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Instant Pot Chili that is award winning and bringing home cook-off victories across the country. You don’t want to miss diving into a bowl of our best chili!
If you want chili from scratch, this traditional chili is your answer. It took us 10 years to discover an award winning recipe and this is finally it, plus it’s an instant pot recipe which means it’s all done in less than 1 hour (with instructions for cooking on the stove top or crock pot as well)!! It is full of bacon, ground beef, beans, classic chili spices and all the toppings you want!
Let’s talk about how to make this homemade chili step by step, discuss what goes well with it, and how to freeze it to eat later. So much to talk about, so let’s get going!
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 pretty unhealthy, but I heard a rumor that if you don’t eat it alone the calories don’t count.
If you want a healthy chili recipe, you should definitely try our award winning healthy turkey instant pot version, which uses ground turkey instead of beef.
Chili is good year round, but we especially love it for Halloween. Well, chili or our melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk pancakes depending on our mood. Both are easy and perfect for the family. Now on to this award winning instant pot chili recipe…
Chili Cook-Off Idea!
Muffin Tin Trick
Listen to this, at the chili cook-off we went to a couple of people brought muffin tins and then placed a sample scoop of each kind in the well so they could try them all and vote without going back or over-eating. GENIUS. That’s seriously the smartest thing ever.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chili
This chili recipe uses all the traditional chili ingredients in just the perfect ratio. Here is everything you will need:
- Meat: Ground Beef and Bacon
- Canned Beans: Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, and Black Beans
- Tomatoes: Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Paste
- Vegetables: Red Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Garlic, and Jalapeño
- Broth: Beef Broth and Worcestershire Sauce
- Spices: Oregano, Ground Cumin, Kosher Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder
- Toppings: Sour Cream, Cilantro, Cheddar Cheese, Corn, Limes, Chips, Green Onions, etc.
The measurements and all the details for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Chili in an Instant Pot
Making this recipe in an instant pot is really easy because there’s an actual setting for chili and beans (if you don’t have that setting, you can totally use “manual”). That pretty much takes all of the thinking out of this, and everything can be done in the instant pot, which means only one dish to clean!!
Let’s go through it step by step:
- Sauté: Turn your instant pot to “sauté” and cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and sauté the bell peppers and onions until tender.
- Brown: Add the ground beef and cook until browned and drain any excess grease. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir everything together.
- Cook: Place the lid on the instant pot and set to “chili” mode with the vent in seal position (“manual high pressure” can be used too). Cook for 18-20 minutes and allow the valve to natural release for 10-15 minutes.
- NOTE: If you get the burn notice, please see the section below.
- Serve: Once it is cooked, serve it up and top with all your favorite toppings.
All these instructions can also be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
What to Eat with Homemade Chili
Really any sort of bread will get the job done beautifully, but if you are making this in an instant pot, then you probably want dinner done in a hurry, so these 1 Hour Rolls are your answer! I often like something light and fresh with my chili like this garden balsamic avocado salad.
I’ve also heard that people eat cinnamon rolls with chili, and I fully endorse this! Try our World’s Best Cinnamon Rolls! And imho, all chili tastes the best with a side of cornbread or our crazy easy 7-Up biscuits!
Burn Notice FAQs
We’ve had a lot of questions, comments and concerns about the burn notice on the instant pot. We really think it just depends on your Instant Pot. Some are more sensitive than others. We have not ever had a burn notice on ours, but if you are getting them, here are a few tips and tricks…
Prior browned bits on the pot- If your pot had previous food stuck to the bottom of the pot it will continue to cook and confuse the pot to thinking that something is burning. Clean your pot well after every use. Bar Keeper’s Friend is my go-to cleaner for browned bits in pots and pans.
– PROBLEM: Is your bacon extra thin or lacking fat? Both of these can cause the bacon to stick to the bottom of the pot and cause a burn notice. Those browned bits stuck to the pot because of the lack of fat can make the pressure cooker think that you’ve walked away and left meat to burn.
– REMEDY: To counter this, please use a good quality bacon and stir often to keep it from sticking. You can also add a little oil to the pot if not much fat is rendering off the bacon.
If your chili has been combined and then you get the burn notice you probably didn’t thoroughly stir everything together or something is stuck to the bottom of the pot. This is why that bacon step is important. If you added those heavy ingredients and added the lid something will probably stick and burn. Stir well, make sure you measured properly.
If none of these tips work, you should contact instant pot as you may have a model that needs to be replaced.
Chili FAQs
This recipe is too big to be doubled in both a 6 qt Instant Pot and an 8qt. It can be one and a halved in an 8qt Instant Pot. We have also been told you can double it in an 8qt Instant Pot if you take out 1 or 2 cans of beans.
1. Start with your bacon. Always. See our How to Cook Bacon post for all the details on bacon! Whenever bacon is going in a dish we crisp it first, drain the fat and leave the browned bits in the pan. It adds extra flavor to whatever comes next.
Start by pressing the “sauté” 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.
2. 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.
Scroll down to the Notes section of the recipe card for all the details.
Toppings for Homemade Chili
The toppings you choose for your chili is totally up to you! You can add more crunch, creaminess, heat, freshness, acidity…really anything that makes you happy! Here are a few of our favorite chili toppings:
- Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Sliced Jalapenos
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
- Tortilla Chips or Corn Chips
Storage Tips
Leftover chili should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 5 days.
If you want it to last a little longer, classic chili is really easy to freeze. Cool your chili completely and store in ziplocs with all the air pressed out, or we prefer to use our Food Saver. You can store individual servings to eat for lunch or larger portions to feed the whole family later. They will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat the chili, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then warm it up in a pot on the stove top. Warming up a single bowl in the microwave works great too!
Our Favorite Cheat Sheet
P.S. Have you seen our Instant Pot cheat sheet? Head there are all our tips for cooking all the basics in your Instant Pot!
When it comes to classic chili, I want it to be full of flavor, bold and comforting! Friends, this recipe is the result of me making dozens of recipes in order to find the greatest of all time. So I tell you hands down this is the VERY BEST CHILI!
Here are some more CHILI RECIPES that you’ll love:
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Best Stove Top Chili
- Ground Beef Enchilada Chili
- Brisket Chili
- White Chicken Chili
- All our Chili, Soup, and Stew Recipes here!
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?
Watch How this Chili Recipe is Made…
Thank you for all of your love and support with making this the #1 chili out there!
Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Pounds Ground Beef
- 6 Strips Bacon, good quality, chopped
- 1 Can Kidney Beans, 15 ounces, drained
- 1 Can Pinto Beans, 15 ounces, drained
- 1 Can Black Beans, 15 ounces, drained
- 1 Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, 15 ounces, with juice
- 1 Can Tomato Paste, 6 ounce
- 1 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 Garlic, minced
For Garnish
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Cheese, shredded
- Lime, fresh, optional
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the bacon.6 Strips 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.1 Red Onion, 1 Red Bell Pepper
- Add the meat and cook until browned.1 ½ Pounds Ground Beef
- 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.1 Can Kidney Beans, 1 Can Pinto Beans, 1 Can Black Beans, 1 Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, 1 Can Tomato Paste, 1 Jalapeño, 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 Garlic
- Turn the instant pot to chili (if you don't have a "chili" setting, use the "manual" setting) and cook for 18-20 minutes (see note). Allow pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or quick release with the vent.
- Serve with limes, sour cream, cheese, and a little bacon!Sour Cream, Cilantro, Cheese, Lime
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.