Instant Pot Chili is a classic beef and bean chili recipe sped up thanks to the pressure cooker! This Easy Instant Pot Chili is made with beef, beans, and rich tomato sauce for a super rich and hearty chili. Your family will be begging for you to make this Instant Pot Chili recipe again and again!
Looking for more comforting Instant Pot Recipes? Check out Instant Pot Beef Stew, Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, and Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken.
One of my favorite meals growing up was my mom’s slow cooker chili.
It was an easy meal to make but took hours to cook.
I took her traditional recipe for Beef and Bean Chili and changed it up for the Instant Pot–making it super quick and easy, yet just as delicious! Instant Pot Chili is perfect for any night of the week as it comes together in less than an hour from start to finish!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chili
- Ground Meat: Any ground meat works. You can use ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground bison. Any fat percentage works, but keep in mind, that when using anything with more than 10% fat content, you will need to drain off the excess grease after browning up the meat.
- Onions and Garlic: Because garlic and onion add depth of flavor to almost any dish.
- Chili Seasoning: This is the BEST blend of spices that pack a lot of flavor into any chili recipe. You probably have all the spices on hand to whip up this seasoning mixture in a matter of minutes.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Instead of using diced tomatoes, my family prefers the texture of crushed tomatoes. However, feel free to use diced tomatoes in place of the crushed tomatoes.
- Beef Stock: The beef stock is not traditional in my chili recipes, but you need that thin liquid for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. And the beef stock adds to the rich flavor of this chili.
- Beer: I love to add in a light beer to this chili. It gives the chili a rich depth of flavor and a bit of tang. Select a light amber or lager beer to use in this chili. If you are a not a fan of beer, feel free to use a dry red wine or additional beef stock in it’s place.
- Beans: I recommend kidney beans for this traditional chili. Canned beans work best to make this super quick and easy, but feel free to use cooked Instant Pot Kidney Beans.
How To Make Chili in the Instant Pot
The best part about making chili in the Instant Pot is that it takes a fraction of the time to develop incredible flavor. In fact, I personally think that the Instant Pot does a superior job to developing the flavor in chili–even better than a chili that has simmered for hours on the stove.
Step One: Saute Meat
The first step to making chili in your instant pot is to brown the beef. The great thing about using the instant pot is that you can saute your meat right in the Instant Pot–leaving fewer dishes to wash!
Just be sure to fully brown the beef with the onions and garlic before proceeding with the recipe. I also recommend draining off excess grease after browning the meat. This prevents a greasy chili.
Step Two: Deglaze Inner Pot
It is really important to take the time to scrape up the browned bits off the bottom of the inner pot! This step will help you avoid the burn notice!
To deglaze your inner pot, simply add in the thin liquid (for this recipe that would be the beer and beef stock) and use a wooden spatula or spoon to scrape off the bottom of your inner pot.
Again, it is not necessary to add beer to your chili. I love the sharp flavor that beer lends to this Instant Pot Chili. You can use additional beef stock or even dry red wine in place of the beer.
Step Three: Pressure Cook Chili
Once your inner pot has been deglazed, add in the remaining seasonings, beans, and crushed tomatoes. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. And then let pressure release naturally. I don’t recommend doing a quick pressure release when making chili in your instant pot because of the volume of liquid in your inner pot. It could easily spew out the vent knob, leaving a huge mess. If you have to release pressure before it naturally releases on its own, wait at least 10 minutes.
To really amp up the flavor in this simple chili recipe, add in Worcestershire Sauce right before serving.
Step Four: Serve Chili
Dish up the chili and serve as desired. My family prefers shredded cheese and corn chips, but diced avocado, diced onions, and sour cream all make great options for topping your chili. I also love to use this Pressure Cooker Chili to top baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.
Can I use Frozen Ground Meat?
YES, you can make this Classic Chili with frozen ground beef!
I recommend, following my instructions for cooking frozen ground beef in your instant pot. One your frozen beef has been cooked remove from the Instant Pot and crumble it up into bite-size pieces. Place all the crumbled meat, and the remaining ingredients for the chili into the Instant Pot and cook for 15 minutes on high pressure.
Storing/Freezing Chili
If you happen to have leftover Instant Pot Chili, you can store cooled chili in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in the fridge. Or freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
Do you Have to use the Chili Function on the Instant Pot to Cook Chili?
As I have shared in my Instant Pot 101 and Instant Pot Functions, the functions on your instant pot are set as guides–your pressure cooker has no way of knowing if you used dried beans, canned beans or frozen meat. I RARELY use any of these functions, but instead default to cooking on high pressure and manually adjusting with the manual or pressure cook button on a pressure cooker.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Lasagna
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Baked Beans
- Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Instant Pot Chili
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground meat
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Chili Seasoning Blend
- 4 cups cooked kidney beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans rinsed and drained
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot to the saute function and allow it to heat up until it reads "Hot."
- Add in the ground beef and diced onions and cook until the meat begins to brown and the onions start to soften, breaking up the meat as it browns. This is about 5 minutes.
- Add in the minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes longer, or until the meat is fully browned. Turn Instant Pot OFF.
- Drain off any excess grease and return inner pot to Instant Pot.
- Add in beer and stock and scrape up the browned bits off the inner pot. This step is REALLY important--if you leave too many browned bits on the inner pot, your pressure cooker may not come to pressure correctly.
- Add in the chili seasoning, beans, and crushed tomatoes, and stir well. Place lid on instant pot with valve closed to "sealing."
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Let pressure release naturally--about 15-20 minutes. Remove lid and stir in Worcestershire sauce and serve chili up with desired toppings.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- In place of beer, feel free to use wine or additional beef stock.
- For Gluten Free Instant Pot Chili: Be sure Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free and use gluten free beer or stock.
- Feel free to use black beans or red beans in place of kidney beans.
- Ground chicken, turkey or beef can be used for this Instant Pot Chili recipe.
- Store chili in a sealed container for 3 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Love it! My boys and I looked at each other because the batch was gone quickly. I might have to experiment and double up. Easy to make, I sautéed the ground beef outside the Instant Pot. While the beef was on the stove, I added all the ingredients. I also added sausage like I do for my other chili recipes. I will make again. Thanks for the great recipe!
I am so glad you and your boys enjoyed so much Travis!
Sounds good. Did you brown sausage first?