Instant Pot Quick Chili with Canned Beans. What's the quickest way to get dinner on the table? Pressure cooker chili. This is my go-to weeknight chili recipe, when I need a ground beef and bean chili in a hurry.
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The #1 question about my Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Bean Chili recipe? "What if I want to use canned beans instead of dried?"
I dashed off a quick answer in the comments…"five minutes!"…but then it started to nag at me. Was five minutes under pressure enough time for the chili flavors to mingle?
Normally, cooking time is determined by how long it takes to cook all the ingredients through. Ground beef takes almost no time to cook. 1 The cooking time is based entirely on flavor. We don't want a ground beef, bean, and chili soup, with each a distinct flavor; we want a chili, with all the flavors blended together, something greater than the sum of its parts. Time for some testing!
I bought beef, canned beans, tomatoes, and got out my pressure cookers. (What? Doesn't everyone own three…four…um…OK, I actually own six pressure cookers right now. I may have a problem.) The recipe was the same in all three until I locked the lid: sauté the onions and garlic, toast the spices, mix in the beef, then the liquids and the beans. Then I set one cooker to 5 minutes, one to 10, and one to 15 minutes, and let them pressure cook with a natural pressure release.
The results? Ten minutes is the Goldilocks zone. Five minutes is too short. The beans are the best in after five minutes - still having a little bit to them - but the rest of the ingredients don't quite come together, tasting like a beef and tomato and bean soup. Fifteen minutes is too long. I get a thick, chili flavor, but the beans are way overcooked, starting to melt away. Ten minutes is just right, a rich chili with beans that have absorbed the chili flavors. (The beans are right on the edge of overcooked at 10 minutes. Hey, we're working with canned beans here, it's the best we can do.)
Which brings me to my last two points: One, even the 5 minute chili was good - chili is hard to mess up. Two, chili is better if you make your own beans in the pressure cooker. Make the beans ahead and freeze them in 2 cup containers. That lets you pull beans out of the freezer, and they taste much better than canned. (And yes, I know that contradicts point one. Hey, who says I have to be consistent?)
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- More beef, less beans: I like a bean-heavy chili, but if you want more meat, you can use 2 pounds of ground beef, or cut the beans back to 2 cans instead of four. (Or do both if you like a lot of meat and not many beans.)
- Ground beef: This recipe works best if the ground beef is at least 80% lean and 20% fat - aka "Ground Chuck". (The recipe works with 70% lean "ground beef", but I have had complaints that it can be too greasy.) It works fine with ultra-lean ground beef, too, like 93% Ground sirloin.
- Other ground meat: You can use almost any ground meat in this recipe. Ground chicken, turkey, or pork - even ground buffalo, ground elk, or ground venision - whatever ground meat you have will work here. I have separate recipes posted for Instant Pot Ground Turkey Chili and Instant Pot Ground Pork chili, or just follow the directions in this recipe and substitute the ground meat for the beef.
- Other canned beans: I usually make this recipe with a mix of kidney beans, pinto beans, and/or black beans, but any canned bean will work - use whatever you like.
- Make-ahead beans: Even better than canned beans are dry beans, pressure cooked and frozen. I make lots of different beans in my Instant Pot, and I always make extra so I can freeze some for later. (A 2-cup container of frozen beans replaces a can of beans.) My favorites for this recipe are Instant Pot Small Red Beans, Instant Pot Pinto Beans, or Instant Pot Black Beans.
- Changing the heat level: This is a mild chili - most chili powder blends don't have a lot of heat. I add ground cayenne pepper when I want to increase the heat - a half-teaspoon for medium heat, a full teaspoon for high heat, and 2 teaspoons for 5-alarm chili. (Or, dice up a jalapeno or two and add them with the onions.)
Instant Pot Quick Chili Step-By-Step
In an Instant Pot, Sauté Onion and Garlic, and Toast the Spices
Heat a tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot, then sauté a diced onion and a few cloves of minced garlic. Make a hole in the onions and add the chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Toast them for 30 seconds, then stir them into the onions.
Cook the beef until it is no longer pink
Stir in the beef to coat it with the onions and spices, then stir in the water. Simmer, stirring often and breaking up the beef, until it loses its pink color.
Everything in the pot
Stir the beans and crushed tomatoes into the pot, and lock the lid
Pressure Cook for 10 minutes
Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release (about 20 minutes more)
Season, serve, and enjoy
Unlock the lid, stir in salt and ground pepper, serve with your favorite chili accompaniments, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Troubleshooting scorching or overheating: I have one pressure cooker that runs hotter than my others, and it had problems with overheating in this recipe. (Overheat usually means the pressure cooker noticed that things are burning on the bottom of the pot.) If you have overheating or scorching in your cooker, add an extra cup of water to the recipe and make sure the bottom of the cooker is scraped well before stirring in the beans.
- Homemade beans: If you have leftover pressure cooker beans, this recipe is a great way to use them up. Substitute 6 to 8 cups of cooked homemade beans for the canned beans.
- I'm really in a hurry, and don't want to wait for the Natural Release: Increase the pressure cooking time to 12 minutes at high pressure, then quick release the pressure.
Pressure Cooker Quick Chili with Canned Beans
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Description
Instant Pot Quick Chili with Canned Beans recipe. What's the quickest way to get dinner on the table? Pressure cooker chili, of course.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 pound ground beef (Preferably 85% lean ground round or 80% lean ground chuck)
- 1 ½ cups water (or homemade chicken broth, or low-sodium store-bought broth)
- 4 (14- to 16-ounce) cans of beans, drained (kidney, pinto, black, or a mix of beans)
- (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to sauté mode-high until shimmering. (Use medium heat in a stovetop pressure cooker). Add the onions, garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
- Toast the spices and cook the beef: Make a hole in the center of the onions and add the chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir into the onions. Add the ground beef and stir to coat with the onions and spices, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Add the water and cook the beef, stirring often and breaking up any clumps of beef, until the beef just loses its pink color, about 3 minutes.
- Everything in the pot: Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time with the flat-edged wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking. Stir the beans and crushed tomatoes into the pot.
- Pressure Cook on High for 10 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or 8 minutes in a stove top pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-Custom mode 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.)
- Season and serve: Unlock the lid, and open it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Stir in the black pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooking
- Cuisine: American
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups of chili
- Calories: 386
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 1375.1 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.8 g
- Fiber: 18.5 g
- Protein: 25.9 g
- Cholesterol: 38.6 mg
Frequently Asked Questions
I love add-ins to my chili. My defaults are diced raw onion, shredded cheese (usually cheddar or a Mexican blend), sour cream, and some tortilla chips or Fritos. I also pass a bottle of hot sauce at the table so people can increase the heat if they want.
Absolutely not - that's how you get a good chili flavor. Go big or go home is my approach to chili.
If you want to make this recipe in a 3-quart pressure cooker, cut all the ingredients in half - except for the water, cut that back to 1 cup. You can double the recipe in an 8-quart pressure cooker, just double all the ingredients.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Ground Beef and Bean Chili (with dry beans)
Pressure Cooker Turkey and Black Bean Chili
Instant Pot White Turkey Chili
Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili
Pressure Cooker Beans: Basic Technique
My other Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Recipes
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Amy Davis says
Can you double it if you have the 8 quart instant pot?
Mike Vrobel says
Recipe for 8 quart here: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/big-batch-of-quick-chili-in-the-8-quart-pressure-cooker/
Andrew says
Mike,
This is the first recipe I've tried on my Instapot. I played a little bit fast and loose with the ingredients -- I used 2lbs of ground beef (browned separately so that I could drain the immense amount of drippings, I used 80% lean), cut the beans down to one can, added a diced bell pepper (just after putting in the onion and garlic), and added a can of drained corn (with the drained beans). Other than that, your spices and cooking times with the Instapot were dead on. The chili tasted awesome and it was ready go in less than an hour! Thanks!
Michelle says
This is the first time I’ve had my IP not come to pressure. I wonder if I did anything wrong. It smells pretty good though but it’s just boiling away in there.
Mike Vrobel says
Scrape the bottom of the pot. If too much of the beans sink to the bottom of the pot, and start to stick, it will go into overheat mode and not come up to pressure.
Nancy says
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I used 3 - 10oz cans of diced tomatoes with chilies to take it up another notch. Try it sometime. It’s to die for!
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!
Russ says
Wow this was surprisingly good! I am not a cook, just a Dad with children who don’t usually like it when I venture away from the grill. No complaints this time.
Aaron Friedman says
I just made the recipe this morning. It's really good considering how little work is required. Thanks.
I did feel compelled to add a Tbs. of fish sauce though.
Laura says
Hi. I have a friend who makes her chili with stew meat instead of ground beef (on the stove top). Do you think I could try this with stew meat and still use canned beans? If so, would you cook it for 10-15 mins still? Have you tried something similar? Love your blog
Mike Vrobel says
Try this recipe:https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-pork-chili-with-beans/
Lynn says
We made this last night with ingredients we had on hand. It was delicious! We used 1 dark Mex. beer and some chicken broth for the water. Thanks for the great recipe!
Mike V says
Great! Glad you enjoyed it.
Jan says
Will a double batch fit in the instant pot 6 qt?
Mike V says
No - a double batch is too much for the 6 quart.
Kristie says
Has anyone put cornbread mix on top while under pressure? I saw it for pot pie wondering if it would work for this
MXC says
Loved this weeknight chili! Got hotter as days went by. Will definitely make again soon.
Kathy says
Do you really use 1/4 CUP of chili powder?
Mike V says
Yes, 1/4 cup means 1/4 cup.
Cindy says
When I see recipes that call for a tablespoon of chili powder I just laugh and laugh. 😀 I add a "cupped palm" full of chili powder and another of cumin to my chili and I love it.
Ted says
This is a perfect fill-the-freezer chili for Summer. I kept a couple of small containers out for lunch this week, but a lot of it went straight into the freezer for those nights when I feel like chili, but don't feel like heating up the house to do it.
MaryLou says
In the body of the recipe, where you say to add the seasonings to toast them, you include coriander and cloves. Those two spices don't seem to be in the ingredient list. How much of each should be added (I assume very little compared to the other amounts).
Mike V says
Sorry, cut and paste from a different chili recipe. I removed them from the ingredients list.
MaryLou says
I actually added them to the recipe (tiny pinch of cloves, <tsp of coriander) and the chili was really good. Probably didn't hurt, may have added depth of flavor? (Coriander is cilantro, after all).
Addie Harper Calvitt says
Mike, from one of the pictures it appears you drained the beans. Can you confirm? Thanks!
Mike V says
Yes, drain the beans. I fixed that in the recipe, thanks!
Dan says
I have had one of those pressure cookers for a couple years now, and I did not realize you could prop the lid open like you've done in your picture...
Mike V says
That is the best feature in the instant pots. When I use one of my other cookers, I always try to set the lid in the handle, and it takes me a few seconds to realize that it won't work...