinner

Chili recipe ingredients

(More details in the recipe card below).

Ground beef: I recommend making your ground beef at home, but if you can’t, then go for 85% lean ground beef. You can also use goat meat or lamb meat. From my experience, lamb meat has more flavor and is more tender than beef.

Onions, garlic, green chili, and fresh tomatoes: Please don’t use garlic and onion powder; these fresh ingredients will enhance the flavor.

Pasta sauce: Use your favorite pasta sauce, but if you don’t have pasta sauce available then, mix 1 tablespoon chopped oregano, or 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley with two and a half cup pureed tomato. Keep aside to use later in the recipe to substitute the pasta sauce.

Chicken bouillon: Beef bouillon will do too.

Water.

Spices: Black pepper, salt, paprika, cumin, and Italian seasoning. These spices are also called chili powder. Don’t mistake it for the red chili powder you see in the store. There are two types, and both are called chili powder; one has red hot chili in a powder form, and the other is a blend of spices used in making chili recipe. I prefer making my mix since it is easier, has no preservatives, and I can control how much from each spice to add.

Olive oil: Use extra virgin, but if you want a richer flavor, try adding olive oil and butter.

A can of your preferred beans.

How to make the best chili recipe in an instant pot?

(More details in the recipe card below).

  1. Rinse the beans twice; any traces from the preservatives will ruin the taste.
  2. Turn the instant pot to sauté, add the olive oil and onion, sauté until translucent.
  3. Add the beef and brown it. Scoop the juices out to brown the meat faster.
  4. Now add all the ingredients except the pasta sauce and the beans. Stir.
  5. Pour the pasta sauce, and the beans stir gently. Press the cancel button. Cover the pot and choose the pressure-cooking option. Turn the venting knob to sealing.
  6. Choose 13 minutes. Allow the instant pot to naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes while on keeping warm mode.
  7. Release pressure by turning the venting knob to venting (use a wooden spoon or a silicone oven mitt to do so). When the valve drops, it’s safe to open the instant pot.

How to cook chili on a stovetop?

  • It would be best if you rinsed the beans at least twice. Keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion, sauté until translucent.
  • Add the garlic and sauté for a minute on medium-low heat.
  • To the same pan, add the ground beef. Cook the beef until brown and the juices have evaporated.
  • Add the spices and stir for a minute on medium-low heat.
  • Now add the rest of the ingredients except the beans.
  • Let the mixture come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Regularly stir to prevent the chili from burning. Add boiling water if it looked dry.
  • Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover for 15 minutes. Allowing the chili to rest for 15 minutes will do two things:
  • All the ingredients will come together and release more flavor.
  • The extra oil will come up to the surface, and you can either leave it or scoop it out.

Crockpot chili recipe

  1. Rinse the canned beans twice or even better thrice and keep aside.
  2. In a pan, add the olive oil and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute on medium-low. Remove it from the pan and add it to the crockpot.
  3. Add the beef to the previous pan and brown the beef. Add oil if needed, but probably it will have enough oil coming from the beef. Scoop out the extra juices from the beef to speed up the browning process. Add the browned beef to the crockpot.
  4. Now add all the remaining ingredients except the beans to the crockpot and mix well. Cover the crockpot and let it cook low and slow for 5 hours on low heat.
  5. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Serve.
close up shot of Instant pot chili recipe topped with sour cream and cheese. #instant pot #chilirecipe #chili

How to thicken the sauce and make it Gluten-free?

You can make the chili sauce thicker by mixing one and a half tablespoons of either flour, cornstarch, or masa harina with half a cup of water and then adding it to the chili with the rest of the ingredients if you are using an instant pot or a crockpot. If you cook this dish on a stovetop, then reduce the dry thickeners mentioned above to 1 tablespoon and mix with half a cup of water. Then add it at the same time when adding the pasta sauce and continue cooking as per the recipe.

Variations you may consider

More vegetables. For a healthier option, add vegetables like green and red bell peppers, celery, carrots, or mushrooms. Usually, half a cup to a cup of chopped vegetables goes well with the meat and sauce amount in this recipe. Bell pepper has a strong flavor so, you can reduce the amount to a quarter cup of diced or chopped bell pepper.

Go Spicy. Add in one more green chili or jalapeño, if you can take the heat.

Use ground chicken or turkey. The recipe stays the same except on the stovetop. Reduce cooking time to 20 minutes.

Use a mixture of ground beef and sausage. When adding sausage, you might want to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe. There is salt in the pasta sauce and in the chicken bouillon, remember to check the seasoning before adding salt.

Top the chili with your favorites

Depending on your liking, you can top this amazing dish with different toppings that have different textures and flavors; below are some of my favorites, and I think you should give it a try.

Cheddar cheese: Shred some and let it melt over the chili.

Chopped onions: A teaspoon go perfect with this dish if it is served over rice or pasta.

Sour cream: I can’t imagine having chili without sour cream; it adds an outstanding flavor.

Tortilla chips or strips: crush some over that luscious sauce and enjoy the crunch.

Chopped Cilantro or parsley.

Lemon or lime wedges: Squeezing some on that tender meat takes it to another level.

My favorite combo of toppings is shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

eating Instant pot chili.

How to serve chili for kids

Reducing the heat in chili is a good idea if you are cooking for kids. Serve it in two ways:

  1. Serve on hot dog sandwiches. Pour some over the hot dog while it is in the roll then top it with shredded cheese and mustard. I know kids will go crazy for this one.
  2. Another treat to wow your kids with is pouring some of the chili over French fries, topping it with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.

How to store the leftover?

The best part about chili is that it stores well. You can refrigerate and freeze it, and it will taste the same if you use a Ziplock bag or an airtight container. Here are two ways to store it:

Refrigeration: When the chili cools, pour it into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To heat it, microwave, or even better, heat it in a saucepan on a stovetop.

Freezing: Pour the chili in a Ziplock bag, make sure to take out as much air as you can, seal properly and freeze it. Chili can be stored for up to one month in the freezer.

To heat a frozen chili, let it thaw overnight or for 7 hours in the fridge and then microwave or heat in a saucepan on the stovetop. It’s better to freeze serving sizes in different Ziplock bags; this way, you can thaw as much as you want to consume and leave the rest for later. Once you thaw the chili, you can’t refrigerate or freeze it again.

Tips for best results

  • Never skip cooking the onion until translucent; it adds a hint of sweetness to this dish, which cuts down the tomatoes' acidity. If you keep the onion raw, especially when cooking in a crockpot, you will end up having slightly crunchy onions.
  • When using ground chicken, the best cut will be thighs or a mixture of both thighs and breasts.
  • Browning the meat might take time, but it’s the only way to make this dish so flavorful; make sure the meat is browned. If you double the recipe, brown the beef in batches.
  •  If you tasted the sauce and found it on the sour side, it is probably the acid from the tomato or the pasta sauce. You can fix this by adding 1 teaspoon to 1 and a half teaspoon of sugar to the chili.
instant pot chili recipe feature image.

Instant Pot Chili Recipe

It’s flavorful because I used warm earthy spices. The meat is tender and perfectly brownies with a luscious sauce.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chili recipe, crockpot chili, instant pot chili
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 345kcal
Author: Muna Kenny

Ingredients

  • 600 gm ground beef
  • 2 chopped onions
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 ½ cup pasta sauce How to make a sub in post above.
  • 2 green chilis chopped
  • 1 chicken bouillon
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • 3 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 15 oz can of your favorite bean black, red, or pinto
  • ½ cup water

Instructions

  • Rinse the beans twice to get rid of the salt and starch brine (preservative). Keep aside.
  • Turn the instant pot to sauté. When the screen reads Hot, add the olive oil and the onions, sauté until translucent.
  • Add the ground beef and brown it. The ground beef will release a lot of juices and fat which you can scoop out of the pot to make the browning process faster.
  • Add all the ingredients except the beans and the tomato sauce. Stir for two minutes.
  • Add the tomato sauce and the beans, stir gently.
  • Press on the cancel button and then press on pressure cooking and. Turn the venting knob to sealing. Choose 13 minutes, then let it release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes while on keeping warm mode.
  • Release the pressure completely by turning the venting knob to venting (use a wooden spoon or a silicone oven mitt to do so. Careful not to burn yourself). When the floating valve drops, it’s safe to open the instant pot.

Notes

  • You can omit the chicken bouillon by replacing the amount of water mentioned in the recipe with chicken or beef broth.
  • When using pasta sauce, taste it first and if there is a hint of sourness (mostly because of the tomato), add a teaspoon of sugar to the recipe.
  • You can add 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. It won’t make the chili taste like chocolate, but it will add depth to the flavor.
  • Sour cream tastes excellent with chili as a topping; add it before serving. Never mix sour cream with the whole pot of chili, or it will curdle.
  • Instruction for cooking the chili on the stovetop and in a crockpot is available in detail in the post above.
  • Ways to store this dish is mentioned in the post.
  • If you wish to buy chili powder from the store, make sure to read the ingredients. Some have a mix of two red chili types, which we are not using in this recipe. The other chili powder will have a blend of spices used in making chili recipe.
  • This post was originally published in July 2018. I have updated some images and added more text.

Nutrition

Calories: 345kcal
DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE?Follow me on Instagram @munatycooking or tag #munatycooking!
overhead shot of Instant pot chili served with cheese and sour cream. #chili

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Instant pot chili recipe. quick and delicious dinner, made in less than 30 minutes in an instant pot. #chili #instantpotrecipe #instantpot #chilirecipe #dinner

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Comments

  1. Jack Smith

    August 04, 2018 at 11:28 am

    5 stars
    Just made this and it was DELICIOUS!! So easy to make. Will definitely make this again and again!

    Reply
    • munatycooking

      August 07, 2018 at 9:25 am

      Thank you for trying my recipe, and I am glad that you've enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kristine Nicole Alessandra

    August 10, 2020 at 3:25 am

    5 stars
    Looks really delicious! I haven't made chili in a long time, so this is definitely going into our meal plan for next week. I don't have an instant pot, so I will be making this in a slow cooker instead.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Van Haitsma

    August 10, 2020 at 7:01 am

    Chili sound so good, even though it's hot outside here. Thanks for sharing this with us. My husband would love this too.

    Reply
  4. Rosey

    August 11, 2020 at 1:07 am

    I haven' tried an instapot yet. I know I am behind the times. They sound fabulous.

    Reply
  5. Nicole Hood

    August 12, 2020 at 3:08 am

    Man I need an Instapot! This looks great.

    Reply
  6. Rahul @samosastreet

    November 09, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    I love cooking in instant pot. It has made life so easy. Muna your chili looks so amazing and full of flavors

    Reply
    • munatycooking

      November 11, 2020 at 1:35 pm

      Thank you Rahul! Yes, having an instant pot saves a lot of time, I love using it 🙂

      Reply
  7. Pickupgifts

    November 21, 2020 at 8:49 am

    5 stars
    Try this recipe today, taken a fabulous test. My daughter likes this most and asking for serve again. And definitely, I will do that again and again for her.
    Looking forward to more recipes ideas on your blog because I'm your follower from now:)

    Reply
  8. Mosaic Horoscope

    December 19, 2021 at 9:15 am

    This is so so good!!! I love chili but I never tried to cook it myself, I can't wait to make your recipe.

    Reply
  9. Angela

    December 19, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    5 stars
    I love trying new chilli recipes, I don't have an instant pot but I want one.

    Reply
  10. Sienna

    December 19, 2021 at 7:04 pm

    What a perfect winter meal! Love something warm and filling on a cold night!

    Reply
  11. Angela

    December 19, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    I love all chilli recipes. I dont have an instant pot yet but i want one now.

    Reply
  12. Roamy

    December 20, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    Im a terrible cook but I think even I can pull this one off.Will let you know how it goes.

    Reply
  13. Renata Feyen

    December 20, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    It looks so inviting - we also call it chili con carne in Belgium

    Reply
  14. Kat

    December 20, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    this will be a perfect dish for this holiday celebration! thank you for sharing this. My nephews would love this!

    Reply
  15. aisasami

    December 21, 2021 at 10:36 am

    I really love chili, it is perfect for winter. I don't have a instant pot, is it ok to just cook it over the stove?

    Reply
  16. Krysten Quiles

    December 21, 2021 at 11:19 am

    5 stars
    I absolutely love chili, but I've never tried to make it in the Instant Pot. Will definitely have to try this out!

    Reply

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Hello there, and welcome! I’m Muna, the writer, food photographer, and videographer at Munaty Cooking. I’m also the mother of a handsome young man. I’m from and reside in Sharjah. Oh, and there are more fun facts about me!

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