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.
Instant Pot Chili
One of my favorite’s 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 most 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: Beef stock is not traditional in my chili recipes, but you need that 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 the brown the beef. The great thing about using the instant pot is that you can saute your meat right in the Instant Pot–leaving less 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 it’s 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 for this Chili Recipe?
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.
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.
Kristen Chidsey
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I’m looking for instant pot recipes for Thanksgiving side dishes. Have a great one for pumpkin cheesecake that looks like it will be there bomb! Cooking your chili tonight with ground pork and black beans. 😋
Hi Yvonne! I hope you enjoyed the chili! As for Instant Pot Side Dish Recipes, we love Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Applesauce, Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, and Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes. We also love Instant Pot Turkey Breast.
Hello! You mentioned in one of the comments that you occasionally put in pumpkin puree- how much of that would you add? Thanks!
Hi Evie! I add in up to 1 cup 🙂
Hi! Would you change anything if only using 1lb of meat? Thanks!!
Hi Dana, you may want to cut back the tomato sauce to 14 ounces and omit the beer (or use 1/4 cup beer, 3/4 cup stock), so that your chili will still be really thick and hearty!
Hello I love your recipes so far and I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Can you make this without tomatoes and if so how would you adjust the recipe? Thanks
Hi Melissa! I am glad you have been enjoying my recipes. I have not tried to make this chili without tomatoes myself, but I would suggest using 2 cups beef broth in place of the tomatoes. The cook time will remain the same. I have also added pumpkin puree along with beef stock before and had great results–it just depends on what you are hoping the final product will be.
are the beans in your chili recipe cooked or raw?
not clear at all.
Sorry for any confusion Gena. This recipe is for cooked beans. If you are using dry beans, you need to first follow my instructions for Instant Pot Dry Beans, then proceed with the recipe.
Delicious flavor! I used your entire Homemade Chili Seasoning Blend and it was so tasty. I did use 1 1/2 c vegetable broth instead of beef broth and beer. Also, I used 2 cans of dark red kidney beans which I rinsed and drained…would add another can next time. Love cooking in the Instant Pot! This recipe will be added to my rotation!!!
I am SO happy you enjoyed Diane!
If i don’t use beans (or add cooked baked beans as I’m from the UK) would I reduce the cooking time? We eat those things straight from the tin here you see..
I was thinking of using a trivet over the chilli to cook some baked potatoes if I can reduce the time to the same 15 mins that you suggest without beans. Would that be OK?
Hi Mandy! This recipe is for cooked baked beans–so using canned beans will not change the time. As far as cooking potatoes with the chili–that will work! I love the chili after 25 minutes for a more robust flavor, but it is still really good after 15 minutes.
Does this recipe call for 4 cups DRY beans or 4 cups COOKED beans?
From the 1st section of notes it States to use your plan for cooking dry beans 1st, but later on you mention reducing the cooking time for dry soaked beans. This threw me off a bit, And I’m trying to figure out this recipe is for using dry beans or cooked beans.
Hi Savannah! This recipe is made using cooked beans.
Hey Kristen, so happy I stumbled upon your site ! My IP is still boxed up but with your recipes/tips I’m feeling motivated and have the confidence that I can do it. Question: my kids pick out the onions and bell peppers so I usually sauté and blend them up in my vita mix to a mushy consistency. Do you think I need to adjust the beer or broth because of this ? Thanks!
I am so happy you found my site as well. And I understand picky kids. I would reduce liquid by 1/4 of a cup. Enjoy
I’d love to try this with tomato puree instead of canned tomatoes. Any suggestion on changes I’d need to make? Cooking time or liquid measurement?
I would add in 1 cup extra liquid, but cook time will remain the same.
I cooked for the 35 min. 10 min natural release. beans still way too hard. I am pressure cooking it another 10 minutes. I hope that will do the trick otherwise it is smelling great. I added more beef stock for it looked too thick.
Hi Heidi! If your dried beans are a bit older they can take a bit of time to cook through. And it was a good idea to add stock after a quick release of a thick stew/chili like this before trying to cook longer or you may get a burn notice. However, you may need to add in a bit more seasoning, as the stock will dilute the flavor a bit. I hope you enjoy!
Hi Kristen
Everyone in my house appears to be going on a low carb Keto diet kick. So I have no choice but to make this chili in our instant pot without beans. I plan to use 2 lbs ground beef and use a red wine as part of the liquid measurement. Do I keep the same amount of liquid (2 cups) as noted in the recipe if I am not using beans but add more meat?..and this sure sounds like it will be Scrumpdillyicious on our snowy night tonight. Thanks for the recipe….
Hi Clem! I would decrease the liquid to 1 cup for this recipe. I personally love red wine in chili, so that plus beef broth will be delicious! Stay warm and enjoy!
Well here’s the scoop..with the 2 lbs of ground beef (and no beans)it still needed a bit more liquid than 1 cup (so I added and went generous on the wine of course) and if you don’t mind I tweaked it a bit with by going heavier on the Chili Powder and Cumin and adding some Rotel, cocoa, Oregano and smoked paprika….. MMMMMmmmm is all I can say.
Thank You
WAHOO!!! So glad you enjoyed!!!!
Hi, are the dried beans soaked? If they are soaked are they measured dry or after soaking?
Thanks,
Shirley
Hi Shirley! I have directions for both soaked and un-soaked dried beans. For dried un-soaked beans, you use 2 cups. For pre-soaked beans, use 4-5 cups and 1/2 cup less liquid. The cook time will also be cut to 25 minutes for pre-soaked beans.
What type of beer would you suggest?
I recommend a lager–like Coors, Heineken, Budweiser, etc. I think a mild beer is best, to let the flavors of chili shine 🙂
Hi, IP newbie here and not a very organized cook. I tried the chili recipe and left it on saute until I was ready to set the pressure level. It was a good 20 minutes since I browned the beef and got everything in there. The result was heavy and mushy. The flavor was great!! Should I have turned off saute after browning?
Hi Dianne, I am so sorry about your experience. Yes, you should have turned off saute after meat was browned, that will make a huge difference in consistency and texture. I hate you missed that step, I added in actual step (not just post) to clarify for anyone else.
I want to say that I have been cooking, serving and enjoying beans of various kinds for 57 years, & only recently learned from my best friend – a Colombian ‘bean expert,’ that if you are cooking your dry beans an adequate amount of time, and they aren’t becoming tender, it’s because they are old –past their prime.
Thank you for that information–very helpful!
Hi! I made the recipe as follows and added two cans of beans and cooked it for 15 minutes. The recipe was super watery. Is it supposed to be? Or did I do something wrong?
Hi Maria! Yes, I mentioned if using canned beans you will need less liquid (dried beans absorb some of the liquid as they cook.) I added that tip to the actual recipe card now so others won’t miss it. You can salvage your chili by turning the saute function on the instant pot and letting the chili boil with the lid off to evaporate some of the excess liquid if you desire.
I’m going to try your recipe tonight! I just wanted to say I really like how you address all the different questions beforehand! As to whether one can substitute items, double etc. I’ll definitely be coming back to check out more of your recipes oh, thank you 🙂
You are so welcome Sherri! I hope you enjoy the Chili!
I have a Crock Pot version of the IP and the kidney beans were not done after 45 minutes (30 and then 15) on the beans/Chili setting.
Hi Marla! I am sorry the beans were not done for you. I personally have not used this brand of pressure cooker, but it should be similar cook times. In the future, use HIGH pressure (not beans function) and cook for 45 minutes and be sure to do a full natural release–that should help.
Hi! I just made this exactly as described — 30 mins on high pressure. My beans were not fully cooked. Did anyone else have this problem? I used 1 cup beer 1 cup broth and 2 cups black beans in the recipe.
Hi Maya! If your beans were not cooked through, you can place lid on pressure cooker and cook for additional 5-10 minutes. It won’t take as long to come to pressure the 2nd time. I have never had this issue, using any type of bean, but it may be you didn’t let pressure release naturally enough or you like your beans falling apart..not with a bit of chew. Sorry for the hassle.
I have an 8qt. Instant pot. Can I safely double this recipe? How would I adjust the cook time?
Hi Holly, yes you can double this recipe. Cook time will remain the same, but the time it takes to come to pressure will be longer. Enjoy.
I made it tonight. The BEST chili we’ve ever had. It turned out perfect! As others have stated, the flavors came together like it had been cooking all day long. Amazing! Thank you!
Thank you Holly! I love hearing that.
So damn good and so damn easy. With barely any cleanup! This is definitely going to become one of our standby recipes.
I love hearing that Gwen!
Can you double the recipe for an 8 quart. Is the cooking time the same
Hi Barb, yes you can double this recipe. The cook time will remain the same, but it will take longer to come to pressure and depressurize. Enjoy!
Hi I have never cooked with dried beans before and was just wondering if these need to be washed before putting them in the instant pot?
Thanks!
Hi Richard!
I do recommend washing beans before cooking. Just place in colander and rinse well. Occasionally you will find a rock or two–VERY rarely! Enjoy!
Question: what size instant pot was this made in? I have an instant pot mini duo!
Hi Nour! I made this in a 6 quart. You can half this recipe and make it in your mini! Enjoy
Can this recipe be made without beans? If so, does that affect the cook time?
You can absolutely make this recipe with more meat and less beans, just cook for 15 minutes.
Hi – It says this. above…”For red beans, black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans, you would use 1 cup dried beans in this Instant Pot Chili recipe.” but the recipe calls for 2 ups of beans?
It should say 2 cups per any variety of beans. Great catch, fixing now.
If using canned kidney beans, how many/size of cans to use? Decrease the liquid by how much?
Hi Bev! This recipe calls for using canned beans, so no need to change a thing😊
Totally loving this instant pot chili! Great recipe!!
Yay! Thanks for sharing your success Jenn!
Oh my gosh, I love this chili SO much! It comes out so flavorful in the Instant Pot, too. Nom nom nom.
YAY!!! Don’t you love how much flavor develops so quickly in the IP?