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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 am hoping to make this for my very large family for New Year’s Eve… do you think doubled it would fit in a 10 qt?
What is 1 bowl? Is that like 2 cups. I would love to track it in my macros but idk how many grams is in a bowl or how many cups is in a “bowl.” Also this recipe is delicious and simple. Thank you for posting it!
This has become a staple in our house, we make it all the time. The clincher is the BACON—my kids will eat anything with bacon involved. Thanks for making a chili recipe that all my kids will eat!
Bacon makes life better! Soooooo glad your family loves this as much as we do!
I just got my Instant pot for Christmas, well I opened it in Nov to make sure it works. It just never made back to the box. ANYWHO, I made this recipe and OH MYYYYY, everyone loved it in my house. I have two teens and hubby and they are picky and to please everyone is a pain. So I tried this minus the Jalapeno as know they are not into spicy food. They loved IT! it was easy to make, at first I was a little scare will not lie. But tried it anyway I even love it! Now to try your other recipes.
Yay! Thank you so much for the feedback Jessica! I have a house full of picky eater too, so I totally understand the joy of finding a recipe that everyone will eat!
Amazing!!!
My kids devoured it! We topped with cheese and avocado and accompanied with garlic bread. I refused the heat into half Fort children, but still, so tasty!!!
This is going to be out staple for sure!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yay! Love to hear this!! Thank you for leaving a comment!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband had a chili competition at work earlier this month and I can personally attest that it’s “award-winning” – he got first place! We’ve already made it again and are obsessed. We love how the flavors feel layered, and every bite is amazing at every stage.
When he was looking for a chili recipe for the competition we automatically came here because two of our MOST favorite recipes that we make all the time are from you – pulled pork (it tastes just like home to us, being from North Carolina!) and the beef fajita marinade (we lived in Texas a few years and are now forever even more obsessed with Mexican and Tex-Mex food). Excited to add this to a much more frequent rotation, it’s incredible and no changes are needed. And the bacon makes it 😉
You’ve totally made my day Stephanie! Thank you for your kind words and support!! And congrats on the victory!
I’m new to the kitchen and this was my first crack at making chili but it turned out excellent!! My family truly enjoyed it. I’m also a lifelong vegetarian so I used plant-based products to replace the meat and added more veggies. No worries though, as I’m sure it would have fooled my meat eating friends. Award wining dish in all catagories of eating habits.
Thank you so much!! We have a vegetarian version too (https://ohsweetbasil.com/instant-pot-vegetarian-chili/), but it sounds like you made this one work great!
There is no need for the bacon. You can’t taste it when it’s done. The beef and beans will overpower its flavor. Also, no need to sauté the onions or peppers because they will get cooked when your start the instant pot. So that’s two moot steps that can be eliminated.
And your site/blog it waaay too blabber.
Thank you for the feedback! We prefer the flavor of the onions and peppers being sauteed first, and I’ll have to respectfully disagree on the bacon. We love the flavor of it in the chili. Bacon makes all food better! Haha!
My husband and I both love this recipe – the flavors are delicious, and either of us can easily make it. Sometimes we use all the ingredients; sometimes we use what we have. Today I’m out of bacon, so no bacon. If I’m missing one bean, I double another. If we have time, we sauté the veggies, and if there’s no time we don’t. I applaud your grace and patience as a blogger. Thank you for the great recipes!
Thank you so much Cindy! Cooking is all about flexibility and creativity! Thank you for sharing some of your tips with us and our other readers! Happy new year!
💯 the best chili I’ve ever had. I’m not a big chili fan TBH, but wanted to make some for my family that was easy. I love the instant pot and it wasn’t hard to make this at all. Highly recommend making it and eating it the next day. It’s amazing on night 1 but even more incredible on night 2. I made a skillet cornbread to crumble at the bottom of the bowl and that was a delicious touch.
That sounds like perfection! Thank you so much for the feedback Kristen!
We love this recipe for the IP. Have made it with canned beans once and twice with beans I cooked myself. We definitely prefer using the home prepared beans but in a pinch the canned beans are fine. One thing, no way could I bring myself to put the canned beans under pressure for 18 minutes. Simply drained and rinsed them, then added after the pressure cooking was complete. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for the feedback Riley! So glad you enjoy this recipe!
Can this recipe be made without the beans?
Yes, absolutely! I might add a little more meat to keep it thick or reduce the beef broth.