Craving a comforting, hearty meal that won't weigh you down? Grab your Instant Pot and make this Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili. Richly seasoned and packed with nutrient-dense sweet potatoes and protein-rich quinoa, this healthy and hearty chili can be on your table in just over 30 minutes.
Inspired by my recipe for Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili and featuring an award-winning chili seasoning recipe, Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes.
Reasons to Love Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Quick & Easy Meal. Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili tastes like it has been simmered for hours, yet is ready from start to finish in well under an hour.
- Healthy Chili Recipe. Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, quinoa, corn, and beans add fiber, minerals, nutrients, and antioxidants. Not to mention Instant Pot vegetarian chili is also low in fat and cholesterol-free.
- Flavorful. While low in fat and nutrient-dense, this chili lacks nothing in terms of flavor. It is richly seasoned and because the Instant Pot seals in the pressure, it also seals in the flavor! Meaning you can develop intense flavor FAST.
- Affordable Hearty Meal. This recipe for Instant Pot Vegetarian chili uses pantry staples and inexpensive produce to make a meal that will leave you satisfied and full for hours.
- Packed with Protein. Thanks to the beans and quinoa that bulk up this veggie protein this vegetarian chili is loaded with plant-based protein.
- Allergy-Friendly. Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and nut-free. Yet this chili satisfies everyone, even the carnivores of the family!
Notes on Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: Use peeled, cubed orange sweet potatoes for best results.
- Aromatics: A minced yellow onion and garlic are the building blocks of a good chili recipe.
- Jalapeno: A finely minced, seeded jalapeno adds spice and dimension to the chili.
- Bell Pepper: Use a red bell pepper as it adds a nice sweet flavor to the chili, or omit the pepper altogether if you don't care for the flavor.
- Beans: I love using both black beans and kidney beans for this recipe. That said, you can swap the black beans out for additional kidney beans or vice versa.
- Chili Seasoning: I use my Homemade Chili Seasoning Blend which is the perfect combination of chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce: A little bit of canned chipotle in Adobo sauce goes a long way to packing in flavor into this veggie chili. It adds smokiness and a bit of spice but does not overwhelm the flavors in the chili or make it overly spicy.
- Vegetable Broth: Use your favorite low-sodium store-bought or homemade vegetable broth for this recipe. Chicken broth/stock can be used in place of vegetable broth, but the chili will no longer be vegetarian.
- Tomatoes: For additional flavor and smokey undertones, use canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes. If you don't have fire-roasted tomatoes on hand, plain diced tomatoes will work.
- Corn: Use either frozen corn kernels or canned corn kernels that have been rinsed and drained. The corn adds a nice sweet flavor to this Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili.
- Fresh Lime: Finishing this chili with fresh lime juice is key to making the flavors all meld together and pop in your mouth. Don't overlook this addition.
- Oil: Use canola, avocado, or olive oil to saute the vegetables.
Substitutions/Modifications
- Control the Spice. To make this chili spicier, you can double the chipotle and/or the jalapeno. To keep this chili on the milder side, omit or cut in half the chipotle and/or the jalapeno.
- Using Dried Beans: Feel free to use my recipe for Instant Pot dried beans first to cook black beans or kidney beans and then proceed with the recipe as directed.
- Omit the Quinoa. If you don't care for quinoa, don't add it! Instead, double the beans and decrease the vegetable broth from 3 cups to 2 cups.
- Thin it Out: This Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili is pretty thick. Feel free to increase the broth to 4 cups for a thinner chili.
Tips For Making Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tip #1. Saute the Onions. A tip for developing great flavor in a quick-cooking, low-fat chili is to saute the onions, peppers, and jalapeno together. This will allow the peppers and onions to develop rich, caramelized flavor and enhance their natural flavor.
Tip #2. Deglaze the Inner Pot. Anytime you saute ANYTHING in an electric pressure cooker, you must add a bit of thin liquid and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot. This will prevent a burn notice AND add flavor to this Sweet Potato Chili.
Tip #3. Rinse Quinoa. Rinsing removes quinoa's natural coating, called saponin, which can make the quinoa taste bitter. Even if your quinoa states it is pre-rinsed, I would highly recommend rinsing it again by placing it into a fine-mesh strainer and running under cold tap water for 1-2 minutes.
Tip #4. Layer the Ingredients. Another tip to ensure you don't experience a burn notice when making Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili is to layer the ingredients in the right way. Combine the beans, corn, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and remaining seasonings with the onions and broth mixture in the inner pot. Then pour the tomatoes on top of the ingredients and DO NOT STIR.
Tip #5: Allow for a natural pressure release. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10-15 minutes on its own. This will ensure everything is fully cooked and will keep the hot liquid from spewing out of the venting knob.
Tip#6: Don't Forget the Lime Juice. Adding the juice of a lime truly takes a good chili and turns it into a phenomenal chili! Don't skip it!
Serving Suggestions
Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili is so jam-packed with flavor this there is no need to add any toppings. You can simply serve with as a hearty entree with or without homemade cornbread or sweet potato biscuits.
But no one ever complains about toppings on chili. For this Sweet Potato Chili, I recommend offering cilantro, sour cream, corn chips, diced avocado, and shredded cheese and letting people top their chili as they desire.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerate: To store this vegetarian chili, allow it to cool slightly and then place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Allow the chili to cool fully, then place it into a freezer-safe container allowing for 1 inch of room for expansion. Store the sweet potato chili in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: If needed, defrost the vegetarian chili in the refrigerator overnight. Rewarm several portions in a heavy-duty saucepan on the stove over medium heat until warmed through, adding splashes of broth or water as needed to thin the chili. Alternatively, reheat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl, in 1-minute intervals until heated through.
More Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Tikka Masala
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
If you tried out this recipe for Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- ½ small jalapeno seeded, and finely minced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced into ¾-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tablespoon Chili Seasoning Mix
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauce
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed into ½-inch pieces (about 4 cups of diced sweet potatoes)
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa rinsed well
- 1 (15oz) can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 (15oz) can kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 (15oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 medium lime
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to the Saute function, add in the oil, and let heat.
- Once the oil has heated, add the minced onions, jalapeno, and red pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the minced garlic, and saute for 30-60 seconds longer, just to lightly toast the garlic. Once toasted, turn the Instant Pot OFF by hitting cancel.
- Add ½ cup of the vegetable broth to the inner pot and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add the remaining broth, chili seasoning, salt, quinoa, chipotle in adobo, sweet potatoes, rinsed quinoa, beans, and corn, and stir to combine. Top with diced tomatoes. DO NOT STIR!
- Place the lid on the inner pot and be sure the vent knob is pointed to sealed. Set the cooking time to 5 minutes on high pressure by using the pressure or manual button. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let pressure release naturally for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Open the Instant Pot, add the juice of the lime, and stir everything together to combine.
- Serve with any desired toppings, such as avocado, cheese, sour cream, corn chips, etc.
Kaycee
To cut down on sodium I cooked dry black beans in the IP first, then followed the recipe. It's super delish and will become a favorite when heading out camping in the RV.
Thanks so much for such a healthful and fantastic recipe!
Beth
Chili is my favorite and Instant pot is also my favorite - so this is a combo I can't resist! Perfect comfort food!
Kristen Chidsey
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Beth!
Suzy
This version of chili was so good! Loved making it in the instant pot!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY Suzy! So glad you enjoyed!