Instant Pot Cactus Chili recipe. Cactus feels like an obvious addition to chili, so I had to try it - and it's good. This recipe is quick enough for a weeknight meal, with ground beef, jarred cactus, and canned beans. For a taste of the Southwest, give cactus a chance!
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I didn't think ideas for Chili would come from a Ohio grocery store, but Heinen's came through. Heinen's is a local grocery chain that has a rotating selection of soups of the day. I don't shop there often - their stores are up in Cleveland, not in Akron, where I live - but when I do stop in, I always check their soup selection.
On my last trip, I didn't really need soup, because I was there for Belgian beer. But their Cactus Chili caught my eye. I'm always looking for chili ideas, and this was a new one. And a good one - I started looking up ingredients the moment I got home.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
- Nopales - Cactus: The easiest way to make this recipe is with jarred nopales (aka nopalitos, "small cactus"), which are already cleaned, cooked, and cut into strips. If you have fresh nopales, trim out all the cactus spines, cut them into thin strips about 1 ½-inches long, and sauté them with the onions.
- Ground meat: I used ground beef, but any ground meat will work in chili. Turkey, pork, chicken ... buffalo, elk, venison ... whatever you've got will work in this recipe.
- Beans: I used great northern beans in this recipe, since that's what was in the original recipe at Heinen's, but it would work with any bean you would use in chili. Red kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, and small red beans would all be great substitutions.
I used canned beans, but even better would be homemade beans - I would have used them in the recipe, but all I have stored right now is a bunch of chickpeas. (I made a big batch, and I need to eat some of them to make room for other beans.)
You can skip the beans if you want, but they add a starchy base to the chili. - Dry beans: This recipe cooks too quickly for great northern beans, but you can substitute a small, quick-cooking bean, as long as you soak it overnight. Add 1 cup of soaked pinto, navy, black, or small red beans, increase the broth to 3 cups, and increase the cooking time to 15 minutes with a Natural pressure release.
- Vegetarian version: Skip the meat, add an extra can of beans, and use vegetable broth, and you've got a vegetarian version of Cactus Chili.
- Frozen corn: The frozen corn is optional, but it's a nice addition to this recipe. I use frozen corn most of the year; if it isn't the height of summer corn season, frozen corn will be better quality than fresh corn. That said, if it is summer corn season, this recipe is a great way to use up a cup of leftover corn.
How to make Instant Pot Cactus Chili in pictures
Sauté the aromatics and toast the chili powder
Sauté the onions, jalapenos, and garlic, and then add the chili powder and other spices for 1 minute
Cook the meat in the chili powder
Stir in the ground beef and cook, stirring and scraping often, until the ground beef loses its pink color
(Almost) Everything in the pot
Add the nopalitos, tomatoes, and beans to the pot
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release
Reheat the corn and serve
Stir in the frozen corn and let it reheat, then serve
Frequently asked questions
Why add cactus to chili? Cactus has a mild vegetable taste. I think it tastes like a cross between green beans and asparagus, but much milder than either. Cactus also adds body to the chili, like the great northern beans. It's a good addition to chili - give it a try!
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Instant Pot Cactus Chili
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Quick enough for a weeknight meal, with ground beef, jarred cactus, and canned beans. For a taste of the Southwest, give cactus a chance!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno chili, sliced (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (for the onions)
- ¼ cup chili powder blend
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 pounds ground beef (85/15 or leaner)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (for the beef)
- 2 cups chicken broth or water (homemade chicken broth or low sodium store-bought)
- 30-ounce jar sliced tender cactus (aka nopalitos), drained
- 2 (10-ounce) cans Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (Ro-Tel tomatoes)
- 15-ounce can great northern beans, drained and rinsed (Or 2 cups of homemade beans)
- 1 cup frozen corn, rinsed to remove any ice crystals
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to sauté mode-high until the oil is shimmering. (Use medium-high heat for a stovetop pressure cooker.) Add the onions, jalapeno chili, and garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
- Toast the spices and cook the ground beef: Make a hole in the center of the onion mix and add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, and brown sugar. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir into the onions. Sprinkle the ground beef with ½ teaspoon of salt, then stir it into the onions to coat with spices. Cook the ground beef until it loses its pink color, stirring often and breaking up any clumps of beef, about 3 minutes.
- Everything else in the pot: Stir the chicken broth into the pot, then scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking. Stir in the tender cactus, tomatoes and chilies, and the beans.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes - same time in electric or stovetop pressure cookers. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - custom mode set to 10 minutes in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes; if you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.
- Heat the corn and serve: Unlock the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Stir in the frozen corn and let it heat until the corn is tender and hot, about 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 477.5 mg
- Fat: 20.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.8 g
- Fiber: 6.3 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 77.1 mg
What to serve with Cactus Chili
I love adding all sorts of toppings to chili. Diced onion, minced green onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and tortilla chips are all on the table when I serve chili. Cornbread or dinner rolls are great to serve on the side. (I love dipping them in the chili.)
Scaling
This recipe uses too much space to double in a 6-quart pressure cooker; if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can double all the ingredients. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same amount of time to cook through regardless of how much is in the pressure cooker.
Storage
Leftover chili will last for a couple of days in the refrigerator, or for 6 months in the freezer. Leftover chili is great for freezing. I freeze it in 2-cup containers so I have quick grab-and-reheat lunch sized portions.
Related Posts
This recipe is a variation of my Instant Pot Quick Chili with Canned Beans. I have lots of chili recipes, like Instant Pot Turkey Chili with Small Red Beans, Instant Pot White Turkey Chili Recipe (With Dried White Beans), Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili, and Instant Pot (vegetarian) 15-Bean Chili. Or, check out my complete Instant Pot Chili recipe list here.
If you're looking for something else, here is my complete index of Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes.
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