This Instant Pot Chili recipe is a favorite in our home. A delicious blend of beef, beans, tomatoes, a variety of fragrant spices, and a “secret ingredient” all come together to create a tummy-warming, soul-satisfying chili that is out of this world delicious!
Have you ever struggled with particularly stubborn dried beans? One of the big advantages of using a pressure cooker for something like chili that uses dried beans is that it practically guarantees the beans will turn out soft within the designated cooking time. If you frequently cook with dried beans you know that not all beans are created equal in terms of freshness. There’s no way of knowing how long those dried beans sat in a warehouse before making it to the store shelves or how long they sat on the shelf before you bought them. Old dried beans are notorious for taking forever to cook in spite of all your efforts and all the tricks up your sleeves. And even then, there are some dried beans that just plain refuse soften. And so enter the pressure cooker, a device that will make even the most stubborn dried beans yield to softening. Hallelujah!
Do I Need to Pre-Soak the Beans?
There’s a great deal of debate surrounding that question and if you do an online search on the subject you can read about the arguments on both sides.  In more recent years food experts have challenged the long-held notion that pre-soaking beans is a must. In short, many food experts say that it is not necessary to pre-soak or use a quick-soak method, that it only minimally reduces phytic acid, that it doesn’t improve the texture and that can in fact reduce the flavor. However they do note that pre-soaking does cut down on the cooking time and that it can make the beans easier to digest. So the choice is yours.
If you have time to pre-soak the beans overnight I recommend doing so. Even minimally reducing phytic acid can only be a good thing and I’m all for better digestion. Pre-soaking will also help ensure that even older dried beans fully cook. If you forget to pre-soak them or make a last-minute decision to make chili (which has happened to me on more than a couple of occasions), then simply increase the cooking time by an additional 10 minutes.
Whether you pre-soak or don’t pre-soak, either way your Instant Pot Chili will turn out irresistibly delicious!
This Instant Pot chili can be made mild or spicy depending on the chili powder you use. Choose one according to your heat preference.
I add a “secret” ingredient to my chili that really ups the flavor: Masa harina. That’s right, the Mexican corn flour made from nixtamalized corn that’s used for making corn tortillas, tamales, pupusas, gorditas, and many other Latin American dishes. Not only does it serve as a thickener (and gluten free at that), it adds a fabulous boost of flavor to the chili.
A Confession to a Rare “Rule-Breaker”
There is another ingredient I add to my chili that may raise some eyebrows: Condensed tomato soup. Having been a firmly dedicated 100% from-scratch cooking site since I launched it in 2013, this is a very rare deviation from my from-scratch commitment. If you seriously object, go ahead and substitute more tomato sauce instead. But this is one of those rare exceptions that I am willing to make because it makes such a difference in the flavor outcome. If you give it a try I think you’ll agree that it’s worth it!
What to Serve with Instant Pot Chili
Serve this chili with some cornbread and/or a salad and you’re all set (try our Darn Good Cornbread or our slightly healthier Quinoa Cornbread). Alternatively you can also serve it with breadsticks, sweet potato fries, or coleslaw. You can also serve this chili on baked potatoes or hot dogs.
Instant Pot Chili Recipe
Let’s get started!
Set the Instant Pot to “saute” and cook the ground beef until no pink remains. Add the onions and cook for another 5 minutes until they’re soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add all the seasonings and cook for another minute.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, water, and kidney beans and stir to combine.
Set to pressure cook on HIGH for 35 minutes followed by a natural release (about 15 minutes). NOTE: If you did not pre-soak the beans overnight increase the cooking time to 45 minutes followed by a natural release.
Set the Instant Pot to “saute”, stir in the masa harina, and let simmer another 5 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese, and some crushed tortilla chips (our family’s fav) and some chopped fresh cilantro or green onions.
Enjoy!
For more delicious “bean soups” be sure to try our:
- White Bean Chili with Roasted Corn and Peppers
- Spicy Chipotle Chili with Hominy
- Instant Pot White Bean and Kale Soup
- Sausage, Kale and Black Eyed Pea Soup
- Smoky Black Eyed Pea Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup
- Curried Lentil Soup
- French Lentil Soup
- Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup

BEST Instant Pot Chili
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion , finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder (click link for our BEST homemade chili powder!)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon beef broth base (e.g. Better Than Bouillon) or bouillon granules
- 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper , optional for more heat
- 28 ounces plain tomato sauce
- 28 ounces petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed tomato soup (do not add water)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup water
- 16 ounces dried kidney beans , soaked overnight and rinsed
- 3-4 tablespoons masa harina
- sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips, chopped cilantro or sliced green onions , for serving
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to "saute" and cook the ground beef until no pink remains. Add the onions and cook for another 5 minutes until they're soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add all the seasonings and cook for another minute.Add the tomato sauce, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, water, and kidney beans and stir to combine.Set to pressure cook on HIGH for 35 minutes followed by a natural release (about 15 minutes). NOTE: If you did not pre-soak the beans overnight increase the cooking time to 45 minutes followed by a natural release.Set the Instant Pot to "saute", stir in the masa harina, and let simmer another 5 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese, some crushed tortilla chips (our family's fav), and some chopped cilantro or sliced green onions.
Nutrition
Jon Butterfield says
Fantastic recipe, was incredible the next day…
Forgot to add the masa harina/corn meal, never mind!
Also, I agree with a previous comment, made more than 6 portions!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thanks so much, Jon, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Tony McAllister says
I have dry kidney beans already cooked in the freezer can I use them instead of dry beans? What changes to the cooking time do you recommend? Can regular corn meal be subed?
Bill Lewis says
Kimberly, I haven’t tried this yet but I definitely will. I was wondering if you ever tried this in a slow cooker?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Bill, yes, you can absolutely make this in the slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours or until the beans are tender. Happy cooking! :)
BlarneyTalker says
I haven’t made this yet, prepping the recipe in Plan to Eat. There is Worcestershire sauce in the instructions but not the ingredients. Also, replaced Cayenne with double the amount of Chipotle Chili Powder, get heat with a little more flavor.
Also, changed order – added tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water, and bouillon; heated as I stirred to dissolve the bouillon, then added the rest of the ingredients.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi BlarneyTalker, the Worcestershire sauce is in the ingredients just under the tomato soup (2 teaspoons).
Wanda Davies says
This is delicious. It makes WAY more than 6 serving. It was too much to fit in my 6 qt Instant Pot. Fortunately I realized that before I added the beans. i had to take out about 1 qt of the tomato beef mixture and then add back after pressure cooking.
next time im going to add a chipotle pepper. i didnt want to buy a big bag of masa harina so i omited it. the tomato soup and tomato sauce make it plenty thick.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Wanda, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m perplexed though, I regularly make this in my 6-quart Instant Pot and it fits perfectly.
Steve says
Hi Kimberly, I am from the UK and am not sure what you mean by plain tomato sauce. Is it the same as passatta maybe or do you mean ketchup?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Steve, yes that’s correct, it’s passata.
Ed says
Masa harina added in two places?
Set the Instant Pot to “saute” and cook the ground beef until no pink remains. Add the onions and cook for another 5 minutes until they’re soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the masa harina and all the seasonings and cook for another minute.
and
Set the Instant Pot to “saute”, stir in the masa harina, and let simmer another 5 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ed, sorry for the confusion. It’s just added the one time at the end.