Instant Pot Chili Con Carne with a complex “all day simmered flavor” will win you a blue ribbon and make you a star with your family and friends.
Instant Pot Chili Con Carne
Wait, what? Chili on the table in under 30 minutes! Yep! This Instant Pot Chili Con Carne is going to make you toss out all your other chili recipes.
My Instant Pot Chili is a pure comfort meal and this is a recipe which you will call “a keeper” for years to come. Whether you cook chili in cast iron on the stove or use your Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, there is never not a good time for chili.
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Chili Con Carne
My Instant Pot Chili Con Carne is a perfect recipe for a chili cook-off! Bring home the blue ribbon!
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Chili Con Carne
- Ground Beef
- Garlic, Onion, Red Bell and Jalapeno Peppers
- Spice Mix including Ground Cumin, Chili Powder, Oregano, Salt and Pepper
- Whole Tomatoes
- Three Kinds of Beans
- Secret Flavor Boosters!
Pro Tip: Making your own spice mix is so easy and you know exactly what’s in it!
Use a Good Oil in a Hot Pot
Always make sure to heat your cooking pot fully prior to adding any kind of oil. This will help to make a stainless steel Instant Pot non stick. Deglazing will be a breeze.
Any time you are sautéing, heating the pot is recommended. Instant Pot Korean Beef Bowls is another incredible ground beef recipe and here you can see how to deglaze the pot.
Chili is such a comfort food and one of my favorites from childhood. Delicious Corny Cornbread pairs so well.
Pro Tip: Try adding my Basic Polenta Cornmeal Topper on top of the chili and pop it in the oven for a fantastic chili casserole.
What is Chili?
- Chili is a spicy stew with ground meat, tomato products, chili peppers and beans. If you don’t want beans in your chili, ask for chili no beans.
Tidbit: San Antonio helped to popularize Texas style chili con carne and the name chili con carne is commonly known all over the United States.
Brown the Ground Beef
Browning Ground Beef for Instant Pot Chili
- When using the Instant Pot, you don’t have to worry about browning the ground beef.
- Just a few minutes will add delicious extra flavor and ensure the beef remain nice and juicy.
Pro Tip: This Meat Chopper/Masher makes quick work of breaking up the ground beef!
Can Ground Turkey Be Used?
- Just as you can change up individual spices to your personal palette, other ground meat can be used. Bison, chicken, turkey, lamb or even a combination of any ground meat.
- My Instant Pot Turkey Meatloaf was changed up from my regular meatloaf recipe and for those who prefer to limit red meat, try my Tex-Mex Turkey Chili recipe. It is seriously just as wonderful.
Pro Tip: If using ground turkey instead of ground beef, add an extra Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce. Worcestershire Sauce will “beef” up the flavor of a normally drier turkey.
Add in the veggies
When sautéing veggies, make sure you use a spatula which can withstand higher temperatures. I recommend this di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set. You can sauté as much as you like the the tips won’t turn black and melt or burn!
Seasoning Flavor Boosters
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Three Crabs Brand Fish Sauce – this is an Asian fish sauce which is wonderful. It adds great flavor and takes chili to another flavor level. Don’t worry, with the small amount used, there is zero fish taste. Seriously and literally, zero.
- Cocoa Powder adds a slight sweetness.
- Espresso Powder adds a very complex flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon really takes beef flavors to another level.
These are incredible flavor enhancers and give chili a bit of an “earthy” flavor. They are wonderful, but only use in small amounts as they are potent!
Pro Tip: Make a double batch of Instant Pot Chili and freeze so that you can have it on a moments notice.
Chili with Beans
Does Real Chili Have Beans in it?
- Well, all chili is real. 🙂 Texans might disagree however. Con carne means “with beef.” The origins of chili are from Southern Texas/Northern Mexico and did not include beans. Chili is simply a spicy beef stew and it was simply called chili.
- Even though beans were not an ingredient originally, they have been included for so long that chili with beans is now considered authentic and is referred to as chili con carne.
Pro Tip: Feel free to change up the beans and use any type you like.
Another fantastic chili recipe is Instant Pot Wendy’s Chili. My recipe is a copycat and tastes every bit as good. For a not so mainstream chili, try my Instant Pot Sweet & Spicy Bison & Beer Chili
How to Freeze Instant Pot Chili
- After you have let the chili completely cool, divide the chili into portions. For bring chili to work for lunch, divide the chili into individual lunch size portions. Make sure to use a freezer safe container, ziplock baggie or Food Saver Vacuum Sealing System and leave about 1/2 inch of empty space at the top.
- The chili will expand during freezing and you want to make sure the bag or container will not burst in the freezer.
To reheat the frozen chili, simply add a cup of water to your pressure cooker cooking pot and place a trivet inside. Then open the container of chili and place into a stainless steal bowl or pan and put that right on top of the trivet. Lock on your lid and set the timer to about 5 minutes. That’s it. After the pressure has released, it is time to enjoy a bowl of chili.
Instant Pot Chili Con Carne
This recipe is found in my This Old Gal Instant Pot Cookbook, along with a bunch of other recipes, which are NOT on the blog!
Are you in the soupier chili or thicker chili category? For me, it depends on what I am having with my chili. If I have it over a baked potato I might want the chili nice and thick. If I plan to eat it with cornbread, then I might want a soupier texture for dunking. If eating Instant Pot Chili Con Carne with my Instant Pot Rice, then soupier is the way to go. Speaking of rice, did you know you can make rice in your Instant Pot at the same time as chili? Use my Pressure Cooker Perfectly Cooked Pot In Pot Rice recipe!
Consistency of Chili
For Soupier Chili
- Increase the liquid ingredients until you get the soupiness you like. You would also need to increase the seasonings.
For Thicker Chili
- After the chili has been cooked, remove the lid and select “Sauté.” Let the chili simmer until it gets as thick as you like!
Toppings for Chili
- Cheddar Cheese
- Diced Avocado
- A big dollop of sour cream is wonderful. My Instant Pot Greek Yogurt can be subbed for sour cream.
- Instant Pot White Rice – you can make some right on top of the chili.
Try some Cornbread on the side. That is always so wonderful!
More Instant Pot Classic Comfort Food Recipes to Make:
- Instant Pot Classic Pot Roast is another delicious comfort food
- Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Chinese Simmered Chicken – a blast from the past
So, now you have some classic recipes to cook. Have fun cooking and scroll just a bit more to find the full recipe below.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board
- Meat Masher for Breaking up Ground Meat
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If you share a picture of something you make from our blog, tag it with #thisoldgalcooks so we can see it. We might feature it on Instagram! It makes my day when I see you’ve made one of our recipes!
Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1.5 cups Yellow/Brown Onion diced
- 1 large Red Bell Pepper diced
- 2 Jalapeño Peppers stems and seeds removed, finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic minced
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1.5 teaspoons Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1.5 pounds Lean Gound Beef
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 28 ounces Whole Tomatoes in Purée
- 12 ounces Beef Broth (or fresh water)
- 1 can Black beans rinsed/drained
- 1 can Kidney beans rinsed/drained
- 1 can Pinto Beans rinsed/drained
Flavor Boosters
- 1 Tablespoon Premium Fish Sauce
- 2 teaspoons Ghirardelli Premium Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon choose this or cocoa, not both
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Push Sauté or Browning button on your Instant Pot and allow to fully heat.
- Add oil to the cooking pot and swirl to coat bottom.
- Add ground beef, breaking it up well with a meat chopper/masher or wooden spoon and sauté until slightly browned. Drain off any excess fat, if desired.
- Add onions, bell pepper, jalapeños, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper and sauté for three minutes.
- Add Worcestershire Sauce, fish sauce & cocoa powder (if using), tomatoes, water and beans and stir.
- Lock the lid and close pressure value. Cook at high pressure (most machines default to high) for 5 minutes.
- When beep sounds, wait 10 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
- Open pot and give it a good stir. Chili will be a bit liquidity.
- Serve as it or select Sauté and simmer until you get the consistency desired.
Notes
How to Make Chili Soupier
- Increase the liquid ingredients until you get the soupiness you like. You would also need to increase the seasonings.
How to Make Chili Thicker
- After the chili has been cooked, remove the lid and select "Sauté." Let the chili simmer until it gets as thick as you like!
Topping Ideas
- Cheddar Cheese
- Diced Avocado
- A big dollop of sour cream is wonderful or use Instant Pot Greek Yogurt.
- Instant Pot White Rice - you can make some right in the pot on top of the chili.
- Cornbread is always so wonderful!
Freezing Chili
- After you have let the chili completely cool, divide the chili into portions. For bring chili to work for lunch, divide the chili into individual lunch size portions. Make sure to use a freezer safe container, ziplock baggie or Food Saver Vacuum Sealing System and leave about 1/2 inch of empty space at the top.
- The chili will expand during freezing and you want to make sure the bag or container will not burst in the freezer.
Reheating Frozen Chili
- To reheat the frozen chili, simply add a cup of water to your pressure cooker cooking pot and place a stainless steel trivet inside the pot.
- Add container of frozen chili to a small “Pot in Pot” bowl.
- Place bowl on top of trivet and pressure cook for 5 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.
Nutrition
PIN this Instant Pot Chili Con Carne!
Pressure Cooker Competition Chili Con Carne
I love using my pressure cooker for chili con carne! I followed the recipe linked in the article and it turned out perfectly. The best part is that it was so easy to make and only took about 30 minutes from start to finish. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Best,
Timothy
Hi Jill,
I am confused over the “Flavor Boosters.” What do you mean to, “choose this or cocoa, not both?” I’m unclear what “this” is? I hope I haven’t confused you too 🤦🏻♀️
Thank you – Michelle
1 Tablespoon Premium Fish Sauce
2 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
choose this or cocoa, not both
The comment is next to the cinnamon meaning choose cinnamon or cocoa, but not both of them. Jill
HOW IS YOUR SOUTHERN BISQUITS (IF I SPELLED THAT RIGHT) MY GRAND MOTHER MADE THE BEST IN THE WORLD, I LOVE CHILI TOO YUMMY
The biscuits are really delicious. I hope you will try them and then let me know. The key is using frozen butter and grating. Jill
For some reason my initial review posted ‘one star.’ Totally incorrect. This is a 5 star!!! Please delete that ‘one star’ if you can
This is the single best chili con carne I have ever tasted. You will need to boil it down to thicken it, but it’s really pretty phenomenal. Don’t leave out a single ingredient! (Who knew that Thai Fish Sauce would enhance the flavor?)
Thank you so much, David. I appreciate your kind words. Jill
This is the single best chili con carne I have ever tasted. You will need to boil it down to thicken it, but it’s really pretty phenomenal. Don’t leave out a single ingredient! (Who knew that Thai Fish Sauce would enhance the flavor?)
Wow, thanks so much, David. I am so glad you enjoyed. Jill
What drained weight of beans?
what size cans of beans?
Cut down on the salt if you are using fish sauce!
Made this tonight — it was the second time that I used my new IP. And I have to admit it — the first time I ever made chili from scratch (and I’m 60-something). Recipe turned out well, good flavor. The comments from others were helpful, as I reduced the amount of water.
Thanks for the recipe and the easy-to-follow instructions!
I made this and added 1/3 cup of quinoa and it was perfect, used my black beans from your recipe too!
Sounds delish!! Jill
I liked this chili but I didn’t know how much chocolate or fish sauce. I used 1/2oz chocolate and 1/2Tbs fish sauce. I used one jalapeno instead of 2, and I used a 1/4 can of water. It was very good but a little too spicy. The next time I make it I will use less jalapeno. I will also use diced tomatoes instead of the whole.
Hi Bob. Sounds like the right amount of the chocolate and fish sauce. It’s funny, sometimes jalapenos are super hot and other times very mild. Glad you enjoyed the chili. Jill
I’m going to make your chili in my new IP. In your recipe you use cocoa powder and fish sauce. How much of each should I use? I will probably use 1/2 the water as several of the comments have suggested to make the chili thicker.
I am just seeing this, so sorry, but I am glad it worked out well. Jill
Followed the instructions along with optional cocoa powder and fish sauce. Great meal and leftovers. Thanks for such a delicious recipe!
Glad you enjoyed the chili, Lynn. Jill
When making chili for myself, I prefer a vegetarian dish. However, I made this recipe exactly as written and it was wonderful! So full of flavor and just a hint of heat using one jalapeno pepper. A keeper, for sure ?
best chili ever!
Ok….have it cooking now. I wanted to put the beans and meat into a Tortilla and make a burrito!! Can’t wait to try finished product!! Went for the gusts and used 2 jalapeños, somehow couldn’t find myou oregano, so used Italian seasoning. Thank you for sharing your revipes!! You are my go to for new recipes to try ?
Oh…and I added a can of pinto beans…cause I had 2 pounds of meat.
Hi Jill,
First off, love, love, love this site and your recipes. And the name of the site is the best – I Tell all my friends about you. I cooked this tonight and my Instant Pot let out steam for 15-20 minutes, which I have not experienced before. This was as it was coming up to pressure. I used 2 lbs of ground beef and 1/2 a can of water l, think that would matter. Delicious none the less!
Yep. I tried this and it was wonderful. I used more beans than called for so I thought I needed more liquid. I added beef broth and spicy V8.This is a great recipe but I usually Change things up.
Contemplating not draining the beans to make a thicker chili. Here goes nothin! I’ll let you know how it goes.
my favorite Chilli recipe, thank you. I’ve made this probaly 10 times already!
Hi. Just opened my IP after following the directions and the chili is still liquidy. I will sauté as suggested but I wouldn’t be able to serve it as is without the sauté. After I put the 1/2 can of water I felt that it was too much…Any suggestions as to why it’s so watery??
Hi Jennifer. This is not a thick chili as mentioned the recipe post. Enjoy. Jill
I made this chili yesterday and it was a big hit!!! I didn’t have a red pepper so used a green one and omitted the jalapeños but added the cocoa!! It was so delicious, thank you for this great recipe!!
Hi Sheila. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂 Jill
We whipped this together for lunch, starting with frozen ground beef, in less than an hour. It was delicious! We only used 1 can of beans (black) and the one and only jalapeño from my garden. We are having a blast with our new IP. Thanks for the recipes!
Hi Audrey. I am so glad you enjoy this recipe and your Instant Pot. Jill
I was looking for a chili recipe that goes from start to finish in under an hour. Like so many commenters I made a few additions / changes to suit my own tastes. Instead of ground beef I finely diced a 2lb Sirloin-Tip roast that I had on hand. I trimmed the visible fat which I reduced in the microwave and used the rendered fat in place of the olive oil. I added a tablespoon of smoked paprika and did not add either the fish oil or cocoa powder. I used 2 tins of San Marzano tomatoes and completely omitted the water. I used the slow release and then completed the release after ten minutes. Finally I mixed 2 tablespoons of corn flour in a quarter cup of water and added that to the cooked chili. I then used the saute function for a further ten minutes to thicken up the sauce. Delicious.
Hi Edward. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. I actually use corn flour to thicken as well. Jill
Just made this tonight. Very flavorful! That said, I think my next attempt will be with less salt. And I forgot to put aside the chili seeds, so I’ll be more mindful of that for the heat-sensitive eaters in my clan 😉
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Tammi~
Kosher Salt and Sea Salt don’t exchange equally. Sea Salt is doubly potent to Kosher. Jill
So when you say natural release does that mean set it for 10 min and it will release on it’s own or does that mean turn the release valve and let it release?
I’d like this recipe a whole lot more if it actually came up on my phone when I tried to find it again at the grocery store. Just a lot of ads, no ingredient list when I called it up via Chrome.
This was my first really successful meal in the Instant Pot!! It was fantastic how quickly it all came together and well the flavors came together. I was absolutely amazed. It was just the right amount of spicy.
I would like to try this recipe, what are ground peeled tomatoes, I have not seen them in the stores where I live.
Hi Barb~
Sorry about that. Whole Peeled Tomatoes.
Jill
I am just wondering why I can’t print your recipes?
Can this be doubled in a 6 quart instant pot?
This was a solid chili recipe – thanks for sharing! I agree with Jennifer below that there was too much liquid for my taste (and yes, you warned us) – so I put it on the slow cook setting for a few hours, and it worked out fine. I’d probably just do a half can next time and see what happens. To Kim below, no – I don’t think it would be bland without the jalapeno.
To anyone else who did a double-take on the 2 Tbsp of minced garlic – nope, that’s the right amount! 🙂
We like mild chili but will eliminating the jalapeno make it bland? Any suggestion for keeping the depth of flavor while keeping the chili mild?
Have this in the IP right now and wowza it smells good. I will report back later with final results!
Hi Jennifer~
Thanks for the update. I’d love to hear about your final results. 🙂
Jill
Hi, Jill. The chili was a hit. My kid inhaled two bowls of it last night. The only thing I would change is that next time I’ll add only about half as much water…maybe even a little less. I had to simmer it quite a while afterward to get it to my favorite consistency…personal preference! Wouldn’t change anything else, though…we really enjoyed the flavor. Having it again tonight over noodles. 🙂
Hi. I want to make chili and was thinking of using up my pinto, black and kidney beans. But they are dry beans. Can I make it work? If yes, what would be your guess on quantity needed of dry to equate with your canned?
Also could you still see green peppers,or did they kind of disappear with the pressure cooking?
I mean the red pepper I see yours wasn’t green. I have some of each to use.
Hi Bridget~
If you use dry beans, you will need to cook them first and then add the chili ingredients. The peppers won’t disappear since it is such a short cook time.
Jill
Wow I cooked the beans alone for 12 minutes. I was worried they wouldn’t be done but they are over done. I soaked them all day first . Guess that was overkill. I was concerned after reading posts from others about beans not being done.
thinking now about cooking rest of chili without the beans then stirring them in at the end
Hi Bridget~
Stirring them in at the end would be a good idea.
Jill