Best Easy Instant Pot Chili is simple to make with a mouthwatering combination of beef and beans!  You can have a bowl of cozy chili that tastes like it simmered for hours ready in about 30 minutes!

instant pot chili with canned beans topped with cheese and sour cream

I have been wanting to try chili in my Instant Pot for months now!  We are currently having a very cold start to spring, and there was no better time to give it a try.

My instant pot chili is made virtually the same way that I make my chili in a traditional slow cooker.  I have a very specific assortment of beans that I like to use for MAX flavor.

Typically, I don’t post pictures of a particular brand of ingredient unless the post is sponsored.  This post is NOT sponsored, however, the picture below is to show you what “Ranch Style Beans” are, just in case you aren’t familiar with them.

Ranch style beans for instant pot chili

I am able to find this style of beans at any grocery store I go to.  They are just pinto beans, but I happen to adore the spices that they use.  They pack some seriously amazing flavor that takes chili to another level.

If you are unable to find them, you can simply use extra chili beans instead.  I prefer this to plain kidney beans, again because chili beans are packed in a flavorful sauce and kidney beans are not.

Easy instant pot chili with beef and beans

 

Instant Pot Chili:

Chili is really easy to make in the Instant Pot.  I tend to use VERY lean ground beef so that I don’t even have to drain any grease, and I can just keep on cooking.

For this recipe, you will brown your beef using the saute feature in a small amount of olive oil along with some chopped onions and seasonings.  When your beef is no longer pink use your best judgment and/or preference on whether you need to drain any grease from the pot or not.

Then, you can simply add in your four cans of beans, tomato sauce, and beef broth and let the Instant Pot do all of the work!  This will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.  Then, you will allow it to cook on manual for 20 minutes.

After your 20 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes then you can do a quick release.  The next step is to add a cornstarch and water “slurry” to the chili to let it thicken.  This step is optional, but it doesn’t affect the flavor at all and makes for a much thicker and hearty chili.

Chili in the instant pot

A couple of other tips and recommendations.

If you don’t have beef broth and/or like a nice strong tomato flavor in your chili, you can replace the broth with tomato juice!

This recipe has been tested as is in a 6 quart and 8 quart instant pot.  You can double the recipe in an 8 quart.

The best instant pot chili with beef and beans topped with cheese

Enjoy!

~Nichole

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4.89 from 130 votes

Best Easy Instant Pot Chili

Best Easy Instant Pot Chili is simple to make with a mouthwatering combination of beef and beans!  You can have a bowl of cozy chili that tastes like it simmered for hours ready in about 30 minutes!
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Natural Release 10 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Turn instant pot to saute and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the ground beef, onion, and seasonings and cook until meat is no longer pink.
  • Drain any excess grease if necessary.
  • Turn the Instant Pot off and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
  • Set the instant pot to manual, high pressure for 25 minutes.
  • Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release.
  • OPTIONAL:  In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth and immediately whisk into hot chili.  Allow to thicken for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 53mg, Sodium: 609mg, Potassium: 342mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 790IU, Vitamin C: 1.9mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 2.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
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Hey! Nice to meet you! I'm Nichole!

Welcome to The Salty Marshmallow! I'm a mom, animal lover, photographer, & kitchen mess-maker. Here you will find the result of my decades-long passion for chasing the best flavors in the kitchen, all meant to be cooked by regular people with busy lives just like you and me.

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150 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Tried this last night and thought it was pretty good, even though I couldn’t find the Ranch Style pintos. I had a bell pepper that was looking for a place to die, so I chopped it in there. I also like pieces of tomato in my chili so I drained and added a 14 oz can of mini diced tomatoes. They got lost in the mix. If you want to use tomatoes either chop up your own, or use chunk style canned tomatoes. I did add the cornstarch and water to thicken it and came out with a texture that I liked. Over all, I will probably make this recipe my go to for chili in the future. I have had two meals and have 4 frozen containers in the freezer.

  2. 5 stars
    I printed out this recipe in 2018 or 2019 after I got the instant pot. I have made this at least a dozen times and it is one of my favorites. I lost my printed recipe so I came back and thought I should leave a review. Also substituted the beef broth for shiner beer one time. It was just as delicious! Just want to say my family and I love this recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    A very simple recipe that tastes really, really good. And it’s incredibly easy to prep. Instead of one medium onion, though, I will use either two small or one really big onion. I like onion. A lot. I’ll add some Sharp Tillimook Cheese on top of a bowl as well. Cause I like cheese too. And the brand DOES make a difference IMO.

  4. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe. My Family eats a pescatarian diet, but we were able to use this as a starting point. I was able to use meat and cheese replacements, plain kidney beans, and added some #2 bulgur wheat at the very end; and let it sit covered for 15 minutes. We only cooked it for 15 minutes with a 10 minute slow release before adding the bulgur wheat…So yummy and you have helped me learn one more fabulous way to cook in the Insta pot. Thank you

  5. 5 stars
    My go to for chili. I save leftover smoked brisket and put it in the freezer just to use with this recipe. Have also used ground beef, venison, and elk and it all turned out fantastic. A crowd pleaser!

  6. 4 stars
    This was a good base recipe – I amended by using two cans kidney beans, one can pinto, once can sweet corn, one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, garlic salt instead of garlic powder (and subbed the salt out completely) and added a pinch of cayenne. Also used ground turkey I had already cooked earlier the week with bell pepper.

    I used low sodium versions of all canned goods so it needed more salt and I added extra garlic salt after cooking, as well as more pepper and more chili powder. It would have been too bland if I hadn’t done so. I didn’t get the burn notice others got and that might be due to diced tomatoes vs tomato sauce and the canned corn. After upping the spices it was GREAT.

  7. I never leave comments on recipes, but I love this chili. I’ve been making in my instant pot for a few years. Recently my instant pot broke, so I made it on the stove last night. Still came out great! I can never find the ranch beans, so I use Bush’s brand chili style kidney & pinto beans and add ranch seasoning. I only use two cans. Also – This did burn on the bottom of my instant pot when done on high (not to the point of being inedible, though) so I would recommend doing on medium instead.