Instant Pot Steak Chili. Chili with bite-sized cubes of chuck, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.
When I make Chili, I go big or go ground. My Texas Red Chili uses big chunks of beef - 1½-inch to 2-inch cubes. Or, I use ground beef for wimpy weeknight chili with beans.1. This Instant Pot Steak chili splits the difference, with small cubes of beef.
Jump to:
I got the idea from Chef Michael Ollier when I visited Certified Angus Beef® Brand to make chili live on their Facebook channel. Much to my surprise, Chef Michael uses small, ½-inch cubes of beef in his Game Day Steak Chili. I filed the idea away for later…and promptly forgot about it.
I remembered it when I was planning my annual work ChiliFest potluck. It has a few advantages over my real-deal Texas Red chili. The smaller chunks of beef cook quickly under pressure, and the shorter cooking time lets me add cans of beans without turning the beans to mush. (Yes, I add beans to this chili. If this offends you, don't go any further - check out the Texas Red Chili recipe mentioned above. I warned you. There are Beans ahead.)
All that said, this is my standard Instant Pot chili technique. It will look very familiar if you've made any of my other chili recipes, like my Instant Pot Ground Beef and Bean Chili, Instant Pot White Turkey Chili Recipe, or my Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili.
Ingredients
- Beef chuck roast
- Fine sea salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Jalapeño peppers
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano
- Brown sugar
- Beef broth
- Canned black beans
- Canned chopped green chiles
- Canned petite diced tomatoes
See the recipe card for details
How to make Instant Pot Steak Chili
Use this section for process shots, alternating between the step and image showing the step. Users don't like seeing process shots cluttering up the recipe card, so include your process shots here.
Sear the beef (on one side) in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot over Sauté mode set to high until the oil shimmers. Sprinkle the beef cubes with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper. Brown the beef in 3 batches, only on one side; each batch will take about 3 minutes. Move each batch to a bowl as it finishes browning.
Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices, and deglaze the pan: Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and brown sugar, and cook for 1 minute to toast the spices. Add the beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking.
Stir everything into the pot: Add the beef and any juices back into the pot. Stir in the black beans, chopped green chilies, and diced tomatoes.
Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes ("Manual," "Pressure Cook," or "Pressure Cook - Custom" mode set to 12 minutes in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally, for about 30 more minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away to avoid the hot steam.
Season, thicken, and serve: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Whisk the water into the cornstarch to make a slurry, then stir it into the chili. Serve and enjoy!
Substitutions
Other beef cuts: Bottom Round and boneless short ribs are also good cuts of beef for this recipe; they cook the same as chuck roast.
Mix in some pork: If I want to save a little money, I replace half of the beef with pork shoulder. I like the mix of meats, and pork shoulder is usually cheaper than beef chuck roast at my local grocery stores.
No beans: Don't want beans? You can leave them out.
More beans: Want more beans? Go ahead and throw in another can or two. They'll work in the recipe.
Dry beans: Want to use dry beans? Sort and rinse 1 cup of black beans, pinto beans, or small red beans. Soak the beans overnight, covered with water by a few inches. Increase the amount of beef broth in the recipe to 2 cups. The rest of the recipe stays the same, including the cooking time.
Equipment
Scaling
This recipe doubles easily, but you need an 8-quart pressure cooker for it to fit. 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 time to cook the chili, no matter how much you're cooking. (The cooking time is determined by how long it takes to cook each individual piece of beef and bean. So, the cooking time is determined by the size of the beef chunks, not how many there are in the pot.)
Storage
Chili makes excellent leftovers and, if anything, tastes better if it's reheated the next day. I store chili in 2-cup containers, which last for a few days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Then I can pull out a container for a lunch-size portion, to top chili dogs, or for a chili spaghetti or chili mac dinner.
Adapted from: Game Day Steak Chili - CertifiedAngusBeef.com by Michael Ollier
Print
Instant Pot Steak Chili
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 quarts of chili 1x
Description
Instant Pot Steak Chili. Pressure cooker chili, made with bite-sized cubes of chuck, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking. Adapted from Game Day Steak Chili, Chef Michael Ollier, CertifiedAngusBeef.com
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup beef broth or water (homemade is best, but expensive)
- 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups homemade beans)
- 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
- 28-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- ½ to 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt (depending on the beef broth)
Cornstarch slurry (optional)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Toppings (optional)
- shredded cheddar cheese
- diced scallions
- sour cream
Instructions
- Sear the beef in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in the Instant Pot over Sauté mode set to high until the oil shimmers (medium-high heat in a stovetop pressure cooker). While the oil heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper. Add a third of the beef in a loose single layer and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don’t crowd the pot or the beef will steam, not brown). Transfer the browned beef to a bowl, add half of the remaining beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl. Add the rest of the beef to the pot and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl.
- Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices, deglaze the pan with broth: Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef. Make a hole in the middle of the onions and add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and brown sugar. Cook for one minute, or until you smell the chili powder toasting, then stir the spices into the onions. Add the beef broth to the pot, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the pot again to release any browned onions or spices.
- Stir everything into the pot: Add the beef and any juices in the bowl to the Instant Pot, then stir to coat the beef with the spices. Stir in the black beans, chopped green chilies, and diced tomatoes.
- Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes in an electric pressure cooker (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 10 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Season, thicken, and serve: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Whisk the water into the cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the chili to thicken. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Bottom Round is also a good cut of beef for this recipe; it cooks the same as chuck roast.
If you have the patience to cut ½-inch cubes, or can get your butcher to do the work, cut the cooking time to 10 minutes at high pressure; everything else is the same.
Don’t want beans? That’s OK. You can leave them out. Want more beans, like my bean-loving son? Go ahead and throw in another can or two. I’m easy.
Want to use dry beans? Sort, rinse, and soak 1 cup of black beans overnight, and increase the amount of beef broth to 2 cups. The rest of the recipe stays the same, including the cooking time.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot Steak Chili, Pressure Cooker Steak Chili,
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Texas Red Chili - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Quick Chili with Canned Beans - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili) - DadCooksDinner
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via email and share this post with your friends. Want to contribute directly? Donate to my Tip Jar, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.
- I say “wimpy” with love - ground beef and bean chili is what I grew up with. ↩
Mike Vrobel says
★★★★★
Sadie says
I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times now, and I never get tired of it. Thank you for putting it out there! It’s the best damn chili I’ve ever put in my mouth. I usually use chuck roast because that’s what’s available, and it turns out delicious every time.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.
Kristina says
Wow! I NEVER comment on recipes, it’s not that I don’t enjoy them I am just lazy. But this one 🤯. That brown sugar made the flavor so much more appetizing to me. This is hands down the only I will make chili from now on! Writing this one down so I always have it! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Tracy says
Save this chili recipe. It's a great chili base! (I did make a few adjustments because of my family's preferences). I omitted the beans and brown sugar and added peppers. Lots and lots of peppers. In addition to the jalapeno, I added (seeded) cayenne and habanero peppers and (just diced) chili peppers. I also used 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of stewed tomatoes instead of all decided. My diced tomatoes had green chili in it already and since I already had so many other peppers, I also omitted the jar of green chilies.
★★★★★
Stacy says
By far the best chili I have ever made! My husband and sons devoured it. Made some sweet cornbread to go with it. Will be making this again soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Rick says
Recipe was great. I didn’t have jalapeños so I used a can of rotel and a regular can of tomatoes.
★★★★★
Roxanne says
Made this last night because I needed to use up a chuck roast. My husband typically whips up the regular batches of chili for the household using ground beef but I thought I would try this recipe out. I understand the great reviews. It is a terrific chili. The base recipe is really flexible:
- Tossed in a large can of rinsed black bean
- Didn't have chilis or jalapeños, added two diced bell peppers
- Added cocoa powder like other reviews mentioned
- Tossed in a bunch of frozen corn at the end and brought back to temp using sauté function
Definitely a keeper. This was a great recipe!
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Michelle C says
We've been making a single chili recipe for over 20 years (Perini Ranch Chili) and never strayed. Until this recipe, which I was reminded of in a recent recipe revisit entry (and funny - I see where I asked about your preferred chili powder when you first posted the recipe).
I've been wanting to do a steak chili, but had never found one that sounded good before. This one, with a solid dose of chili powder (I use Penzey's medium hot) and 2 Tablespoons of ground cumin (love, love, love cumin in chili) sounded like what I might be after.
In a nutshell, I'm sorry Tom Perini. It's been a good run, but we found our new favorite chili. Mike, the tweaks you made to the inspiration recipe - more seasonings, much less onion, are spot-on. This stuff is so good!
★★★★★
Stephen B. says
I'm a huge chili fan. My usual recipe is done in a Dutch oven on the stove and cooks for at least a couple hours to get the beef tender. This cuts the time to less than half and is hands down just as good, if not better. My only addition was some cayenne for heat and Chipotle for smokiness. And I threw in 2 bay leaves.
Kudos...this is now my favorite!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Hungry Roses says
I’m not one to write many reviews but I felt like I would be doing everyone who scrolls reviews to decide what they’re going to cook a disservice by not leaving my two cents. This. Chili. Is. Fantastic. The meat is so tender and the broth so flavorful. I very much prefer steak to ground beef. The first time I made it I made it exactly as written. It was awesome but a little too soupy and a little too spicy for the smallest members of my family. The second time I added a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder, used MILD green chiles only a half can, subbed bell peppers for the jalapeño, and added a half bag of frozen sweet corn. It was everything I’d ever want from chili! I will likely never use another chili recipe ever again because it was such a hit my 8 year old asked for it again for breakfast the next day. This recipe is well thought out, easily executed, and easily customizable to accommodate your family’s palate. Thank you thank you for FINALLY ending my search for the perfect chili! #nailedit
Also, I popped the meat in the freezer for 10 mins or so to make it easier to slice, which really helped.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!