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Our Instant Pot Chili Recipe is full of beef, beans, tomatoes, and spices simmered together in the pressure cooker for the fastest, easiest chili recipe ever. Everyone will think it took you all day, but it only takes about 40 minutes!

I’ve also got delicious recipes for Crockpot Chili and Healthy Turkey Chili!

instant pot, chili, ladle

The fall and winter months are the perfect time to make this Instant Pot Chili recipe. All the taste of a slow cooked chili, but in just 40 minutes! Serve with Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread, Parmesan Garlic Knots, and a Garden Salad for a complete meal.

As the days cool down, I know we will be having this Instant Pot Chili for dinner again and again!

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Instant Pot Chili Ingredients

This easy chili recipe isn’t fancy and doesn’t have any unusual ingredients in it, just meat, beans, and vegetables. It is simple and classic and that’s what I love about it.

  • Tomatoes – I use canned diced tomatoes with green chiles, a large can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of tomato sauce for maximum tomato flavor.
  • Beans – Two kinds of beans: kidney beans and black beans. You could use a different variety of you like.
  • Vegetables – An onion, a can of green chiles and a green pepper.
  • Ground beef – I choose to use a leaner variety (like 90/10) for less grease.
  • Beef Broth – water works too, to add the liquid need for IP cooking.
  • Spices – Chili powder, cumin oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I use a homemade mix of spices in my chili and love the flavor that the pressure cooker infuses into the meat. It’s not super spicy so it’s very kid friendly, but you can adjust the salt and spices to your liking, or add a few dashes of hot sauce to your own bowl.

How to Make Instant Pot Chili

  1. Brown the ground beef. Turn the IP to “saute” and wait for it to say “hot.” It should only take a minute or two. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula, and cook for about 5 minutes or until it’s no longer pink. If you’re concerned about the beef sticking you can add a little olive oil first.
  2. Deglaze the Instant Pot. Pour water or beef broth in and scrape up any brown bits that may be stuck on the bottom.
  3. Stir in vegetables and beans. Add Rotel tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, green pepper, onion, kidney beans, and black beans. Feel free to use a different variety of beans if you like.
  4. Stir in spices. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Go easy with the salt here because you can always add more later. I like to use Mexican oregano, but regular oregano is fine. You can go spicy here and add extra chili powder or a few dashes of hot sauce.
  5. Pressure Cook. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and seal it. Cancel the saute function and switch to manual (or use the chili setting), setting the timer for 25 minutes. After it beeps signaling it’s done cooking, release the pressure with a quick release, then remove the lid and stir. At this point you should probably give it a taste and add any additional salt or spices, stirring to combine. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken.

Chili Toppings

When you’re ready to serve, scoop chili into bowls and top with your favorite toppings. I usually set up a chili bar for everyone to make their own. I include cheese, green onions, sour cream, corn chips, crackers, avocado, and hot sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did I get a burn notice?

First, don’t panic! Your Instant Pot is just letting you know that the inner pot has gotten too hot so it’s turned itself off. Simply press the cancel button and do a quick release. If the valve wasn’t sealed, this could have caused too much moisture to evaporate and not enough pressure to build up inside, causing the burn notice.

If it’s not the valve, check if anything is stuck to the bottom of the pot. Scrape it up and remove it. You can now try resealing and starting the pressure cooking cycle.

How long does it take to cook chili in the Instant Pot?

There is about 5-10 minutes of prep, and about 5 minutes to cook the meat. The pressure cook time is about 25 minutes. You can choose to do a quick release when it’s finished cooking, or a natural release if you don’t need to eat right away. Total time is about 40 minutes, which is super quick for really tasty chili!

How do you thicken Instant Pot Chili?

This chili comes out pretty thick, but if you want it thicker, let it simmer on the saute mode with the lid off after it is cooked under pressure for the full 25 minutes.

What is the chili setting on the Instant Pot?

The chili setting is simply that – a preset on your pressure cooker for a set amount of time. I prefer to use the manual setting so I can set the time myself.

What’s the best ground beef for chili? Can I use ground turkey?

I always use 85/15 ground beef for chili. There’s good flavor from the fat, but it’s not overly greasy. And you can absolutely use ground turkey. You could also try our stovetop Turkey Chili.

Why is my Instant Pot chili watery?

It’s likely that the chili will appear watery after opening the lid because the water hasn’t yet evaporated. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir it, and it should look thicker.

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Pro Tips

  • Make ahead and storage: If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, chili will last several days. This makes it an excellent make ahead recipe! Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
  • Freezing: Chili should be stored in an airtight freezer safe container or plastic bag and will remain fresh up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
  • For a spicier chili, add more chili powder, cumin or hot sauce to the pot, or serve with hot sauce on the side.
  • Add more flavor with cocoa powder! As a tablespoon of cocoa powder with the other spices. It will add an incredible layer of flavor that isn’t sweet at all.
white bowls, chili, cheese, crackers, spoons, instant pot, cilantro

More Instant Pot Recipes

Recipe

Instant Pot Chili

4.67 from 18 votes
Instant Pot Chili is full of beef, beans, tomatoes, and spices simmered together in the pressure cooker for a fast, easy chili recipe.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 pound ground beef lean 
  • 1 cup water or beef broth
  • 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes
  • 8 ounce can tomato sauce 
  • 4 ounce can green chiles
  • 1 cup diced onion about 1 medium onion
  • 1 green pepper seeded and diced 
  • 15 ounce canned kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 15 ounce canned black beans drained and rinsed
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function. Once the screen says HOT add the canola oil. Wait 1 minute, then add ground beef. Cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula as it cooks.
  • Once the meat is completely browned, add water or broth and stir well to deglaze the pot, scraping all the bits from the bottom. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the spices. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients. Stir in the spices and seasonings.
  • Put the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealed. Cancel the saute function and switch it to manual. Set the timer for 25 minutes. Once timer beeps, do a quick release. *Note – a natural release is fine, too, but will take longer.
  • Remove the lid and stir the chili. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Let the chili sit for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken, then serve with desired toppings.

Notes

  • Make ahead and storage: If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, chili will last several days. This makes it an excellent make ahead recipe! Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
  • Freezing: Chili should be stored in an airtight freezer safe container or plastic bag and will remain fresh up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Calories: 404kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 27gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 1415mgPotassium: 1438mgFiber: 15gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 1811IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 169mgIron: 8mg
Keyword chili recipes, instant pot chili

Amanda

Amanda blogs at Old House to New Home where she shares easy ways to eat, create, and decorate, all while raising two young girls! Amanda is a Spanish teacher, wife to a great husband, and mommy to the two most beautiful little girls! Amanda loves food, traveling, and transforming their 115 year old house into their home.

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Comments

  1. This is a very tasty chili. I added some celery and only used half of the chili powder. Can’t tolerate too much heat. Good flavor.

  2. A friend just gave me a instant pot for my birthday. I have been on Pinterest, and the net getting recipes, and help on using the machine. We have used pressure cookers for years, but this is different. I made chili today. I saute’d the ground beef and onions, that went well. I then added two pints of our canned tomatoes, rinsed beans, and a can of canned tomatoes. I set the pot for chili and things were going well until I went into the kitchen and the dial showed BURN. I turned it off, and went on line to find what burn was. I guess I needed for liquid, and then thicken at the end.

  3. Hi Amanda,

    I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for making it look easy.

    I do have a question, am I able to freeze it? I am one person and I have had gastric bypass surgery, so my servings are small.

    Thank you,

    Mary Delgado

  4. Thank you for this recipe. I followed all the instructions but the chili started to burn. I put it in a casserole dish and into the oven. The ingredients are great and I’ll make it again, but with all the tomato ingredients I can’t think it won’t burn next time too.

    1. Just adding a suggestion that I followed from another recipe I read – after browning the beef, add all ingredients except the tomatoes and stir. Then add the diced tomatoes BUT don’t stir again. This way the tomatoes won’t end up on the bottom and burn. Love this recipe and have been making often this chilly winter!

  5. I love this. Rich sauce, very spicy. And that was without the kidney beans – maybe those would have tamed it. And I only added about quarter tsp salt. I’m curious, why do we use so many different kinds of tomatoes?

      1. I did come close to a burn – I’ll need to add more water next time. Something happens other than a burn notice on my unit – it stops pressurizing or I don’t know – I’ll watch the thickness of the liquid next time. I’m looking forward to making this for crowd, and maybe using frozen crumbled tofu in place of the meat.

  6. I have this in my instant pot right now. I am on weight watchers and used ground turkey and 4 andouille chicken sausages. How much is a serving size?

  7. It is the easiest and best classical chili I have ever made. I made it twice so far and both were succesfull. I couldn’t find 10 ounce can tomato sauce and beans and used 12 instead. Just to be in the safe side I used 2 cups of water. My instant pot didn’t have an issue. I just had to soak the pot to get it cleaned after all. This recipe will be saved as one of my everyday instant pot recipes. Also I used everything organic (:
    Thanks for this great recipe!

  8. I browned the ground beef in a separate skillet and then added it in with the other ingredients. I still got the “BURN” notification. I had to transfer the chili to regular pot and cook it on the stove. As an instant pot recipe, this is terrible. It isn’t suited for the instant pot at all. As a stove-top chili recipe it’s very good.

    1. Try making the recipe exactly as written. This would had added grease to the Instant Pot to mix with the other ingredients to avoid burning.

    2. I agree. If you read other instapot blogs, they tell you that when making chili, you are not supposed to mix the ingredients. Tomato products have a tendency to burn on the bottom of the insta-pot.

  9. Fantastic! I altered based on what I had in the pantry/spice cupboard but mostly prepared as written. One note: I have small kiddos & it was a bit 2 spicy for them so I mixed some tomato soup in to their bowls to tame it down. Otherwise it was perfect. Thank you & thank goodness for Instant Pot

  10. Mine kept saying burn as well. I had to stop it, scrape the bottom, and stir in 2 cups of water. That did the trick for me.

  11. I couldn’t get my pot to reach pressure with this recipe :/ Is there something I’m not doing right?

      1. Make sure to stir really well before putting the lid on after the saute function. You don’t want any beef stuck to the bottom or else it may burn.

    1. I’m so sorry you are having difficulty! I make this monthly and it always come to pressure, although it does take a little while since the pot is so full. Are you double checking that it is completely sealed?

    1. Hmmm, good catch! I missed that when Amanda shared the recipe. I would say go with the 1/2 tablespoon, but if you’re not a fan of a lot of garlic you could use less.

  12. How many does this chili recipe typically serve? how much time should I add if I double the recipe? I’m new to the instant pot 🙂

    1. Hello! This recipe makes at least six bowls of chili. I would not double the recipe as it would make your Instant Pot too full and it won’t come to pressure.