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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.
I love this chili. We make it all the time in our instant pot and have never had any burn notices. I am so happy my daughter found this recipe. I am not fond of peppers or onions, but this is so good I eat them. Thank you for this recipe ❤️❤️❤️.
Thank you so much Kim! So glad you enjoy it!
Love the flavor of this recipe but have gotten the burn notice multiple times both times I’ve made this. I didn’t use bacon 1st time. 2nd time I used extea thick bacon, plenty of fat and stirred frequently. Even. Rinsed and wiped out pot after browning mead fo be sure no browned bits on bottom. Stirred a ton and added extra broth. Still got the burn notice! Thanks for the delicious recipe, but not sure I can do in instant pot again wish the hassle of the burn notice. Maybe I will try crock pot or save for days I have time to summer on stove. Thanks for any tips and thanks again for posting yummy recipes!
I’m so sorry Sher! I am more and more convinced that certain instant pots are more susceptible to the burn notice than others. I would guess that even if you did the sauteing and browning on the stove top rather than the instant pot that it would still happen. The slow cooker works great for fitting with a schedule. Again, I’m so sorry for the frustration!
We have a favorite chili recipe we’ve been using for years but being stuck at home made me decide to try a new one. This is our new fave! My daughter can’t eat beans so I replaced them with an extra 1/2 pound of ground beef, two big carrots, two celery ribs, and an extra 13 oz of diced tomatoes. Absolutely delicious!! Topped with cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
I love all your substitutes to make it work for your family! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking time to leave a comment!
Burned multiple times, had to cook on the stove top. Total waste – I even added extra water, knowing that no recipe with tomatoes and tomato paste works in the instant pot. Skip this recipe, it sucks.
I’m sorry you had troubles with this recipe. We’ve made it dozens of times and have never had a problem with it. There is a section in the post on how to avoid the burn notice. Again I apologize for the frustration!
I understand her frustration. I never got a burn notice, but I pay attention to my pot when it is cooking. I noticed that my 6qt 6 in 1 IP was not reaching pressure and was counting down while it was not pressure cooking. I stopped it and opened the pot n and added water to the top twice without stirring before I got it to reach pressure. The next time I made it, I just added a cup of water to the top after stirring the rest of the ingredients. I didn’t stir in the added water. It worked prefectly. It was frustrating at first, but taking the time to figure out the necessary adjustment was definitely worth it. Amazing chili! I don’t think the extra water affected it at all. Delicious!
Thank you for the tips and feedback! I really think that every IP is a little different and figuring out the quirks of your personal machine takes some investigating. I’m glad you enjoyed the chili!
Made this Chili last week, seriously it might be the best chili I have ever eaten. I had no canned beans (empty shelves because of COVID-19) but I had 1 lb bag of dried pintos. I cooked those in the instant pot first (gotta love that instant pot for beans!) and proceeded with the recipe and added them as if they were canned. I also had no Worcestershire and so I added 1 TBS soy sauce and 2TBS white vinegar. I also added a green bell pepper as well. Other than that I followed the recipe to the tee. I am making it again tonight (a week later).
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! And way to improvise on all the changes!
Made this tonight and I sort of halved the recipe (whole can of diced tomatoes, one can of kidney beans and half a can of diced jalapeños…half of everything else) and it worked out great. Just enough for a bowl each for my husband and I and one left over! It’s definitely going in our instant pot rotation!
Yay! Love to hear this! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment!
I found your recipe on Pinterest and i couldn’t wait to try it this week! I just finished making it and it’s amazing. A little spicy for my husband and i. Not sure if it was the chili powder or paprika but i will probably do 1/2 the amount next time. The bacon in the chili is such a nice touch! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you so much Rosanna! Yes, but back on the chili powder and that will bring down the heat a little for you.
Hello! The first time I made this it was fantastic and I had no issues! This second time I got the burn notice. I didn’t use the bacon either time. If I am getting the burn notice, can it be salvaged? Do I stop and stir and try to restart?? Thanks for any tips!
Ugh! I’m so sorry, Sher! I can’t stand the burn notice! There’s a whole section in the post about dealing with the burn notice. I hope it helps!
I’ve been able to salvage a couple recipes that gave me a burn notice, but stirring was not enough. I had to transfer everything into another pot, scrub the burnt bits off the bottom of the Instant Pot insert, and than transfer the food back to retry the pressure-cooking cycle. It worked, but it’s a pain. I generally just do my saute steps in the separate skillet now, just to avoid this problem. The 8-quart model seems to have a more sensitive burn sensor.
This is hands down the best chili I have ate!
Woop woop! Thank you Bobbi!
I don’t ever comment on recipes I find online and I love my moms recipe but I was looking for an instant pot recipe and this was AMAZING.
Yahoo! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment, and I’m so happy you loved this recipe!
Can it be doubled?
It can be doubled if you cook it on the stove top or the slow cooker, but it does not quite fit if you are using an 8oz Instant Pot. We’ve been told if you leave out a can of beans that it just fits, but we haven’t tried it.
I forgot to post last year but I used this last year and won. I am using it this year too. Judging is fixing to happen so I hope I win again!
Good luck!! Let us know how it goes!
Officially done with this recipe. While my family does love the flavor, I need a recipe that works every time. We’re hovering around 50% burn rate, sometimes getting different results ON THE SAME NIGHT. The simplicity of the Instant Pot is lost when I have to shovel boiling chili to an enormous bowl so I can scrub the inner pot with no guarantee it will work the next time.
I’ll check back every once in awhile to see if this is ever corrected.
I’m so sorry for the frustration, Jon! You can always go with the slow cooker or stove top method. It seems that some Instant Pots are more sensitive to the burn message than other. We have yet to have this issue with ours when making this recipe. Again, I’m so sorry!