INSTANT POT CHILI with dry beans

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This Instant Pot Chili with Dry Beans is a FAVORITE at our house. We love it topped with cheese and chips, for taco salad, Navajo tacos, over-baked potatoes, and more. Make a big pot and enjoy it any way you like. 

THE INSTANT POT ENTERS MY LIFE:

Several years ago while visiting my parents, I watched my Dad use his Instant Pot for boiled eggs. They were in and out in no time and they PEELED SO WELL! I’m talking, the peel came right off with no effort and they were perfectly cooked! The electric pressure cooker was a foreign concept to me and I was totally mesmerized by this magical contraption.

BEST GIFT:

After I was home from my visit to my parent’s house a package arrived on my doorstep from Amazon. It was an Instant Pot! I know, I am totally spoiled rotten. My Dad is the most giving person I know and always gifts me things that he knows I will love. I used the Instant Pot for eggs and rice and loved the results, but didn’t do much else with it for quite a while. I changed my ways though and have now made everything from pasta to cheesecake in it!

LOTS TO LOVE:

There are so many things I love about the Instant Pot, but one of my favorite things is that I can cook dry beans in it without soaking! Dry beans are so CHEAP and they are packed full of fiber and other good stuff. Chili is a favorite at our house so I knew I needed to adapt my recipe for the Instant Pot. My kids are always happy when I make chili for dinner and they will eat it for days with no complaint. Mom win for sure! They LOVE my INSTANT POT CHILI with dry beans.

Now I have 2 Instant Pots and a Pampered Chef Quick Cooker. There are a few things about the Quick Cooker that I prefer over the Instant Pot like the steam spout is away from the button to release the steam so no chance of getting a steam burn! The carry handles are on the bottom of the pot which I prefer over it on the lid. Oh, and I LOVE the dial and display on my Quick Cooker. Most electric pressure cookers function a lot the same. 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE OUR INSTANT POT CHILI WITH DRY BEANS:

• 3 cups dry pinto beans
• 6 cups water
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground pork sausage
• 3  14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1  14.5 oz can tomato sauce
• 1  7 oz. can diced green chiles, we used roasted
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, we used 3 tsp. minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp. oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt

TO MAKE THE INSTANT POT CHILI WITH DRY BEANS:

Start by rinsing and sorting your 3 cups of dry pinto beans. (Sorting just means making sure they are all beans and not pesky little rocks or whatnot.)

Add them to your Instant Pot and top with 6 cups of water.

QUICK SOAK:

Close the lid and make sure the vent is sealed on top then press the BEAN/CHILI button and set for 20 minutes. This is called a “quick soak” and is the step that allows you to skip soaking your beans overnight.

The pot will say ON until it gets up to pressure and will then start counting down the time. I started the beans very first so they could get cookin’ while I got out all of my other ingredients and chopped my onion and bell pepper.

CHOP CHOP CHOP:

NATURAL RELEASE:

Once the Instant Pot beeps that the time is up go ahead and do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Basically just leave it alone for 10 minutes and then flip the valve on top to venting to release any pressure that is left until the pin drops. Open the lid and drain the liquid from the beans.

SAUTE:

On your now empty pot, hit the SAUTE button and wait for it to say HOT. When the Instant Pot reads HOT, add 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil. Waiting until the pot is HOT before adding the cold oil will make it non-stick. Add the sausage and ground beef. Cook and chop until meat is browned then drain and return to the pot.

Pampered Chef Mix N Chop is perfect for cooking ground beef.

VEGGIES:

Next, add the diced onion and bell pepper and continue to cook for several minutes then add the garlic and cook another minute.

Now it’s time to add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, and beef broth.

Add the beans back to the pot along with all the seasonings. Give everything a good stir.

BIG POT OF CHILI:

Notice that it comes just below the MAX fill line. 🙂 This is in my 6-quart pot. I also have the 8-quart but wanted to make sure it would fit in the 6-quart since that is what most people have.

UNDER PRESSURE:

Close the lid and make sure the vent valve is closed on top. Press the BEAN/CHILI button and set it for another 20 minutes.

When time is up, natural pressure release for 10 minutes then turn the valve to venting to release the rest of the pressure.

Once the pin has dropped, open up the lid, take a big whiff, give it a stir and eat up!

SERVE IT UP HOT:

We love ours with cheese! You can also serve it with a dollop of sour cream and we almost always have a few tortilla chips or delicious Fritos to devour with it as well. Look at all that hearty goodness.

REAL-LIFE:

AND….just because we love to KEEP IT REAL around here…this is my little helper. I tried so hard to get the chili done and pics were taken before he woke up from his nap, but he knows when he’s missing out on good food! He was very pleased with himself and VERY happy that I let him make a mess for a minute. 🙂

And a super closeup for good measure. 

We hope you give this recipe a try! Share if you love it.

Have you tried any of our other bean recipes? You’ll want to check these out!

Instant Pot Refried Beans

Instant Pot Charro Beans

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