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Hi, are you ready to cozy up to a hearty, warming bowl of instant pot chili?
Because IMO it’s not fall without a some chili that’s slightly spicy, just enough to warm you up, and packed with ground beef, red kidney beans, tomatoes, and crunchy veggies. Comfort food to the max!!!
One of the first recipes I shared on the blog was a recipe for my Grandma’s Chili. Growing up her chili was the only kind I would eat. As an adult, I still think it’s the best chili I’ve ever had. No crazy ingredients, simple and pure deliciousness. It’s a recipe I make every fall.
That old post has horrible pictures, I was just learning. Go ahead, take a look…but please don’t laugh lol. One of my all time favorite recipes needed an update, it needed photos worthy of the recipe.
Originally I was going to update that post and change the name but then I decided to create a chili recipe using the instant pot. I was feeling under the weather the day I tested it, I still wanted that chili but didn’t want to have to stand over a pot and babysit it.
I was hesitant to make a version of my Grandma’s chili in the Instant pot because…well…she never had such contraptions. I mean the instant pot didn’t exist when she was making chili, but also because she was simple in her appliances. She didn’t even own a microwave!!!! And I love her even more for it!
Then, I realized that if I could find a way to make my Grandma’s chili with an easier method than I would probably make it more often. Not that making chili on the stove top is hard, by any means but it does require more monitoring, and stirring where as the instant pot allows me to use it’s saute setting to cook up the ground beef and add the remaining ingredients set the instant pot to do it’s thing and walk away. Literally, go put your feet up and read a good book. In reality, I usually get some dishes done while the instant pot is doing it’s magic…but that allows me to get more reading time in later, so it’s a win!
Anyways, my point is that by creating an instant pot chili recipe I am able to make my Grandma’s chili more often with less effort. Therefore I know she would have approved of this modern kitchen gadget and my adapted recipe.
Now we need to discuss something very important!!! What are your favorite instant pot chili toppings?!
You could go with crackers, tortilla chips, cilantro, green onion, shredded cheese, avocado, and sour cream? Pick one or two or all of the above. As you can tell by the photos my faves are cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, and fresh cilantro leaves. Hearty chili packed with ground beef, creamy red kidney beans, a hint of tomato, crunchy celery, and just the right amount of spice and topped with melty cheddar cheese, cooling sour cream, rich avocado….just the way chili should be.
The fun part when serving instant pot chili to guests is that you can give them an assortment of toppings options and they can chose their own adventure.
I hope you enjoy my instant pot chili, a twist on a family favorite and the best way to keep warm during fall!
P.S. If you don’t have an instant pot I have included a stove top version in the notes of the recipe notes below.
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Instant Pot Chili
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Red Meat, Chicken, Soup, Entree
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Dairy Free
Description
Instant pot chili is hearty and perfectly spiced. It’s a fall staple that’s made easier by the use of the Instant Pot. The perfect way to warm up!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef (or you can sub ground turkey or chicken)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Optional: 1 jalapeno, diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes (use fire roasted for more flavor)
- 1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken or beef broth (or more as needed)
- 5 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 15 ounce cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- salt to taste
- Optional toppings
- shredded cheddar cheese
- tortilla chips
- saltine crackers (not gluten free)
- light sour cream
- avocado, sliced
- cilantro leaves
- green onion, sliced
Instructions
- Saute: Set your instant pot (affiliate link) to saute. Once hot add the oil and the ground beef. Crumble the ground beef and add the onion and jalapeno. Saute until the ground beef is cooked through and the onion and jalapeno are tender (about 5 minutes). Add the chili powder, and cumin – cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and garlic, cook about 1 minute.
- Add the liquids and veggies: add the can of crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and broth. Stir to combine. Add the celery and bell pepper – do not stir – allow the veggies to rest on top of the liquid (this ensures that the veggies stay slightly crunchy during the cooking process).
- Pressurize: Lock on your instant pot lid, turn the steam nozzle to “sealing”. Press the soup button and adjust your timer to 5 minutes. It will take 15 to 20 minutes for your instant pot to come up to pressure. Once the timer goes off force release the pressure by moving the nozzle to “venting” and allow the steam to release fully and the button to drop. Open the lid and give it a good stir.
- Finish: Stir in the kidney beans, add salt to taste (at least 1/2 to 1 teaspoon), and add more broth to thin out the chili if needed – although it is supposed to be pretty thick.
- Serve: Ladle the chili into bowls. Top with any of your favorite toppings (listed above) and serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge for p to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Stove top: Follow the same instructions for sauteing, only in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the Liquids and allow the chili to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery and bell peppers and kidney beans, simmer for another 10 minutes until the veggies are slightly softened, but still crunchy. Add salt to taste. NOTE: You may have to add more broth because it may simmer down in the stove top version.
I do not recommend using slow cooker for this recipe. For me the texture of the crunchy bell pepper and celery is very important for a good chili and slow cookers tend to turn veggies to mush. Sorry slow cooker, I love you for so many other recipes, but not this chili!
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