Instant Pot Texas Chili

Last updated on January 1st, 2019 at 11:18 pm

This is the second best chili recipe I’ve ever made.

The best pot of chili I’ve ever made was 20 years ago. Read to the end if you want to see a really sweet story about that special pot of chili.

Note: There’s lots of debate about different types of chili. The conventional wisdom is that Texas Chili has no beans. But we really like the beans in ours. And we’re from Texas. So it’s still Texas Chili.

On a more practical note, adding beans makes it about $3 cheaper per batch (depending on ground beef prices in your area.) That amount adds up over a few meals.

And if you want a version that has no beans, this is easily adapted. Simply add an extra pound of ground beef plus a cup of water in place of the dried beans. This also makes it Keto Texas Chili.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) ground cumin
4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons brown sugar (regular sugar can be substituted)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 (14-15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (undrained)
Beans: You have several great options: small red beans, black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans. I usually base that decision on what I have in my pantry at the time, but the small red ones are my favorite for chili.
8 oz. (1 1/4 cups) dried beans of your choice (sorted and rinsed) PLUS 3 cups of water
OR if you have canned beans, 2 (15 oz.) cans beans (which yields 3 cups cooked, drained, rinsed beans) and only one additional cup of water

This should fill the 6 qt Instant Pot to its pressure cooking capacity of 2/3 full or 4 quarts. Make sure you don’t go over that line!

Instructions

Instant Pot With Dried Beans

25-35 Minutes High Pressure/Natural Release:

Turn Instant Pot on <Sauté>. Ensure your sauté setting is not on <high>. This will help keep the beef from sticking to the bottom, which could keep your IP from coming to pressure.
Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers.
Add first can of tomatoes to deglaze any remaining browning on bottom of pot.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Close lid. Check valve to make sure it is set on <Sealing>.
Set Instant Pot to <Bean/Chili> program and adjust the time to 25 to 35 minutes at <High> pressure (25 for small beans like red beans, 30 minutes for medium beans like pintos, 35 minutes for large beans like kidneys).
When pressure cooking time is finished, allow pressure cooker to Natural Release (NR) for at least 15 minutes. Then Quick Release remaining pressure.

Canned Beans Instant Pot Instructions

9 Minutes High Pressure/Natural Release:

Turn Instant Pot on <Sauté>. Ensure your sauté setting is not on <high>. This will help keep the beef from sticking to the bottom, which could keep your IP from coming to pressure.
Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers.
Add first can of tomatoes to deglaze any remaining browning on bottom of pot.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Close lid. Check valve to make sure it is set on <Sealing>.
Set Instant Pot to <Bean/Chili> program and adjust the time to 9 minutes at <High> pressure.
When pressure cooking time is finished, allow pressure cooker to Natural Release (NR) for at least 5 minutes. Then Quick Release remaining pressure.

Stove Top Instructions:

Brown ground beef, onions, and bell peppers.
Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir well for one minute.
Mix in beans (cooked, drained, and rinsed).
Stir in tomatoes and 2 cups of water.
Add brown sugar, salt, and worchestershire sauce.
Simmer on stove top for at least 20 minutes, but it’s better the longer it simmers.

Slow-Cooker Instructions:

Brown ground beef, onions, and bell peppers.
Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir well for one minute.
Transfer this mixture to Slow Cooker insert.
Add brown sugar, salt, worchestershire sauce, beans and tomatoes. Stir to combine. With a slow-cooker, you likely will want to soak your beans overnight.
Set on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 8-10 hours.

Serving Options

One of the best things about this fabulous, nutritious comfort food is there are so many different ways to serve it!

Traditional Chili: Serve as a soup, with saltine crackers and cheddar cheese.

Chili Over Rice: Serve chili over rice with sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions.

Frito Pie: Place Fritos in a bowl. Ladle Chili over Fritos. Top with Sour Cream and shredded cheddar cheese..

Cincinnati Chili 5-way: Serve chili over cooked spaghetti, with diced onions, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Chili Baked Potato: Serve over a baked potato with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions.

Quinoa Superfood Chili: Stir in some cooked quinoa and cubed, cooked sweet potato.

Tools Used:

How to get your kids cooking:

Little ones (ages 2-6)

Help sort and rinse beans
Help carry cans and other ingredients like spices from the pantry

Medium kiddos (ages 6-9)

Brown ground beef
Pour in ingredients
Help measure spices into pot
Chop garlic in a chopper
Open cans with a can opener

Older children (ages 10+)

Dice onions and bell peppers
Measure spices independently
Follow recipe from start to finish
Plan meal, including toppings and sides

The Amazing Back-Story to this Recipe

In a small college town in Kentucky in 1998, a legendary storm dropped several feet of snow on the ground. This closed down the college for 3 days and provided lots of free time for me and my future husband. We hadn’t started “officially” dating yet, but we really wanted to, we just hadn’t told each other yet.

We spent those snow days together, playing in the snow and taking photos of the beautiful winter scenes (with a film camera!). On a whim, we decided to make a pot of homemade chili from scratch, the way we made it growing up on my Indiana farm.

We walked together to the local grocery and gathered the ingredients. As we got to the register, we pooled our resources to pay.

Between the two of us, and I am not making this up, we had the exact amount needed to buy the ingredients.

$11.83.

That was a magnificent pot of chili. It led to marrying the love of my life, and there are 7 kids who are pretty happy we cooked chili that day also.

We hope you love this chili recipe as much as we do. We’ve been perfecting it for 20 years. And if you’re single, we can’t guarantee you’ll find a spouse with it, but it can’t hurt to try!

Holly

A hearty recipe that makes a delicious meal, with beans or without!

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

1.5 lb. ground beef
1 large onion diced (about 2 cups)
1 bell pepper diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 cloves garlic minced
4 Tablespoons 1/4 cup ground cumin
4 Tablespoons 1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons brown sugar regular sugar can be substituted
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 14-15 oz. cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (undrained)

Beans: You have several great options: small red beans, black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans. I usually base that decision on what I have in my pantry at the time, but the small red ones are my favorite for chili.

8 oz. 1 1/4 cups dried beans of your choice (sorted and rinsed) PLUS 3 cups of water

OR if you have canned beans

2 (15 oz.) cans beans (which yields 3 cups cooked, drained, rinsed beans) and only one additional cup of water

Instructions

Instant Pot With Dried Beans

25-35 Minutes High Pressure/Natural Release:
Turn Instant Pot on <Saute>.
Ensure your sauté setting is on <Medium> or <Low>. This will help keep the beef from sticking to the bottom, which could keep your IP from coming to pressure.
Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers.
Add first can of tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze any remaining browning on bottom of pot.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Close lid. Check valve to make sure it is set on <Sealing>.
Set Instant Pot to <Bean/Chili> program and adjust the time to 25 to 35 minutes at <High> pressure (25 for small beans like red beans, 30 minutes for medium beans like pintos, 35 minutes for large beans like kidneys).
When pressure cooking time is finished, allow pressure cooker to Natural Release (NR) for at least 15 minutes. Then Quick Release remaining pressure.

Canned Beans Instant Pot Instructions

9 Minutes High Pressure/Natural Release:
Turn Instant Pot on <Sauté>.
Ensure your sauté setting is on <Medium> or <Low>. This will help keep the beef from sticking to the bottom, which could keep your IP from coming to pressure.
Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers.
Add first can of tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze any remaining browning on bottom of pot.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Close lid. Check valve to make sure it is set on <Sealing>.
Set Instant Pot to <Bean/Chili> program and adjust the time to 9 minutes at <High> pressure.
When pressure cooking time is finished, allow pressure cooker to Natural Release (NR) for at least 5 minutes. Then Quick Release remaining pressure.

Stove Top Instructions:

Brown ground beef, onions, and bell peppers.
Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir well for one minute.
Mix in beans (cooked, drained, and rinsed).
Stir in tomatoes and 2 cups of water.
Simmer on stove top for at least 20 minutes, but it’s better the longer it simmers.

Slow-Cooker Instructions:

Brown ground beef, onions, and bell peppers.
Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano and stir well for one minute.
Transfer this mixture to Slow Cooker insert.
Add beans and tomatoes. Stir to combine. With a slow-cooker, you likely will want to soak your beans overnight.
Set on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 8-10 hours.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!