Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili

This small batch beef chili recipe has all the classic mouthwatering flavors you expect in a traditional chili. Since it's made in an Instant Pot you get a bowl of chili that tastes like it simmered for hours ready in less than an hour. So chunky, cozy and comforting this chili will become a weeknight favorite in no time! 

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Cooking for yourself and others can be a way to find joy and inspiration. This chunky, hearty chili is a great dish for days when you are getting a group of friends together and is also just the right warmer for dinner on a cold winter night.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from a Cooking Light magazine recipe that is many, many years old. I decided to adopt the recipe for an Instant Pot because it's a great way to make chili that involves mostly hands-off cooking time! By making chili in an electric pressure cooker you speed up the cooking process and also get an extra boost of flavor.

Contents:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Recipe Ingredients + Substitutions
• How to make chili in an Instant Pot
• Recommended tools
• Serving Suggestions
• More chili recipes
• Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili

Why you'll love this recipe

Making chili in an instant pot is really easy because there’s an actual setting for chili and beans. This means that other than browning the meat there is not much you need to do besides add the rest of the ingredients and let your pressure cooker do it's thing!

Recipe Ingredients + Substitutions

The full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.

• Lean ground beef: Since you won't be draining, I recommend 90% lean to keep the chili from getting too greasy.
• Spicy pork sausage: You want ground sausage. Spicy is ideal to give the chili a bit of extra heat but plain pork sausage works too.
• Veggies: You'll need some yellow, a green pepper and a couple of garlic cloves.
• Red wine: Something slightly fruity like Merlot or Pinot Noir is ideal but you can use any type of red wine you like. Don't open a bottle just for this - use something you would drink!
• Tomato paste: I recommend keeping a tube of concentrated tomato paste in your refrigerator. It's really useful for recipes like this that only call for a small amount.
• Kidney beans: Canned beans work well for chili and cut down on the prep time compared to using dried beans.
• Diced tomatoes: I recommend using fire-roasted diced tomatoes if you can find them.
• Greek yogurt: I generally use greek yogurt instead of sour cream as a topping but you can sub sour cream if you prefer.
• Cheddar cheese: Since it's just a topping either freshly grated or pre-grated, bagged cheese is fine.
• Spices: ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, kosher salt, ground pepper
• Pantry staples: Olive oil, brown sugar

How to make chili in an Instant Pot

The full printable recipe card is below, but let’s walk through the details before you get started.

Using the instant pot to make this chili cuts down on the cooking time and since it's mostly hands-off, you can make this at just about any time.

Step 1 | Brown the meat. You’ll start by pressing the sauté button on the instant pot. Once you can feel the heat, add the oil to the instant pot liner and then add the pork. The pork has more fat than the ground beef, so adding it first will help to keep the ground beef from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the pork has cooked for a minute or two, add the ground beef. Use a non-metal spoon to stir and crumble the ground beef. You want nice small pieces in your chili. Continue to cook the mixture until both the pork and ground beef are no longer pink.

Step 2 | Saute and deglaze. Once the beef is cooked through add the onions, garlic and green pepper and quickly sauté them as well.  Then you’ll add the wine and deglaze the pot by using your spoon to scrape any stuck-on bits off the bottom of the pan. 

Step 3 | Pressure cook the chili. Then toss in the rest of the ingredients. Use the chili/beans setting to cook for 20 minutes. This should automatically give you high pressure.  Once the chili is done cooking let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes.

Step 4 | Serve. Ladle the chili into bowls and top with sour cream/greek yogurt and shredded cheese. 

Instant Pot Burn Notice

The first time I tested this chili in my Instant Pot was the first time I'd ever gotten the dreaded burn notice on my Instant Pot. I had to do a little research to learn more, so here's the scoop.

• The burn noticed is generally caused by something at the bottom of the liner burning or getting too warm.  When you sauté the beef you may end up with little bits stuck to the pot, causing the pot to think something is burning.
• To start, always make sure your liner is really clean.  If you have food residue on the bottom from a previous use you are much more likely to get a burn notice. I use a little bit of baking soda to remove any stubborn, stuck-on bits.
• Be sure you use oil and add the pork to the pot first. This will help to keep anything from sticking.
• The deglazing step is also key.  If you scrape the bottom of the liner well after you add the wine it will help prevent anything from sticking.

If you do get a burn notice try the following:

• Hit cancel to turn the pot completely off. Manually release the pressure, being careful not to place your hand directly over the valve. Let the pot depressurize.
• Once the pot has depressurized open the lid and use a silicone spatula to stir the chili and scrape off anything that is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Start the cooking process again. You can guestimate how long the chili had been cooking at set the time accordingly. If you cook it a little longer than 20 minutes don't worry,  the longer it cooks the more flavorful it will get.

If you continue to get a burn notice you may need to dump the chili out of the pot and fully clean the liner. If this happens, I recommend cooking it the rest of the way on the stovetop, unless of course, you have a second liner, which is on my list of things to buy!

If you are really concerned about a burn notice or have had issues in the past you can always brown the meat on the stovetop and then add it to the instant pot with the rest of the ingredients.

I've only gotten the burn notice one time and I've made this and other chilis in the instant pot successfully many times since then!

Freezing chili

Since there is no dairy involved,  chili is really easy to freeze. Cool your chili completely and store it in either Ziploc bags or a freezer-safe container. If you use Ziplocs be sure that you press all the air out of the bags to avoid freezer burn. To reheat I usually defrost the chili in the refrigerator first then either add it to a pot on the stovetop or microwave it to heat it.

Recommended tools

3 Quart Instant Pot - Since I mostly cook for one or two I'm a big fan of this smaller sized Instant Pot. Just about any recipe will work in this or can be adapted if it needs little less liquid. Due to its smaller scale, it's easy to store too.

Silicone spatula - These are really a kitchen necessity. They are heat resistant which means they work when cooking in a hot pan and the silicone ensures you don't need to worry about scratching. I have about a half dozen of them in my kitchen.

Instant Pot Liner - This is great if you want to do a couple of different recipes during your weekly meal prep. It means you don't have to stop and wash after the first one before you start the second. I recommend it for any kitchen that has an Instant Pot! 

Serving Suggestions

If you want to use this chili as part of a game day party menu, I'd suggest adding the following:

• Cold Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl
• Lemongrass Beef Asian Wonton Nachos
• Wonton Taco Cups

If you just want to serve this for lunch and dinner, a simple green salad and some of these Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Bites make great sides.

More chili recipes

If you love chili, check out these recipes as well:

• Creamy White Chicken Chili. If you want something other than traditional meat chili, try this chicken chili made with white beans.
• Amber Turkey Chili. This is pretty close to a traditional meat chili but uses ground turkey and amber ale for a slightly unique twist.

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This post was originally published in January 2019. It was updated in February 2024 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.