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Instant Pot Chicken Chili

Gluten-Free· Instant Pot· Poultry and Pork· Real Food

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Instant Pot Chicken Chili with Dried Beans: A hearty and healthy chicken chili has never been easier with the help of a pressure cooker. Start with frozen chicken and dried beans and a few pantry ingredients and less than 90 minutes an easy family dinner will be on the table.

Bowls of pressure cooker chicken chili served in 2 white bowls with chips, cilantro, and cheese to the side.

 

Prepare to have your mind BLOWN! Start with dried beans and frozen chicken and a delicious hearty chicken is ready in less than 90 minutes. And yes, that does include time to come to pressure, cooking time, and natural release time!!

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I have been asked over and over again how to make my Classic Chicken Chili in a pressure cooker.

My first advice was to just use my recipe for chicken chili, dump into the Instant Pot set for 20-25 minutes on high pressure and bam, a healthy chicken chili for the Instant Pot.

Easy, Healthy, Frugal Meal plans.

But then as I thought about how I make frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot and dried beans in the Instant Pot, I wondered if I could use those recipes as a base for making Chicken Chili using dried beans AND frozen chicken.

And you can–picture me doing a happy dance right now, because not only is this Chicken Chili easy, it is healthy and darn good!

Instant Pot Chicken Chili

White bowl filled with hearty gluten-free chili made with shredded chicken

You may be thinking why in the world would I use dried beans instead of canned beans in chili.

  • Dried beans are economical.
  • You can control sodium content when you use dried beans over canned beans.
  • I find dried beans cooked in Instant Pot to be less tough on my digestive system than canned beans (sorry to go there, but so many of you understand!)

Because dried pinto beans take 30 minutes to cook fully, I opted to use frozen chicken breasts in this chicken chili recipe so the chicken would not dry out and be over-cooked.

Instant pot with text overlay saying let's rock your instant pot with step by step recipes, troubleshooting advice, and pressure cooker tips with button to subsribe to get cooking

How would you change the recipe to make this Pressure Cooker Chili using fresh chicken and canned beans?

  • Use 1 pound fresh chicken instead of frozen chicken.
  • Use 2 15 ounce cans of pinto beans rinsed instead of the 2 cups of dried beans.
  • Instead of cooking on high pressure for 30 minutes, cook on high for 15 minutes. Yes this is longer cooking time than required for fresh chicken breasts, but chili tastes best after a bit longer cooking time (and it is even better the next day!)
  • Everything else (ingredients, release time, time to come to pressure) remains the same.

Can you make Chicken Chili with fresh chicken and dried beans in pressure cooker?

Technically, you can make Chili with fresh meat and dried beans. But as chicken over cooks easily, it is possible to dry out your chicken at the 30 minute cooking time required to cook the dried pinto beans. This is not my preferred method for cooking Chicken Chili.

Can you make Chicken Chili with frozen chicken and canned beans?

Absolutely. To make chicken chili in the pressure cooker with frozen chicken and canned beans just change the following:

  • Adjust the cooking time to 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes on high pressure.
  • Use 2 15 ounce cans of drained pinto beans instead of dried beans.

Instant Pot in background with chicken chili served up in white bowl with tortilla chips

Steps to making Chicken Chili with Dried Beans

Step One: Place everything into the Instant Pot. I know, hard, right?!

Step Two: Let chicken chili cook on high pressure for chicken to be cooked though and dried beans to become tender. Let pressure release.

Step Three: Shred chicken using 2 forks right in your pressure cooker. (You can remove your chicken and shred in bowl or on cutting board, but I like to have as few dishes as possible.)

Step Four: Serve chili with chips, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Step by step photos for how to make Instant Pot Chicken chili

Notes on Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe:

  • I use 2 (15) ounce cans of diced tomatoes. Feel free to use canned tomatoes with green chiles for a spicier take on chili or 30 ounces of tomato puree if you have picky eaters who don’t like the texture of diced tomatoes. In fact, you can even use 30 ounces of your favorite salsa if you would like (just cut salt in half.)
  • Be sure to add the tomatoes on top of the broth and not mix into it the chili. This helps the tomatoes not burn while cooking–you can ust mix them in at the end.
  • To keep this chili recipe prep time to a minimum, I used onion powder instead of diced onion. This is also a great tactic for kids who HATE to get onion chunks in their food (Yep, been there done that with my kids!)
  • If you would rather use black beans instead of pinto beans just substitute the dried (or canned) black beans for the pinto beans and follow the recipe as stated. Or use 1 cup dried pinto beans and 1 cup dried black beans.
  • If you like peppers in your chili, add 1 diced pepper.
  • I add 2 cups of water to this pressure cooker chili, but you can use chicken broth, beef broth or even beer for a fabulous additon of flavor (just remember that if you use beer your chili will not be gluten-free.)
  • Frozen corn is optional in this chili.
  • This Gluten-Free Chicken Chili is fabulous served topped with cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips.
  • I like to serve the leftovers of this pressure cooker chicken over baked potatoes.

Be sure to check out all my easy, healthy Instant Pot recipes.

More Healthy Chili Recipes

Chicken Chili Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Chili with Dried Beans: A hearty and healthy chicken chili has never been easier with the help of a pressure cooker. Start with frozen chicken and dried beans and a few pantry ingredients and less than 90 minutes an easy family dinner will be on the table.
4.93 from 13 votes
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Instant Pot Chicken Chili

Pressure cooker Chicken Chili starts off with dried beans and frozen chicken for one of the easiest meals you can have. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Instant Pot Chicken Chili
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 275 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes I used low sodium
  • 2 cups water or stock or beer
  • 1 pound frozen chicken breasts
  • 2 cups dried pinto beans rinsed and sorted
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in pressure cooker but the tomatoes into the pressure cooker and stir. And in the diced tomatoes and do not stir in. Place lid on pressure cooker and turn valve to "seal." 

  2. Set to high pressure for 30 minutes. 

  3. Once cooking time has stopped, let pressure release naturally for at least 25 minutes before manually releasing pressure. 

Recipe Notes

  • Time to Come to Pressure: 15 minutes
  • Time to Cook: 30 Minutes
  • Time to Release: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 65 minutes. 
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Chicken Chili
Amount Per Serving
Calories 275 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Cholesterol 36mg 12%
Sodium 393mg 16%
Potassium 1003mg 29%
Total Carbohydrates 40g 13%
Dietary Fiber 8g 32%
Sugars 1g
Protein 23g 46%
Vitamin A 0.9%
Vitamin C 8.7%
Calcium 6.3%
Iron 16.3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Comments

  1. Wow! I love how easily this comes together with little effort for a hearty, comforting meal. Great use of the instant pot!

    Reply

  4. Loving all your tips! We just got an instant pot for the holidays – this will be a great recipe to try with it!

    Reply

  5. This is a super useful post – you’ve given so much information on cooking techniques and substitutions. And of course, it looks and sounds perfect for early January – bright, healthy and delicious.

    Reply

  7. This sounds amazing. I need to get myself Instant Pot asap. I can’t believe that you used dried beans and it came out so good. Love this recipe.

    Reply

    • Absolutely Alicia! I really do want to give you as many variations as I can think of so you can easily make Chicken Chili at home and enjoy it based on your family’s preferences!

      Reply

  9. As an instant pot newbie, this will be on my menu next week! This looks fabulous and something I can easily throw together after work! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    • You bet Cheryl! Easy is the name of the game with the Instant Pot and this recipe is perfect for a quick meal after a long day. Enjoy 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi Myranda! You absolutely could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The time for this recipe should not change.

      Reply

    • Hey Nancy, sorry for my delay in getting back to you. I did NOT soak my beans, the timing should not change at all though! I hope you enjoy!

      Reply

        • Hi Chris, thank you so much for that information. I shoudl have clarified, that the cooking time would change, but not for this chili, as you still want the raw chicken to cook and the flavor of the chili to develop 🙂 Appreciate the insight. We all help eachother

          Reply

  12. I made this recipe last week using dried black beans because that’s what I had- I also added frozen chopped peppers. It was so delicious! Kind of a mix between chili and black bean soup. So so yummy and easy, and I love that I could whip this up with ingredients I already had.

    Although I will say it took my IP much longer than 15 minutes to come to pressure- no big deal though because I always make my chili the day before I want it.

    Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • I am so glad you enjoyed this! And chili is BEST the day after making–I totally agree! So sorry about the timing on pressure. I always take the average of my “test” recipes. But everybody’s is different 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi TJ! I do not drain the tomatoes, that juice will help the chili pressurize and the dried beans cook properly. Enjoy!

      Reply

  15. Thanks for the recipe! I keep coming back to it because I keep making various bean dishes with frozen chicken. So far my favorite has been a mix of pinto and black beans, 3 frozen bone-in chicken thighs (the meat slides off the couple bones easily and shreds well, and is very cheap, and I think has more flavor) and I substitute 1 can of tomatoes with a 15oz jar of salsa Verde. I also cut up a big ol onion and use the saute setting (after chopping it of course) before I add everything else. Comes out great! Thanks again!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much for sharing your review Vox! It makes my heart so happy to hear when others enjoy my recipes. And I am going to try this with Salsa Verde–sounds like a great idea!

      Reply

  16. Thank you for sharing this super simple recipe that even a sleep-deprived mother of a toddler and newborn can do :). I had just under 2lbs of frozen chicken breast (skin-on, bone-in) and added 1.5 cups more broth and 3 extra minutes of cook time. It came out perfectly. I think even the skin and bones helped the chicken stay more tender during cook time!

    Reply

    • Oh I love to hear that this meal helped you out when you are balancing so much!!! I love that you used what you had on hand as well.

      Reply

  17. How would you adjust this to be made with frozen chicken tenderloins and canned beans? Would you still use NPR? Thanks so much for sharing a great recipe!!

    Reply

    • Hi Molly!! You are so welcome for this recipe–I hope you enjoy!
      For frozen chicken tenderloins and canned beans just as you would with frozen chicken breast and canned beans.
      Adjust the cooking time to 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes on high pressure.
      Use 2 15 ounce cans of drained pinto beans instead of dried beans.

      Reply

  18. what version of the insta pot do you use? There are so many choices. Not sure which one I should buy. I want to use same one you use. And what size?

    Reply

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