Instant Pot Chili

Instant Pot Chili is hearty and spicy, made with ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes, cocoa powder, and three kinds of peppers, ready in under an hour! 

Chili is the PERFECT choice to warm you up on a cold day, and is an easy way to feed a crowd. For more great chili recipes, check out this Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, Dutch Oven Chili, and Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili! 

Instant Pot Chili is one of my favorite pressure cooker recipes, made with hearty ground beef and kidney beans, poblano peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes, and even cocoa powder for flavor. This is the perfect recipe to feed a crowd, and goes great with my budget-friendly Baked Potato Bar!

Add your favorite chili toppings like sour cream, fresh lime juice, fresh diced onions, and grated cheddar cheese. This will definitely be one of your new favorite recipes!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Olive Oil. This is to keep the veggies and beef from sticking to the pot when browning the meat. You can also use butter, avocado oil, or vegetable oil. 

Onion. You can chop the onion small, or leave it in larger slices. Use white onion, yellow onion, or Vidalia onion. Choose a medium onion, but more or less is fine for this recipe.

Peppers. I like my chili to be spicy, so I use a combination of sweet and spicy peppers. For this recipe, I’m using bell peppers, poblano peppers, and a jalapeno pepper. The poblano peppers are mildly spicy, and the jalapeno is very spicy. 

You can adjust what you use depending on your spice tolerance. If you prefer less spicy, then use more bell peppers instead of poblano and jalapeno. 

Chipotle Peppers in Adobo. A little bit of this secret ingredient goes a long way. These peppers add a ton of smoky flavor, and some spice to the chili. Check by brand to make sure they’re gluten free. 

Garlic Cloves. I like to use fresh garlic, because that is where you’ll get the best flavor. You can use garlic powder if you don’t like chopping garlic.

Use 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder for every clove of garlic, so it would be 1 teaspoon garlic total for this recipe. 

Ground Beef. I like to use lean ground beef for this recipe, because it releases less fat when it cooks. This means there won’t be fatty liquid to drain off when you’re browning the meat, or grease in the chili. 

Beans. I like to use red kidney beans. You can use light red or dark red kidney beans, either will be fine. Red kidney beans hold their structure in chili, so you won’t have mushy beans after pressure cooking. 

I use about 3 cans of beans for this recipe. 

Beef Broth. Some beef broth or vegetable broth helps keep the chili from being too thick. You can adjust this a little bit depending on how thick you’d like the chili to be. Just remember that the instant pot does better with at least a small amount of liquid. 

You can also substitute some of the broth with a bottle of gluten free beer. Just pour it in after browning the meat and let it cook on saute mode for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the broth and cook as normal. 

Worcestershire Sauce. This adds a really nice savory flavor to the chili. Make sure it’s gluten free, as this ingredient can vary by brand. 

Tomatoes. We’re using crushed tomatoes to add a nice tomato base to the chili, and fire-roasted diced tomatoes for flavor. If you don’t have crushed tomatoes, you can use tomato sauce. 

Tomato Paste. This helps thicken the chili, and also adds a nice flavorful base to the overall dish. 

Cocoa Powder. If you’ve never added cocoa powder to chili before, it’s time to start. This adds a really nice savory flavor to the dish. Cocoa powder itself is not sweet until you add sugar, so it works really well in some savory dishes. 

Spices. Here is where you can make the chili really spicy, besides for the peppers themselves. I like to use the normal spices like chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. 

If you want this really spicy, try adding some red chili flakes, hot sauce, or cayenne pepper. I recommend starting with a smaller amount, and building it slowly from there, to make sure you don’t go overboard!

Brown Sugar.  There isn’t enough to be sweet, but it helps balance out some of the savory flavors and spice in the dish. 

How to Make Instant Pot Chili

1. Turn on the saute function and add the olive oil. Once warm, add the onions and chopped peppers, stirring often until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. 
2. Add the ground beef and stir everything together. Stir often for about 5 minutes, until the meat is browned. Add the spices and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring. Turn off saute mode by hitting the cancel button. 
3. Add all other ingredients to the instant pot, stirring until everything is well combined. Place the lid on the instant pot and lock into place, turning the steam valve to the sealed position. Set on high pressure for 20 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, then the time will start. 
4. Once done, natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release (flip the steam valve open) to release the rest of the pressure. Be careful doing this, use an oven mitt or a towel because the steam is very hot. Once the pressure is completely released, remove the lid and stir everything together. Top with fresh cilantro and serve. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Chicken Wings
• Instant Pot Pork Shoulder
• Instant Pot Chicken and Potatoes
• Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Storage

Refrigerate instant pot chili in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Chili is always great the next day, because all of the flavors come together! Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat. 

Freeze leftover chili in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Wrap tightly to prevent freezer burn. Place in the refrigerator the night before to defrost.

Recipe Variations

• Make this recipe using ground turkey! Just swap the beef with turkey, and use chicken broth or vegetable broth. 
• Top your bowl of chili with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite shredded cheese), pickled jalapeno slices, chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, or chives. And serve with tortilla chips and lime wedges. 
• Add more heat with red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or cayenne pepper. Add a little bit at a time and check the spice level, a little bit goes a long way.

Cooking Tips

• If you want a spicy chili, use hotter peppers or spices. Just make sure you’re protecting yourself from the pepper juice when prepping the vegetables. Wash your hands using dish soap, to remove all of the spicy oils, as soon as you’re done handling them. I’ve also been known to wear safety glasses, because sometimes that pepper juice flies!
• When the chili is done, you can season with salt and black pepper to taste. 
• You can also make this on the stovetop. Just follow the recipe in a dutch oven, then cover and cook on low heat for 1-2 hours, stirring often. 
• Make this in the slow cooker by browning the meat with the onions in a skillet, then adding everything to the slow cooker and stirring together. Then cook for 6-8 hours on low. 

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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