Our easy 5 ingredient Instant Pot chili recipe costs less than $10 and is a healthy one pot meal my kids go crazy over! Made with ground beef, canned kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, if you love our 5 ingredient crockpot chili recipe this is quicker.
I’ve been obsessed with my crockpot for years but when I saw this new thing called the Instant Pot it got me curious. The first thing I cooked was some of the easiest Instant Pot chili ever. It came out amazing and is now one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes, so easy too.
You can certainly use your Crockpot Express or as a Ninja Foodi recipe (with the lid attached) to make this as well. You just need the high pressure function for about ten minutes and all electric pressure cookers have that. We only use 5 ingredients but it is a great base to add a bunch of other things into the mix too.
Love spicy Instant Pot chili? Then by all means add some Sriracha or red pepper flakes, this one is mild but full of flavor. I typically use a chili seasoning packet but have an alternative listed below too if you don’t have one of those on hand.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Easy Chili Recipe in Instant Pot
This was my first attempt at any recipe in this new pot of mine. I just got it and really wanted to try our favorite meal from our slow cooker in it. Knew it should take a whole lot less time from what I had heard so it was worth a shot. Used the same 5 ingredients and held my breath. OMG did it go beyond my expectations.
I first set it to sauté and when it beeped I put a bit of olive oil and my ground beef inside. Then added some diced onions and in about 4 minutes it was browned. Next, I added my other 4 ingredients, secured the lid, and pushed bean/chili button. I have used high pressure too.
I released the pressure valve at the top and once it was about done I opened the lid. It really did cook it well in just that short amount of time and softened the can of beans inside quite well. You can still set it for a longer time if you’re going to be gone all day and use the slow cooker function on it but using the pressure cooker function makes it done really fast!
It was so good it’s been on the top 10 most popular Instant Pot ground beef recipes TWO years in a row! And it is versatile so you can make it without the meat, with ground turkey for lower fat, or spicy ground sausage is one of our favorites.
Ingredient Notes
I will either use 80/20 lean ground beef, or will use a roll of spicy ground sausage (or half and half) for some heat. If you wanted to go healthier you could use ground turkey but I don’t think that has as much flavor.
I just use a can of kidney beans (or red beans) with the liquid and everything, no draining required
Diced tomatoes, I like the petite versions, right out of the can is can #2 and once again not drained. You want the juice to add to the necessary liquid needed to cook everything.
I like to add just a bit of Tomato sauce (or I have even used red enchilada sauce) just to thicken the sauce into more of a stew texture so it isn’t as liquidy.
Chili seasoning packet is what I use to make things easier but you could use a bit of Lawrys with garlic salt and onion powder instead with some chili powder for a bit of heat.
If you need to set it for the day and go follow the directions above but push the slow cooker setting instead of manual and pressure. It should automatically set to 4 hours total so it is still shorter than cooking in a traditional crockpot AND you don’t have to dirty a pan on the stovetop to cook the meat beforehand.
You can also easily leave out the meat and make an easy vegetarian Instant Pot chili too with this. Heat can be added with red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha. Make a pot of rice or serve inside pressure cooker baked potatoes for a hearty dinner.
Variations
If you like a little spicy, use 1/2 lb. of Jimmy Dean spicy sausage and 1/2 lb. of regular sausage instead of ground beef. I’m telling you, this makes it amazing if you’re okay with ground sausage Load it up with diced onions and bell peppers, they will soften as this cooks and brings a great flavor and texture to your chili Put a wollop of cheese on top when your chili is done, OMG so good
Can you use dry beans?
Of course!! That is a great option. We do this often when we make this homemade like our Pressure cooker chili with dry beans. Love lots of toppings and ideas, or want to make a chili bar for a get together??!!
Can you use frozen ground beef to make chili?
Yes, this is how to defrost Instant Pot frozen ground beef in case you forgot to thaw it out the night before. 😉 You would need to follow them first to thaw, then set to saute, break up the meat to cook and then follow the directions from there below in the recipe card.
Can you add noodles?
In the event that you wanted to transition either of these versions into our Instant Pot chili mac recipe you would just add 1 cup elbow macaroni to submerge and cook time would be just 3-5 minutes.
Can you double this recipe?
YES! Here it is with twice the ingredients but the same pressure cook timing. I will say that in a 6 quart it is close to the line you do not want to pass or it won’t come to pressure though so 8 quart is better.
Can you substitute chicken for beef in chili?
Yes just cut medium sized boneless skinless breasts in to thirds. Add this and all other ingredients into pot. Set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Shred chicken and serve (of course check to ensure meat is done in the middle)
Tips
I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot as you see here! Directions for Crockpot Express chili are almost identical. Press the manual pressure button first before high if you have an older model and have this button. And make sure you get brown bits of meat off bottom of the pot after saute setting or you may get the burn on Instant Pot notice.
Once you’ve got that covered you can move on with this printable recipe for Instant Pot chili with beans recipe
If you are in need of Ninja Foodi chili instructions refer to the post here. We cook our pressure cooker chili at least 2-3 times a month, sometimes weekly. Or you can transition this one to a pressure cooker cheesy chili mac!
This is one of our cheap Instant Pot recipes as well because all the ingredients run you under $10 and feeds all 5 of us. If you love this, you should try a few of these other easy Instant Pot recipes
Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pond ground beef, 1/2 lb. spicy ground sausage + 1/2 lb. regular ground sausage is best if you like a ton of flavor and a bit of heat
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz, we prefer petite diced
- 1 can kidney beans, 15 oz.
- 8 oz tomato sauce, 1 small can
- 1 packet chili seasoning, or use 1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt + 1 tbsp. dry minced onions + 1 tsp garlic salt + 1/4 – 1/2 tsp chili powder instead
Instructions
- Set instant pot to saute add a few tbsp of olive oil and brown meat (add 1/2c. diced onions and bell peppers if desired too now). Cook until onions soften a bit. Drain if desired, I do not drain.
- Empty cans of beans, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes on top (do not drain cans before adding).. Add packet of chili seasoning and stir everything together.
- Set it to manual, pressure, high for 10 minutes. Do a natural release for 5 minutes followed by a quick release of steam.
- Done! Serve by itself with cheese on top or on top of rice or potatoes.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQ
You only need 10 minutes on high pressure but it will take a bit of time to come to pressure. I typically allow it to naturally release the steam for 5 minutes beyond that so in total you are looking at about 20 minutes or so. The fastest way to make 5 ingredient chili ever, with the same slow cooking flavors.
We have started with dry beans from scratch or for faster you can use red kidney beans. I mean any variety works but a larger firmer variety is most common. I have even doubled it with red and black beans if I want to make a larger batch, no draining or rinsing required.
I just purchased the 3 qt version. My thinking was that it is just my hubby and I. But I wonder if I should re-think that? It looks like most recipes are suited for the 6-8 qt pots. Any thoughts?
I have the 3qt and I adjust some recipes but most I do not have to. Love my 3 qt instant pot.
Do you cook it for 10 or 15 minutes? The instructions say 10 but towards the top it says 15min. Thanks!
Wondering this too!
My instant pot is brand new and it does have a bean chili setting. However it still asks for a time to cook. Should I put 45 minutes?
You can set this one for 25-45 minutes on chili really. It is just to really warm it all together since everything is already cooked. The longer you set it for the softer the beans will become. Personal preference as far as that goes.
Can I use dry beans?
do you drain the beans?
If I don’t have a bean/chili setting, can I use just the manual? and would 20 minutes be too long? or should I keep it at 15? Also, no water? just tomato sauce? And would this work in my 3qrt mini lux? (sorry for all the questions, I really want to make this!)
Not sure about 3 qt. but I would imagine so, just don’t fill past 3/4 full. No I do not add water because I like it thick but if you want it a bit thinner add a bit if you want. 20 min wouldn’t be too long other than possibly having some overdone at the bottom possibly.
What is the carb count, its not on your list.
I just input the ingredients and the recipe card does the calculating for me so I don’t do it myself.
The best Chile I have ever made. I used an El Paso spice pack. Thanks for the recipe. It is on my favorite go to list.
OH good!!
You can also use a half or whole packet of chilli seasoning , according to your spice preferences .. That way all your spices are in there including cayenne pepper and chilli powder if you like it more spices..
Can’t wait to try this recipe but we like noodles in our chili. Will they cook properly if we just had in raw noodles or should I cook them separately and just add whenever chili is done? Thanks for the help
I’d like to know answer to this also…How do I cook the noodles?
You can try to swap out but I haven’t done that and don’t know what result would be, assume it wouldn’t be as sweet.