Award Winning Instant Pot Chili Recipe
We recently attended a chili cook-off which kicked my obsession with finding an Award Winning Instant Pot Chili Recipe into high gear.
It’s all about chili today, our award winning instant pot chili recipe. It took us 10 years to discover an award winning chili recipe and this is finally it, plus it’s an instant pot chili!!
We will talk about how to make chili in a slow cooker or crock pot or of course, how to make chili in our new obsession, an instant pot. Oh, and who could forget, can you freeze chili. So much to talk about, so let’s get going!
First, we attended a chili cook-off and brought this awesome Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Chili. It was so good, but soooo many arteries were clogged that night. It’s a pretty unhealthy soup, but I heard a rumor that if you don’t eat it alone the calories don’t count.
Pretty sure that’s true.
Oh! And listen to this, a couple of people brought muffin tins and then a sample scoop of chili was placed in each well so they could try them all and vote without going back or over eating. GENIUS. That’s seriously the smartest thing ever. Next to figuring out this award winning instant pot chili recipe, right?!
We hurried and made you all a video to help with the questions. Thank you for all of your love and support with this recipe!
How to Make Chili in an Instant Pot
Making chili in an instant pot is really easy because there’s an actual setting for chili and beans. That pretty much takes all of the thinking out of this award winning instant pot chili recipe, doesn’t it. Because of this awesome setting there isn’t much you need to do other than dump everything in the pot, but because we don’t want to dirty any other dishes I’m also going to show you how to brown your beef and cook your bacon right in the instant pot.
18 minutes is all it took to cook the chili but you could push to 30 minutes for even more flavor, and I have no reason for rushing, it was purely because instant pot is in my head so I want it instantly done.
Only some of the bacon gets added to the pot, while the rest we will use as a garnish. If you don’t care for garnishes, just add it in, but there is something really yummy about the different textures with the bacon on top.
Why Make Soup and Chili in an Instant Pot
THE FLAVOR!!
When you pressure cook something not only does it make it super tender but oh how it enhances flavor!! Our award winning instant pot chili recipe totally proves that a little pressure can be a really good thing!
How to Brown Meat in an Instant Pot
Alright, start with your bacon.
Always.
Whenever bacon is going in a dish we crisp it first, drain the fat and leave the browned bits in the pan. All it does is add extra flavor to whatever comes next.
Start by pressing the saute button and once you can feel the heat, add the chopped bacon, stirring occasionally until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and drain the fat.
Next, grab your ground beef. Any kind is fine for chili since other flavors are in there, but there’s more flavor in an 80/20 versus 90/10, though you will need to drain out the fat before continuing on.
Make sure you stir occasionally in order to crumble the meat instead of having big chunks. Chili shouldn’t be big and chunky. Leave that to the hippopotamuses. (Totally had to spell check that one. Who knew hippos could be so difficult.)
Award Winning Instant Pot Chili
There’s nothing crazy about this award winning instant pot chili. It’s the real deal. It’s the best classic chili recipe we’ve ever had. It’s easy to add more heat to, red chili flakes, minced habaneros, whatever you want to add and later die from. Ha, kidding, you won’t die, but I would because I HATE spicy. 🙂
The bacon adds fantastic flavor without tasting like bacon. The three beans add heartiness, texture and a great variety of flavor as well while the remaining spices all work together beautifully for a chili that’s full of flavor and aromas.
This chili might not be the one that we entered into the competition but it certainly is the one we will enter next time and it’s definitely and award winning chili recipe after hunting for the past 10 years. 10 years! That took forever!
There’s nothing like a favorite, classic chili recipe to keep us warm through these bitter cold months, especially this award winning instant pot chili!
How to Freeze Chili
Chili is really easy to freeze as there isn’t any dairy or fibrous vegetables to mess with texture and flavor. Cool your chili completely and store in ziplocs with all the air pressed out, or we prefer to use our Food Saver as the chili tastes as fresh as the day it was made.
How to Make Chili in a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot
To make slow cooker chili (I linked up to the brand and model we prefer) or of course make chili in a crock pot if that’s what you have, you’ll need to cook the bacon and ground beef in a pan, then add the peppers and onions to saute them all nice and tender. Then dump it all in a slow cooker and we prefer 5-6 hours on low or 3 hours on high, though I have probably only used the high function twice. Low and slow really allows the spices to bloom, or in other words to open up and really do their thing. Before snagging the recipe, check out this cheesy ground beef enchilada chili recipe!
Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Chili
The absolute best cheesy chili ever!! You are going to go nuts for it!
Award Winning Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe
We recently attended a chili-cook which kicked my obsession with finding an Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe into high gear.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
- 6 Strips of Bacon, chopped
- 1 Can (15 ounces) Kidney Beans, drained
- 1 Can (15 ounces) Pinto beans, drained
- 1 Can (15 ounces) Black beans, drained
- 1 Can (15 ounces) Fire Roasted diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 Can (6 ounce) Tomato paste
- 1 large Red onion, chopped
- 1 Red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced *optional
- 2 Cups Beef stock
- 1 Tablespoon Dried oregano
- 2 Teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 Teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Minced garlic
For Garnish
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Cheese, shredded
Directions:
- Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the bacon.
- Cook until crisp, stirring often to cook evenly.
- Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
- Add the onions and peppers and cook until tender.
- Add the meat and cook until browned.
- Drain off any excess grease, we just tilt the pot and use a large spoon.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients and 3/4 of the bacon and stir to combine.
- Turn the instant pot to chili and cook for 18-20 minutes*. Allow pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or quick release with the vent.
- Serve with limes, sour cream, cheese, and a little bacon!
For the stove: Cook everything in the pot just like you do for the instant pot and then allow to simmer on low heat for 3 hours.
For the slow cooker: Cook the bacon and set aside on a plate. Cook the onion and peppers and set aside on another plate. Drain any excess grease and add the meat, cooking until browned. Add everything into the pot, leaving out a little bacon for garnish and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
Most batches will be done after 18 minutes, however we’ve had a few times when the flavor just wasn’t there yet, so feel free to pressure cook a little longer for more flavor or if your beans are not as tender as you’d like.
To freeze, cool the chili completely. Place in a large ziploc bag or FoodSaver, removing all air and freeze by laying flat for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8 servings, Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 505 Calories
- Total Fat: 27.3g
- Cholesterol: 74mg
- Fiber: 12.3g
- Sugar: 8.1g
- Protein: 29.3g
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This is the best chilli I’ve ever made! I had a go-to stovetop recipe, but it contained way too many liquids to translate well into instant pot. I found this one and will NEVER look back! Thank you!
YEAH!!! We LOVE this recipe! So happy you enjoyed it!
I just made this yesterday with a couple of modifications, I skipped bacon and used half beef and half chorizo sausage. The flavor was wonderful! Like someone else mentioned, my chili was also watery so I added an extra drained can of beans and continued to cook it on Saute for about 10 minutes and then it became nice and thick. I will definitely use this as a base recipe for future chilis! For my husband and I, I think it will only make about 5 servings because we helped ourselves to biiig bowls.
STOP. Chorizo?! That is brilliant! We are totally going to try that!
My girlfriend and I made this for my dad and stepmom when they came to visit us! It was a big hit with all of us even though we forgot the beef stock, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce. The recipe also translated quite well to a crock pot!
Won first place with this recipe in the 5th Special Forces Chili cook off 2018
Would love to share a pic of my 3ft tall trophy
Thanks For the recipe. Simple was definitely better.
Did you?!! Oh my goodness, we are so, so happy for you!! Congratulations! Are you in our FB VIP group? https://www.facebook.com/groups/305802826534187/ That’s the best place to share a pic or on instagram, tagging @ohsweetbasil and #ohsweetbasil
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I am new to IP cooking and tried this recipe with pretty good success (it was delicious). However I did have a few questions as I am new to cooking in general and any feed back would be greatly appreciated:
1) I found my results were a bit watery. Not sure why this is, in my grocery store they sell 14floz of the canned ingredients instead of 15floz, maybe that is why? How could I correct this, less beef stock or can i simmer it and thicken the chili?
2) After cooking the bacon, do I remove the bacon grease from the pot or just the bacon?
3) Should I brown the ground meat first then remove it and strain the fat, then saute the onions and peppers and add the ground beef back in after? Or do I saute the onions and peppers and mix the ground beef in with them and cook accordingly? I ask this questions as I found the veggies to be super soft almost ‘mushy’.
4) You mention increasing cooking time to increase the flavours, wouldn’t this in turn also cause the veggies and beans to be ‘mushy’
5) I have a 6qt IP. Can I add 1.5x the ingredients or would that be too much? Would cooking time increase?
Thanks
HI!
1. Yes, you can always add less liquid
2. The bacon grease does help flavor the chili but if there’s too much it will lead to a watery and greasy chili
3. The veggies shouldn’t be crisp as it is a chili, but if you want crunch, leave a few out to sprinkle on top. Draining and then sauting in a little fat is essential to not have too much liquid but you do want tender veggies.
4. Beans don’t break down too much in only 5 extra minutes in the instant pot.
5. This is generally for a 6qt pot so you could try 1.5 and it would probably be fine.
Try this: Replace the kidney beans with a can of Del Monte Southwest Corn with Poblano & Red Peppers. Next, replace the fire roasted tomatoes with Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilles if you can find them. The tomatoes will spice up the recipe and the corn will sweeten it a bit. Three cans of beans is a bit over the top and so many chili recipes come out tasting like spaghetti sauce with kidney beans. You have the right idea and the instant pot or crock pot are perfect for this dish.
The Rotel tomatoes are hard to find in many places, but there is nothing like them. They are quite spicy but can be found in a less spicy option in most southern stores. The bacon is genius.
Ohhhh can’t wait to try that, thank you!
OMG sooo good! Everyone loved it! I have tried several chili recipies and this one is by far my favorite! Thank you so much for posting it.
YAY!!! Thank you so much Sandra!
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Awesome chili!!! I used 1 yellow onion instead…half chopped poblano pepper instead of jalapeno…2 tbsp of brown sugar and used 1 can Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce instead of pinto beans.thanks for the recipe
Ohhhh love the poblano idea! We are adding that next time, thanks for the idea!
I’m curious… if I wanted to double the amount of chili, would I just double each ingredient? Or maybe 1.5X each ingredient? I have an Instant Pot Ultra 8-quart size. Would cooking time be different?
Hi Stefanie, I would start with 1.5x to make sure it fits well. The cooking time will probably increase by 3-5 minutes
I am wondering if anyone has made this using ground turkey instead of ground beef. If so, are there any noticeable differences in taste? Also, if using ground turkey, should there be any changes to the other ingredients? I’d appreciate any feedback… Thanks!
Hi Steve, We did it for you, here’s the turkey recipe, https://ohsweetbasil.com/award-winning-healthy-turkey-instant-pot-chili-recipe/
Hi Steve I swapped out for ground turkey just because we like the taste better, followed the rest of the recipe exactly and it was amazing!
I DID IT! My first ever time making Chili. The husband says its GREAT -even though I forgot the garlic = (
I was so nervous about people getting the dreaded burn notice that I did drain the fat out of the meat in a colander and then used 2 Tablespoons of the Beef stock to deglaze the pot.
Since Hubby does not like it too hot I did only 1 Tablespoon of the Chili Powder.
Thank you for answering my previous question so fast.
Thank you for the great recipe.
Oh no!! Garlic makes it so good, but I personally like it both ways.
Glad it worked out for you!!!
I added some minced garlic from the fridge after it was done and after his first bowl of chili. It definitely added/changed the flavor in a positive way! Chili went from a score of 7 from my husband to a 10 once the Garlic was added.
Will it make any difference if I use Beef Broth instead of Stock? That was all they had at the store.
So wanting to make this.
That will totally be fine 🙂
Any tips on cutting this recipe in half?? Thanks!
Hi! You can easily half each ingredient amount, but you may want to watch theinstant pot as a smaller amount will cook faster.
This is the most delicious chili recipe ever!!!!! Me and my husband have been trying so hard to find the most top notch recipe – this is it!!! Fantastic work!!!
YAY!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
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Cooked per recipe except omitted the Jalapeño and 1 TB of chili powder because the wife doesn’t like spicy food. Also added a bit of fine cornmeal to thicken it after it was cooked. Not the best chili I’ve ever had, but damn fine chili. Will definitely make it again.
Thank you so much!
I don’t normally comment on recipes I found online, but this recipe is amazing! I didn’t have bacon on hand, and it still turned out tasty. Thanks for this!
Thank you so much! We are glad you did take the time to comment! xoxo
I would like to know how I can make chili mac with this chili? I have never made it before
Hi there, you could combine it with this recipe https://ohsweetbasil.com/skinny-one-pot-chili-macaroni-recipe/
I made the recipe, and even had the “saute” on first to warm things up, but it never came to complete pressure, (the button never popped up), but it started counting down. Has anyone ever had this happen? Everything in the pot is essentially cooked, but not sure if it was “pressure cooked”……..
I haven’t ever had a button pop up on an instant pot, is this a manual pressure cooker?
OMG I was so afraid I would get the “burn” notice, but I didnt° This is by far the best chili EVER!!! I made 2 batches. I made 1 batch for my family and 1 batch for a friends shop! Everyone said the same thing! “This is the best chili I’ve ever had!!” Thank you for your amazing recipes.
Thanks Stacy!!! So happy to hear that!!
I googled “chili in instant pot” and this was the first one that popped up so I gave it a try and it did not disappoint!! Bacon in chili?!…..how have I never thought of this before????? Absolutely delicious and thank you so much for sharing.
We really think that might just be a game changer forever! Thanks for the nice comment!
Tried your recipe, and its a keeper!
Thank you so much!
This turned out amazingly! I won’t use another chili recipe. Only thing I did even slightly differently was use all the bacon in the stew (we didn’t want any crunchy bits on top), use a mix of ground turkey and beef, and use two cans of kidney beans, and one can of red beans. Everything else I followed to a T. So great! My mom used to put half cup of strong brewed coffee in her chili for that umami flavor, so I might try that next time for a slightly different flavor.
MMMMMM, All of that bacon could never be a bad thing!
When i did the peppers, i left the jalapeno seeds in in order to spice it up. It was good but not over powering.
That’s great to know, thanks!
I don’t have the chili button on my instant pot. Do you have another idea of how long I can cook it if I do I cook it on manual ?
You can use the manual button on high pressure. 🙂
My family loved this recipe! Thank you so much! No changes made and it was yummy!
Thank you so much!
Hands down best chili recipe out there! Simple to make and delicious. I need to make two batches just to have leftovers. Everyone loves it!
Shawna,
If we had a million dollars to give it would be yours. 🙂 Thank you, thank you for the kind words! You made our day!
Was this recipe always written using ground beef? I could have sworn it used chuck roast… or I’m just losing my mind 🤪
It’s always been ground beef but chuck would be delicious
I was craving chili and didn’t feel like making my favorite 4-hour Ranch Chili from Cook’s Illustrated, Google lead me here. OMG, this is an excellent chili and 3.5 hours faster!
YAY!!!!
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Almost perfect. I found 2 tablespoons of chili power to be too much, Next batch I reduced it to 1 TBSP or so and it was much better. Still tweaking a few things here and there.
Oh, I got the burn message on the first go round too. To avoid it, I combined all ingredients, then turned the pot on to Saute stirring a few times until it was a rolling boil, then put the lid on and turned on normal pressure cook. Got to pressurization very quickly and no burn message.
I plan on using dried beans(soaked overnight) and ground turkey….how would this change the cooking times/temp. ? THANKYOU!!!!
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Tasty! Changes to use up leftovers/what we had on hand: 1-Lb ground beef, 1/2-Lb Jimmy Dean spicy sausage. Subbed white beans for kidney. No bacon (sad face). Two heaping tablespoon of Costco’s chopped garlic in water (because that’s how we roll with garlic). Two jalapeños. Served over Instant Pot baked potatoes with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, scallions, and a side salad. Had just a hint of heat – kids loved it.
I followed the receipe exactly, minus the jalapeño (because I didn’t have one), other than that no “burn” message. Chili is delicious! Thank you!!
Which secretly in my book is just fine, because I like it just as much without the spice. Glad you didn’t get that error, not sure what the trouble is on some pots.
I followed the recipe. Got burn notice. Stirred added double the broth came to pressure and got burn notice again :/
Aj, sounds like there is a recall out on instant pots, I’m going to see if that’s the problem. You shouldn’t get a burn notice as long as you added the ingredients in the proper order and didn’t let it heat up too much before adding the bacon.
Just made this and it was DELICIOUS!! So easy to make. Will definitely make this again and again!
Thanks Christina!
I have been making pretty darn good chili for over 40 years. This is only the 3rd thing I’ve made in the Instant Pot, and Hubby thinks this might have topped all previous chili that I’ve made.
I sautéed the bacon, removed the bacon, (left the goodness in there), sautéed the green pepper a little before adding the onion.
Didn’t have Pinto beans, so used 2 dark red kidney and 1 black bean. Also didn’t have the fire roasted tomatoes, but did have some sun dried tomatoes that I threw in at the last minute. I probably added a little more cumin and Worcestershire sauce than the recipe called for. I did 20 minutes, then let it release and sat for about 8 minutes. Will use this recipe again. Only complaint is that printing the recipe took 3 pages!
Ohhhh I love that you used sun-dried tomatoes!! What a great addition! Printing you should be able to select recipe only and it’s one small page.
Tried this and i also got the burn message. i didnt notice the burn message till i checked the pot 20 mins later. I poured out the chili into another pot and the bottom of my instant pot had spots caked in black burnt gunk. This is obviously what caused the burn message. I didnt notice this when i was browning my beef. Im thinking it may have been caused by a combination of the pot being hot from saute mode, sauteing the onions too long, and not draining enough of the fat. (just a guess im not an expert. this chili is the 5th thing ive ever made with my ip)
Since the chili was still simmering when i opened it up i didnt cook it further (also i was starving). It was still DELICIOUS. So delicious in fact that i made it again, this time i fried the bacon, sauted the peppers and onion, and browned the beef on the stove. I thought this would make it easier to drain the fat, and i could avoid scalding anything to the bottom of my instant pot. This time no burn message! and its EVEN MORE DELICIOUS. Best chili ever!
Man, I wonder what is up with the burn messages. Such a bummer. Instant pot needs to do some looking into that. We talk through a lot of information about burn messages on our new chili post, https://ohsweetbasil.com/award-winning-healthy-turkey-instant-pot-chili-recipe/
I only have a green bell pepper will that work instead of red? Also I couldn’t find smoked paprika I just have regular can I use that or should I just omit it altogether?
That will definitely work for both 🙂
Hi! Can’t wait to try this chili! Thank you for the recipe. Quick question…if I were to cook it continuously for 25 minutes on the setting vs 18 and then opening the pot and cooking for another 10 or so, do you think that would be ok? I would rather not open it up, so I’m trying to figure out the perfect in between time. Thank you! 🙂
Just reading the list of ingredients, I knew this would make a great chili. Unfortunately, I could not get my IP to cooperate. I tried the Chili button and after it got to pressure I got the Burn notice. I released pressure and checked the batch. Yep, plenty of liquid, but maybe it just needs a scooch more. I stirred it well then tried the program again. Again I got the burn notice. I repeated the same steps: adding a little more liquid, stirring well, and then trying again. I got another Burn notice. Repeated the add liquid and stir step. Then I tried just the manual Pressure Cook button. Another Burn notice. After an hour of trying to get the chili to cook under pressure, I gave up. It tastes OK, I’m hungry, and I need to eat. I’ve switched it to Slow Cook so the flavors can meld a bit more and I’m sure after sitting overnight it taste great. I just wish I knew why I kept getting the Burn notice. I did notice that all the heavier ingredients tending to sink to the bottom of the pot, but there was plenty of liquid in there.
I’ve been following a bunch of instant pot groups and this seems to be an error people everywhere are having with all kinds of recipes. You definitely should have been fine. We are going to do major investigations to figure out how to help
I posted a question on the big IP group on Facebook and was told I should not have mixed in the tomato paste and tomatoes. Another possibility is that there was a small amount of browned food still stuck to the bottom of the pot. If that’s the case, this pot is super sensitive! Maybe that’s why they all it the Ultra. 😉
Ahhhhh that makes sense on the sensitivity. I always mix ours and haven’t ever had the burn error so I can’t imagine that’s it, but then again, I’m gathering IP have the same issues ovens do and can be all over the place. Thanks for coming back to share just in case someone else needs help too!
What does the asterisk mean here? I didn’t see a note at the end…
“Turn the instant pot to chili and cook for 18-20 minutes*”
At the bottom of the post there’s a note section: For the instant pot: Most batches will be done after 18 minutes, however we’ve had a few times when the flavor just wasn’t there yet, so feel free to pressure cook a little longer for more flavor or if your beans are not as tender as you’d like.
Does this recipe work in a 3 qt instant pot?
A 3 qt will probably be too small, but you could always try it and let us know how close to the top it gets.
I never leave reviews and usually turn up my nose when my husband suggests chili, but this was delicious! It is a recipe I will definitely make again and again and look forward to each time, which is very high praise for a chili recipe coming from me!
Jessica, thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a great review! So glad you liked it!
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it! This will definitely be my go-to chili recipe from now on! At first I didn’t think 2 cups of broth would be enough, but the consistency is just right. Yum!
Happy to hear that!! The broth totally seems off until it’s done, huh! Thanks!
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Omg, this chili should definitely win a blue ribbon, it’s absolutely scrumptious!! I just finished a bowl, going back for seconds! I’m glad I didn’t double the recipe as my Instant Pot would have blown up, lol! The good news is, I have the ingredients that would have doubled the recipe so I can make more tomorrow (I just took bowls to my daughter and her boss at work)! I followed the recipe precisely as written except I used tenderloin which I had on hand (wouldn’t normally use tenderloin in chili) and it just enhanced your recipe! Thanks for the help and the amazing chili recipe! I look forward to trying your other recipes as well!! Do yourself a favor, make this chili!!
Dale, thank you so much for such a great review and now I’m curious to try it with tenderloin!
I’m going to make this today!! I was planning to use tenderloin mixed with the ground beef and brown them both at the same time, do you think that will work? I do not have a “chili” button on my Instant Pot but I do have pressure levels! Which pressure level do you you recommend and how much time please? Thank you very much!
Just use “Manual” @ high pressure for 18 minutes.
Awesome! Thank you soooo much for your speedy reply! I’m just starting so your timing was spot on! I’ll let you know how it comes out?!? Have a great day and thanks for your help!!
One more question, I’m going to double the recipe! Should I double the beef broth too? Maybe you’ll see this before I get to that point! I appreciate your help!!
I decided against doubling the recipe but I’m still curious what your answer would be!?! Thanks again!
I made this recipe for the Super Bowl. This recipe is AMAZING!! We all loved it. I put the bowl of chili out and it was gone super fast. I made it two days in advance of the Super Bowl. Both days it tasted just as delicious. On Monday, I used it to make nachos, best nachos I personally have ever made. Very tasty!! This is going to be my go to Chili recipe from now on. I highly recommend it. A few tweaks I made, instead of Red Kidney Beans, I used Small Red Beans, instead of Pinto Beans, I used Pink Beans and used a meat chopper when browning the meat. I followed the rest of the recipe to the T and also used the jalapeno (listed as optional). The texture was perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe with us!
NACHOS?! GENIUS! How have we not done that yet? Can’t wait to try it and thank you for the great review!
This chili was a HUGE hit at our Super Bowl party! Even the people who don’t like chili, loved this! We’re in Philadelphia- and sure we’re happy that the Eagles won (LOL)– but we were also very happy that this was on the menu!
That’s a huge win if the non chili fans liked it! Thanks!
We made this for our Superbowl party and it was an instant hit! Our modifications were few substituting Bell peppers with mild Jalapenos and using pink Himalayan salt. Hands down on of the best chilli recipes yet. Thanks!
Oh we love Himalayan salt! Great choice!
Easy to follow recipe but ours ended up more like soup….way too much fluid…..transferred to a bigger pot and then had to simmer down.
Hi Crystal,
The recipe shouldn’t have much liquid in it. Was the valve turned to seal so it was high pressure cooking and were the canned ingredients the right ounces?
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OMGGGG!!!!!! im new to the instant pot game and this was my 6th recipe and this is my favorite and my family tore it up for lunch and we brought it to my wifes cousins house as an appetizer and they tore it apart in secs lol. Thank you so much for this very flavorful chili. This is the best chili ive ever had!!!!
WOOOHOOOO!! That is exactly what we were hoping for!!
If making this vegetarian will I follow the same cook time and pressure instructions .
Yes!
I want to make this for super bowl but I don’t see how much of each ingredient or what spices to add. Can anyone help?
It’s towards the bottom of the page:
INSTANT POT AWARD WINNING CHILI RECIPE
total time: 50 prep time: 10 cook time: 40
We recently attended a chili-cook which kicked my obsession with finding an Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe into high gear.
PRINT RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
6 Strips of Bacon, chopped
1 Can (15 ounces) Kidney Beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Pinto beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Black beans, drained
1 Can (15 ounces) Fire Roasted diced tomatoes with juice
1 Can (6 oounce) Tomato paste
1 large Red onion, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced *optional
2 Cups Beef stock
1 Tablespoon Dried oregano
2 Teaspoons ground cumin
2 Teaspoons Kosher salt
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Minced garlic
FOR GARNISH
Sour Cream
Cilantro
Cheese, shredded
DIRECTIONS:
Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, stirring often to cook evenly. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
Add the onions and peppers and cook until tender. Add the meat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess grease, we just tilt the pot and use a large spoon. Add all of the remaining ingredients and 3/4 of the bacon and stir to combine.
Turn the instant pot to chili and cook for 18-20 minutes*. Allow pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or quick release with the vent.
Serve with limes, sour cream, cheese, and a little bacon!
Looking forward to making this for Super Bowl Sunday. Thanks in advance!!!
Hope you loved it!
If I double the recipe, will that change the cooking time in the Instant Pot?
You should still be ok:)
I wanted to increase the quantities too based on what I have on hand, but the caution seems to be to not overfill the instapot. I have a 6quart model. Can I fit 1 1/3 times the recipe in there safely?
We have had success doing that with no problem
I have the 8qt Instant pot will that be able to fit a double recipe or should I scale it to x1.5?
Most people are having better success with 1.5 the recipe
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I made this yesterday in my crockpot — it cooked all day. I SO
enjoyed your chili recipe very much. Thank you. I don’t have an
instant pot — this recipe may be the reason to get one!
MarY
Thank you Mary! Happy to hear you like it!
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Folks – made this recipe last night for supper (minus the jalapeño to appease the family). This was by far the best chili I have ever made. This is my new go-to chili recipe.
It was easy – not super quick as browning the bacon and then burger in the IP does take some time – but once that was done – the rest was simple! (okay – after three lid removals to add stuff I forgot!)
I loved that the recipe had lots of flavor but not a lot of heat/spice to deter the picky teens.
Glad I found this one!
Haha, I’ve done the lid removals because I forgot something too. Every time I’m like, don’t forget such and such and then it happens again. 🙂 So, so glad you enjoyed the recipe though!!
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Don’t have a chilli button on mine can I use manual for it?
I did and it turned out perfectly!
Absolutely!
Is the manual button the same as the pressure cooker button? Additionally, what size instant Pot did you all use for this recipe?
Yes, and we used a 6qt 9 function instant pot. 🙂
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This recipe sounds amazing. I’m buying a new Instant Pot next week and I plan to initiate it with this chili. One question that has more to do with freezing – I have a no-frills Food Saver and I’d like to make a batch of the chili to save in individual portions to take to work. But I’m afraid the chili would have too much moisture to seal with the Food Saver; at least with the basic model I have. How do you overcome that, or do you have the kind with the moisture option? If you do, must you somehow freeze the chili first then seal or are you able to just place the food in the bag and seal? If so, I think I’ll upgrade the Food Saver.
We have an upgraded version and it’s not perfect with liquid but we select that the food is moist and it does a way better job! This is the one we have and I use it to marinate alllll the time too. http://amzn.to/2DPVbp6
OMG – I hadn’t made chili in a while and this recipe looked great. There are a lot of ingredients and a fair amount of chopping, but if you get everything ready ahead of time it comes together easily. This is definitely “Award Winning”. The depth of flavor is amazing. Only change I made was that I had some ground elk in the freezer so used 1/2 elk and 1/2 ground beef. Will definitely make over and over again. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
OH!! Thank you so much, Carol! I’ve started chopping everything and placing it in freezer bags, pressing the air out before sealing and then I don’t have any prep. So basically I double my prep whenever I make chili so the next time it’s already done. 🙂
This is the first recipe I tried with my Instant Pot. It was the best chili I have ever made and probably up there with the best chili I ever tasted! I made it with London Broil meat cut into small cubes. I also added a habanero pepper and a couple of tablespoons of ancho chili powder. The meat was so tender and full of flavor.
Greg, WOOHOO!! That just put a big smile on my face. Thank you so much for sharing your comments with everyone. And yowza, you do so well with spicy!! I’d die with a habanero in there, but Cade would love it!
Can you give me some pointers? When you say you want to heighten the flavors and pop it back in, do you mean you start the pressure cooking sequence again? TIA
Yes, if you want to cook it longer to let more flavor come out then start the pressure over at high for 10 minutes.
So, I tried this recipe, and when I started the pressure cook sequence, the display said “burn,” and so it wouldn’t achieve operating pressure. I took the chili out and put it into another bowl, cleaned the bowl completely (it was burned on the bottom), and put it back in, and started the sequence over, and it burned again! What the heck? What am I supposed to do? I did everything this recipe said. I can’t stir the stuff while the lid is on! Help, please.
Hi Taylor,
I’m so sorry that happened! Is the pan over heating or heating too long before adding ingredients so that it quickly scorches? That’s the only thing I can think of unless the instant pot is having an error.
I got the “burn” error twice. I had to add a few more cups of water to get it to work. After the cooking cycle I then reduced the water back down. Chili was excellent. New favorite chili recipe.
Hi Nick, I think when it’s heated up it tends to burn quickly Try pushing saute and then quickly adding the bacon, stirring often and scraping the bits of bacon off of the bottom as you do this. Make sure it’s a high quality bacon too as the very thin, less fatty bacon will burn.
Try bring it to a boil almost on saute mode before switching to pressure cooking. I get this problem if my liquid ingredients are too cold when I put the lid on.
Great tip! Thank you!
I’ve also heard that sometimes the tomatoes can scorch the pot and it will not get up to pressure. One recipe suggested leaving the tomatoes on top and not stirring them in.
Trying this recipe now, pretty excited to eat it after all these rave reviews!!!
This chili is very good! We loved the addition of bacon and this is the first recipe that I tried with my Instapot. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much and glad you enjoyed it!
Why does the actual recipe start 60% of the way down the page? And then, why is there a DIFFERENT recipe right above it?
This makes the page really hard to read and almost made me switch to a different recipe.
Hi, The photo above the recipe, as stated in the text is in case you’d like to try our cheesy version. The recipe starts at the bottom because we give information about the recipe above it. We get sooooo many recipes this helps readers get their questions answered without needing to take extra time and effort to email. If the information is distracting you can feel free to scroll to the bottom for the recipe, it will always be there so you won’t have to search for it. 🙂 Thanks and hope you enjoy the chili!
So this is my first time using my Instant Pot. Mine doesn’t have a “chilli button” do I use the manuel button for 18 mins? Looking forward to this!!,
Yes, that would work great or a soup button.
Turned out pretty good, not soupy. Had a nice zip to it, but I’m used to Cincinnati style, so I will add cinnamon next time. Was done after 18 mins plus 5 NPR, then 3 mins on sauté. Hubby had 2 bowls, so it’s a hit
Ohhh, I need to check out the cincinnati style, do you have a good recipe for us to try out?
No bacon, tomato paste, onion or Worcestershire sauce! But used ground sirloin, 2 jars of salsa (one medium fire roasted, the other mild Newman’s) and everything else as recipe directs. Smells amazing! Will see if it needs to be reduced when the 18 mins are up
Nice adaptations, would love to hear how it went!
This was amazing!!! We added chipotle peppers to ours, but that’s a personal preference. This recipe was spot on and I will be definitely be using this again.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it !
18-30 mins is a huge window .. you seriously spent a ridiculous amount of time writing about how to brown meat and how you like chili but you couldn’t give a better cook time .. I’m guessing you’ve never actually made this in the instapot.
Hi Justin,
We love this chili and make it often. Did you by chance see the note below about the flavor? I’ll add it here so you don’t have to scroll, the chili will be done after 18 minutes but to heighten flavor more, which has happened a few times where we’ve felt like it wasn’t as flavorful and thick yet, go ahead and pop it back in for an additional 10-12 minutes. 🙂 We hope you will give it a try, it’s our favorite chili recipe. Thanks!
Justin needs to chill
Justin, why do u have to come off like a jerk? Just read thoroughly. Keep your dumb comments to yourself.
Thank you for saying what I was thinking. When someone is so kind to share a favorite recipe, there is no room for rudeness. And Sweet Basil explained the cooking time range, regardless.
Mary, thanks for your kind words. We hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂
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I’ve never been to a chili cook-off! Sounds like heaven.
Oh it was so fun!