This Instant Pot Chili with beans is so flavorful with spices, is easy to make, and is delicious! This chili recipe is great served on its own, over Fritos, or with cornbread.
I see recipes all over for Instant Pot Chili. But none were exactly to my liking. So I wound up just mashing a bunch together and came up with this one, which is flavorful, delicious, and so easy to make!
It's as easy as browning up some meat, tossing in some other ingredients, and then just setting the Instant Pot to do all the hard work for you.
I made this chili recipe in a 6 Quart Instant Pot, and everything cooked perfectly!
Ingredients
- Ground beef - I love to use organic, and I typically use 90% lean but obviously use whatever ground beef you want!
- Onion - I like to dice them up finely so you get the flavor, but don't have big chunks of onion in there.
- Garlic - One fresh garlic clove
- Beef broth - Use homemade if you have it! If not, use a carton (which is what I typically use)
- Olive oil - A bit of olive oil for sautéing the onions and beef in
- Tomato sauce - Just plain tomato sauce. You DON'T want pasta sauce in this.
- Cans of beans - You can use whatever kind you want. I used ranch style and chili beans. Ranch style beans and chili beans both have chili-like spices added to them. So if you use something a little more basic like kidney beans or black beans, you may want to use a couple more teaspoons of chili powder.
- Spices - This is a lot of what gives the chili its flavor! Chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder sugar, salt, and pepper.
Beans or no beans in chili?
Some say that Texans don't like beans in chili. And that we think true chili doesn't have beans. I don't find that to be true at all.
I've lived my whole life in Texas (except for two years in Seattle), and I have absolutely no problem with beans in my chili. In fact, I prefer it!
So in this recipe, I included beans. Because I happen to think they are delicious.
You can you ranch style beans or chili beans, like in the recipe. Or even black beans. Wondering other options? Check out these best substitutes for black beans.
What to serve with the chili
One of the fun things about chili is how many different ways you can serve it. Here are a few ideas.
- With cornbread. I made some cornbread and placed a chunk of it in the chili and then ate it with the bowl of chili. It was delicious!
- Topped with cheese, green onions, sour cream, whatever you want!
- Served over Fritos (or other chips) to make Frito pie!
- Over rice or quinoa.
- Over pasta!
For dessert, I love serving this with some Texas-style banana pudding. It would also be delicious with some air fryer cinnamon apples.
How to make Instant Pot Chili with Beans
Turn on the Instant Pot to Saute mode, add oil, and then add the onions and beef and cook, stirring frequently, until meat is browned and onions are translucent.
Then add the garlic and saute for one more minute.
Add all your spices to a small bowl and stir to combine.
Add the beef broth to the pot and deglaze, then add the tomato sauce, beans, and spices and stir to combine.
Place the lid on the pot, make sure the vent is sealed, and set the time for 20 minutes on Manual. Once the 20 minutes are up, Quick Release the steam, stir to combine all the ingredients, and enjoy!
Love this recipe? Check out these Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Chili with Beans
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 can chili beans (15 oz)
- 1 can ranch style beans (15 oz)
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot and put on SAUTE mode. Add the olive oil to the pot and then add the diced onions and ground beef. Saute until the meat is browned and onions are translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
- Add the beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to deglaze.
- Turn off the Instant Pot. Add the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and beans to the pot. Stir slightly and then place the lid on the Instant Pot. Make sure the valve is set to SEALING and is closed.
- Set the Instant Pot on MANUAL for 20 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot comes to pressure, and then counts down to 0 and beeps, QUICK RELEASE the steam. Remove the lid and stir to combine the ingredients.
- Serve with cornbread, cheese, sour cream, green onions, over fritos, or however you desire.
Notes
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
Brittany
Love this recipe but can’t figure out what a serving size is supposed to be. It just says “serves 4” and I see nutritional info but does that mean one cup is a serving? More? Thank you for your help!
Aimee
Hi, I wish I could help more! I just counted a serving as how many of my family members it would serve. So I honestly can't remember if it was a cup or more around a cup and a half. That is a really good question, next time I make this, I'll have to figure out exactly the amounts.
K Marshall
My husband and I have been married for 10 years and in that time I have never made chili (because I don’t like the texture of the beans). I found your recipe and decided to give it a try, first with no beans and a second time with the beans put thru the food processor. It has become a staple in our menus, even our daughter and MIL love it. Thank you!
Kathy
This was my first attempt at making chili in my IP. After an initial problem with the dreaded burn notice the minute it came to pressure, I was able to release the pressure, stir it up good, reseal, and smoothly move through the 20 min PC without a problem. It is rich and has a nice consistency. The seasoning is perfect, a nice warm tingle and not a hot burn. I used Brooks Chili Hot Beans and had never heard of nor could locate ranch beans so used dark red kidney beans. Black beans would also be nice. Served with cornbread muffins. Will make this one again!