Instant Pot Chili

A hearty, comforting dish this Instant Pot chili is made with both black and kidney beans, ground beef, fresh vegetables, tomatoes, and of course a delicious blend of chili and other spices. The perfect weeknight meal when served with fresh cornbread, or homemade naan and a simple green salad.

Originating in Texas, and first made with only beef chuck, chili peppers, and other spices, this hearty stew-like dish quickly made its way across North America picking up local ingredients as it went. Eventually, it morphed into the chili we are all familiar with these days. A rich stew-like dish filled with beans, tomatoes, peppers, and spices.

Featured in Ideas for Winter Dinners

This post contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated if a purchase is made through the links provided at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.

Why Use The Instant Pot?

While you can certainly make this chili recipe in a pot on the stove the old fashioned way, making chili in the Instant Pot cuts the regular cooking time in half, making this recipe much easier to pull off any day of the week.

Traditional recipes call for simmering the chili anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours. This helps infuse all the flavors and make sure the beans are properly cooked.

In the Instant Pot, the high pressure helps cut down the cooking time of the beans, as well as infuse flavors faster since literally, nothing escapes the pot!

Canned Beans vs Dried Beans

This recipe for Instant Pot chili calls for canned beans and this is to ensure the fastest cooking time possible.

You can use dried beans instead of canned beans, but you will need to alter the recipe slightly. You will also need to soak the beans overnight to ensure the cooking times in the IP work.

To substitute dried beans for the canned beans, use a ½ heaped cup of dried beans for every (1) 15oz can of canned beans.

Substituting other beans

If you don't have a particular type of bean in the pantry, you can easily substitute another kind of bean, such as black-eyed beans, white beans, or any variety of homegrown beans!

Just note that the color and taste of the recipe may change slightly.

What You'll Need

To make this easy Instant Pot Chili you'll need:

• Instant Pot
• 2 lb ground lean beef
• 1 can kidney beans (15oz) - drained
• 1 can black beans (15oz) - drained
• 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes (28oz)
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1 whole white or Spanish onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 medium green bell pepper
• ½ jalapeno pepper - seeds removed
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2.5 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Optional Toppings

• ½ cup chopped green onion
• ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

A Couple Of Notes

• The instructions below in the recipe card can be followed to make Instant Pot chili on the stove as well. After you've sauteed all the meat, and vegetables, and added the spices and canned products, simply simmer the chili for 1.5 - 2 hours before serving. Taste and season as always.
• While I consider this chili recipe to be fairly mild, I realize everyone has different tastes. If you prefer your chili less spicy, omit the jalapeno and reduce the amount of chili powder.
• If you don't have black beans or kidney beans, pretty much any bean can be substituted. See the section above if you wish to use dried beans instead of canned.
• When first opening the IP after cooking, the chili may seem quite watery. this is because all the solids will settle to the bottom as it cooks. Just stir the chili well and it should come back to a thick chunky texture. if you still find it too thin, simmer it on saute until some of the water has been cooked out.
• This Instant Pot Chili is perfect for meal prep and can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days after cooking. You can even freeze it for up to 3 weeks!

More recipes using the Instant Pot

• Instant Pot Pork Shoulder (For Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Tacos, & More)
• Instant Pot Applesauce
• Instant Pot Wild Rice
• Instant Pot Popcorn + 6 Popular Seasonings
• Instant Pot Chicken Stock
• Instant Pot French Onion Soup

Made the recipe? Comment & Rate it below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook. For more from scratch recipes, follow me on Facebook & Pinterest.

Recipe