Craving chili but don’t have a ton of time? This Ninja Foodi Chili is just what you need! With only 5 ingredients needed, you’ll be chowing down on a giant bowl of chili in less than 15 minutes!

Long gone are the days where you’ll have to wait hours for the perfect pot of chili. Now, thanks to the Ninja Foodi, you can literally have your chili in less time than it takes for your dishwasher to run a load of dirty dishes. This Ninja Foodi chili recipe is one of our go to meals. How many other appliances have two in one functions like this one??!! Find more Ninja Foodi recipes here too. (originally published 1/20, affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Chili Con Carne
Seriously you only need 5 ingredients to make this basic recipe. Beyond that of course you can adjust it as you wish to make it spicy or mild. We think beans in chili is a must but if that is hard no for you then by all means skip it. You can use ground beef, sausage, turkey or leave vegetarian too.
Personally I like a bit of heat and usually will use half a roll of spicy ground sausage and half beef. That is up to you too. There are tons of ways to tweak this basic 5 ingredient pressure cooker chili to your liking. I assure you that it will be added to your meal rotation too very soon.
What is the Ninja Foodi?
- The Ninja Foodi is an air fryer meets a pressure cooker and it is making its mark in the cooking world with a vengeance.
- You can literally help to make the meat tender with the pressure cooker aspect of it and then give it a crispy crust with the air fryer component.
- Here’s a free Ninja Foodi cookbook to help you find easy pressure cooker and air fryer recipes too!

Cooking frozen meat in your Ninja Foodi
Absolutely! You can cook frozen ground beef in pressure cooker at the beginning if that is all you have. I have had those moments before and you can still save the day, and dinner, if that is all you have.
- Add 1 pound of frozen ground sausage or beef on to your trivet
- Put 1.5 cups of water at the bottom of the pot
- Close your pressure cooker lid (one that is not attached)
- Close your steam valve
- Press pressure cook, high for 13 minutes
- Then do a quick release
Make certain that you don’t forget to drain out the liquid that’s accumulated from thawing before continuing on with the rest of your recipe (this one or another). It will cook the outside a bit but will leave the very center still a bit pink. You can saute and cook it entirely first or just break it up. Remember it will cook with the other ingredients too.

Curious how to finish out the rest of this Ninja Foodi Chili recipe? Check out the recipe card below! I have a jump to recipe button above if you aren’t into reading or “talking” but will include other tips along the way too if you’re willing to “listen”.
Chili in Ninja Foodi
That depends on you and your wants. Some people like to crush up crackers and eat with their chili while others like to toast up a nice piece of bread to enjoy dipping. Don’t forget about the power of scoop Fritos as well…there’s something so delicious about those scoopable corn chips.
- As for chili toppings
- chives
- cheese
- sour cream
- Greek yogurt
- Add a bit of spice with hot sauce or chili powder
- I always recommend doing this to your own individual bowl rather than the entire pot. Not everyone enjoys their chili spicy!
- Add a bit of spice with hot sauce or chili powder
Now that I’ve got your taste buds primed and ready, enjoy reading the rest of the recipe card to figure out how to make your very own Ninja Food Chili! Then move on to a few other pressure cooker chili recipes you can make in this same pot.

5 Ingredient Ninja Foodi chili
Just a tip. Do not use the slow cooker function on this thing. It isn’t nearly as good as using just the old fashioned pot for that method. Using high pressure for a fraction of the time will give you the same outcome with a lot less time.
- Ground sausage or ground beef – spicy ground sausage is best
- Kidney beans or black beans works
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Chili seasoning packet, I have even used the fajita seasoning packets from time to time. To save money you can buy large containers of these two and just use 2 -3 tbsp. out of it.
- Diced green peppers are great too
- Onion green diced on top is a fave too
Optional add ins
- Diced onions
- Tobasco sauce
- Cheese on top is a must for us too
To make this spicy there are a few choices out there. You might have a favorite so use what you like but it comes down to a few for me. Favorite is red pepper flakes, followed by dry Sriracha, chili powder or Tobasco sauce.

Pressure cooker chili
We love cornbread but using this as filling inside your Ninja Foodi baked potatoes is killer I tell you! I bet this will be added to your weekly meal rotation too because it’s healthy, super cheap and has lots of flavor. Printable directions for our 5 ingredient chili are below so you can keep them handy but here’s a quick rundown;
- If you’re using 1 lb. of frozen ground beef or sausage put 1.5 c of water at the bottom of the pot, trivet inside, with meat on top of the trivet.
- Pressure cook on high for 9 minutes then quick release. Drain water and continue with these directions. (if fresh meat is used skip this step)
- For fresh meat push saute button and add ground beef or sausage + a bit of olive oil and diced onion into pot. Break up into smaller pieces and cook until protein is no longer pink.
- Press stop button so it doesn’t continue to cook.
- Empty can of beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and packet of chili seasoning into your pot and stir contents together well.
- Close pressure cooker lid (one that isn’t attached), close steam valve. Set Ninja Foodi to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes cooking time.
Do a quick release and serve on top of potatoes, over rice, or just in bowls topped with cheese.
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Ninja Foodi Chili
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage spicy is best, or use ground beef
- 1 can diced tomatoes 15 oz., or dice 4 large fresh tomatoes
- 8 oz tomato sauce if using fresh tomatoes use a 15 oz. can
- 1 can kidney beans 15 oz
- 1 packet chili seasoning or 2 tbsp out of a larger chili seasoning container
- 1/2 medium onion diced, optional
Instructions
- If you're using 1 lb. of frozen ground beef or sausage put 1.5 c of water at the bottom of the pot, trivet inside, with meat on top of the trivet. Pressure cook on high for 9 minutes then quick release. Drain water and continue with these directions. (if fresh meat is used skip this step)
- Push saute button and add ground beef or sausage + onion into pot, break up and cook until it is no longer pink. Press stop button so it doesn't continue to cook.
- Empty can of beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and packet of chili seasoning into your pot and stir contents together well.
- Close pressure cooker lid (one that isn’t attached), close steam valve. Set Ninja Foodi to pressure high for 10 minutes.
- Do a quick release and serve on top of potatoes, over rice, or just in bowls topped with cheese.

DJ
Friday 6th of January 2023
Wow this chili was so hearty and delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Kathleen
Thursday 5th of January 2023
Quick, simple and let the Ninja foodi do all the work. I'm definitely making this fabulous chili for my family again.
Gail Montero
Thursday 5th of January 2023
Love that the recipe is so doable and with lots of flavors!
Vicky
Thursday 5th of January 2023
I love chili this time of year. I have never tried using frozen meat in the pressure cooker, but it is a real time saver. Thanks for the tip!
Shelby
Thursday 5th of January 2023
Such a simple but delicious chili recipe. You can really make it your own! Yum!