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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.
So I made this tonight and received nothing but rave reviews. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I didn’t change a thing.
Yay! Thank you for the feedback!
Just won my office chili cook off! I added double the bacon and topped off with sharp cheddar. Thank you for the recipe!
Double the bacon…that’s the way to go! Congrats on the victory!
I love this recipe and have made it many times. I like to add up to 1 extra pepper, and I usually leave out the bacon entirely to make a (slightly healthier) quick weeknight dinner. Even without the bacon, this chili is amazing.
The hardest part of making the dish is scrolling through this entire website to get to the recipe.
Thank you for the support and feedback Courtney! There is a “Jump to Recipe” button right at the top of the post that allows you to jump directly down to the recipe card. Hopefully that helps make things easier for you!
Regarding the burn notice I cleaned the bottom very well before locking the lid, and after pressure built burn notice appeared so I turned the pot off for a minute and back on never seen the notice again. As for the chili… it turned out really well, a tad too spicy for our tastes but a reduction of the chili powder next time will be fine. A must try folks.
Thank you for the feedback Ted!
Made this tonight & got burn notice twice. First time there was some burning on one side. I did scrape entire bottom prior to adding rest of ingredients, so not sure where it came from. Removed chili. Scrubbed pot. Second burn notice I just shut it off & left the lid on for 30 min. Everything was cooked. It was delicious, but what a pain
Just tried this recipe. I even cooked the bacon, beef onions and peppers in a skillet to be careful. Burn…. Emptied pot, nothing stuck and washed the pot. Put all back in, and burn notice again. Something with the chemistry, doesn’t happen with any other recipe.
I have to change the rating. Nothing changed about the burn issues, but I finished this on the stove top and it really is the best chili I ever tasted! Will risk the burn issue again!
Thank you so much Randy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Randy! We have made this recipe countless times with cooking everything in the Instant Pot and have never had this problem one time. I’m convinced that it depends on the model of Instant Pot. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you! That is so frustrating!
It was fantastic! The family really enjoyed it!
Thanks Jerard!
I got the burn notice, but I do agree that some models may be more susceptible to the notice than others because this isn’t the first time it’s happened to me when trying recipes in the IP.
However… I transferred it to the stove, simmered for 30 minutes, and oh wow… sooo GOOD! Definitely the best chili I’ve ever had. Thank you for this recipe!! Excited to try your other recipes! 🙂
Yay! Thank you so much for the feedback Erin! That dang burn notice is going to be the death of me! It’s so frustrating that it’s different for everyone. So glad you enjoyed the chili!
that’s weird bc ive made this 3x now and im a brand new instant pot user and ive never had any issues.
Best chili I’ve ever had!
Thank you so much Vince!
This is the BEST chili I have ever made. I used 1 pound of Italian sausage and one pound of beef. My team at work won a chili cook off with this recipe. It was delicious! There WERE absolutely no leftovers. 🙂 thank you for a great recipe with so much FLAVOR!
Yippee!! We love to hear this! Thank you so much for taking time to give us feedback!
This is the BEST chili I’ve ever had! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe. I work for a small, rural city, and would love to share the recipe in our local monthly newsletter. Is that OK to do? If so, I would credit you of course and include a reference directing people to your blog.
Yes absolutely! Thank you for the support!
Perfect, thank you so much!
Dear god, this is indeed the best chili ever! I too made this for the Super Bowl yesterday, and it is fantastic.
I used 1 lb of ground bison, and turkey bacon. Since both of those are lean meats, I browned the bacon in rendered chicken fat I have stored in the fridge. I made sure to scrape the bottom ,and had no issues with ‘burn’. Since I only used a pound of meat, I cut back all of the spices just *slightly* (ex if it called for a TB, I may the TB just a little light).
I did use the optional jalapeño, but only used 1/3C of red onion (a full onion would have been really overpowering for my tastes).
We served with avocado sliced on top, sour cream, and sharp cheddar cheese. Potato chips on the side.
Seriously, it was the best chili I’ve ever tasted.
Thank you so much for the feedback Amy and for the tips! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this today for the Superbowl.
This was definitely the best chili I’ve ever made.
My wife isn’t much of a pepper head, so I didn’t use the fresh Jalapeno
The only variance I made from your recipe was to use fire roasted salsa instead of tomatoes, and added a pound extra of cubed steak.
I now know I can make a crowd devouring chili!! Thank you so much!!