Warm, comforting Instant Pot Chili is the perfect cool weather meal and this is the ABSOLUTE BEST CHILI I have ever eaten! Packed with fiber and nutrients, covered in cheese and sour cream – get ready to fall in love!
I really hesitate to call any of my recipes “The Best.” It feels like I'm putting a challenge out there and heaven knows, I AM NOT a competitive person.
Don't tell my younger sisters, but I used to silently cheer when the opposing team made points at their volleyball competitions because that meant we could leave sooner. Feels so good to confess that!
I also recall faking a rolled ankle in a basketball game as a 13-year-old so I could go home and read a book I was really excited about.
So yeah, don't bother to compete with me, I'll probably just hand you the trophy.
By calling this amazing, deep, rich, flavorful, silky chili THE BEST, I'm simply saying it is THE BEST CHILI I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! No restaurant or chili potluck has ever made me as happy as this bowl of chili right here!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS AWARD WINNING CHILI (THE MARCI TIDBITS AWARD, THAT IS)
- No crazy, weird ingredients here. I didn't add bacon, balsamic vinegar, quinoa, or any other nontraditional ingredients to this beauty. Not saying all of those don't have potential, I'm just saying if you want glorious, traditional, feel-good chili, this is your baby.
- Toppings! I theorize that it is the lack of toppings that kept me from trying chili as a kid. What kid would see chips, cheese, and sour cream piled high in their bowl, and say, “Oh don't even think I'm eating that!”
- And of course, the awesome trio that makes you feel good about eating to your heart's content: Healthy, Wholesome, Pretty. Yep, I said pretty. Food should be pretty.
INCLUDED IN THIS INSTANT POT CHILI POST:
- How to make Instant Pot Chili (Quick and Easy)
- Tips for making the world's best chili
- How to store, reheat, and freeze chili
- What to serve with chili
- Chili variations
- Skip to full recipe card
Also, here are some of my reader's comments after trying this recipe:
- “VERY delicious recipe, yet simple. Thank you for sharing!”
- “I’ve made this recipe a number of times now and everyone I’ve fed it to has loved it. “
- “I made your chili recipe last Friday, it was a hit with my family!!!”
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT HOMEMADE CHILI, QUICK AND EASY
- Brown meat and spices directly in the Instant Pot using the saute function on HIGH (love a meat chopper for this task)
- Dump in the rest of your ingredients
- Stir, Pressure Cook, Eat
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS TO MAKING THE WORLD'S BEST CHILI
I'm VERY picky about what goes into making a chili I call “THE BEST”. While these are all my opinions, keep in mind, I'm always right. Just ask my husband . . . just don't ask him behind my back.
- Heavily season the meat! All the spices are going right in alongside the meat while it gets browned. This will ensure the meat has flavor and will season the rest of the chili while it pressure cooks
- Use 93/7 ground turkey. Don't worry, no one will ever know you didn't use beef. I much prefer the texture of ground turkey and the lower fat content means your chili won't have a greasy film throughout
- Don't chop the meat too small. Do you want tiny pea-sized pieces of meat all through your chili that are hardly recognizable as meat? I THINK NOT! Leave your chunks a bit larger so you can enjoy each tender, flavorful bite
- Use a variety of beans. My favorite combo is kidney, cannellini, and pinto. You'll get a variety of bite and creaminess with each kind
- Don't drain the beans. Speaking of beans, you're going to think I'm crazy when you see that the recipe doesn't call for draining the beans. I'm not just being lazy. That extra starch in the cans is what keeps your chili from going watery, as soups/stew/chilis tend to do in the pressure cooker
- Use the Best Chili Toppings, and yes, the order matters:
- First, cubed cheese (so it can get all melty and gooey), then pickled jalapenos (for crunch and briny heat), then sour cream (on top, not stirred in), and finally crushed corn chips right on top so they don't go all soggy. Perfection!
- Serve it with cornbread. Anyone else agree this is a must? Our family's favorite is this Zucchini Cornbread from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I make a few changes – I use white whole wheat flour, 1 cup flour to 1 cup cornmeal, and 1/4 cup sugar, It's amazing!
HOW TO STORE, REHEAT, AND FREEZE CHILI
- Store: Cool leftovers then store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to five days.
- Reheat: Chili reheats well in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Freeze: Scoop leftover chili into a freezer safe ziptop bag and freeze flat for up to three months. When ready to eat, let thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat as directed above.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHILI
- Chili and Cornbread: The best combo ever! Try Instant Pot Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread or Instant Pot Honey Cornbread Muffins.
- Chili in a Bread Bowl: Every soup/chili/stew is better served in a Whole Wheat Bread Bowl!
- Crusty Bread and Chili: Whole Wheat, Rosemary Asiago, or Jalapeno Cheddar are all amazing with chili.
CHILI VARIATIONS
Don't feel like eating out of a bowl or have a husband that stubbornly still says, “soup is not a meal”? Here are some great options:
- Chili Nachos: Serve the chili over a plate of chips and cover it with Butternut Nacho Cheese Sauce – HEAVEN!
- Chili Stuffed Potatoes: Serve over “baked” potatoes or sweet potatoes (so easy to do in the Instant Pot).
- Chili Chip Dip: Scoop it directly out of the pot with corn chips. Exception: any and all children who double-dip, cough, or laugh over the big pot of chili are excluded from this activity.
Get this chili in your menu plan ASAP! Don't worry about your personal “Best” chili feeling betrayed. As I endlessly tell my children when they ask who drew “the best picture” or “folded laundry the best,” we can all be the best, have the best, feel the best as long as we let those around us be their “best” too. Hopefully one day they'll figure out what that means.
MORE INSTANT POT SOUPS AND CHILIS
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Instant Pot Meatball Sub Soup
- 20+ Best Healthy Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- All our Instant Pot Soup + Chili Recipes
TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT CHILI
- Instant Pot
- Meat Chopper
- Trader Joe's Corn Chips – LOVE THESE!
Instant Pot Triple Bean Chili
Instant Pot Triple Bean Chili is packed with good for you foods and garnished with all the glorious, crunchy, spicy, creamy toppings you could ever want!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 29 oz can tomato sauce
- 29 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 15 oz can kidney beans (undrained)
- 15 oz can cannellini beans (undrained)
- 15 oz can pinto beans (undrained)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 oz can green chilies
- 2 stalks celery, diced
Toppings
- cheddar and pepper jack cheese cut into cubes, sour cream, diced jalapeños, and corn chips
Instructions
- Select saute on the pressure cooker and add oil. When hot, add ground turkey. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, black pepper, and salt. Brown and crumble until it's cooked through.
- Add tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, diced onions, chiles, and celery; stir.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. Note: It can take 10 minutes or so for this big pot of chili to come up to pressure.
- When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure. If liquid sprays from the valve, switch it back to a sealed position and let it cool for another 5 – 10 minutes.
- Serve hot topped with cubes of cheese, sour cream, chopped pickled jalapeños, and corn chips.
Notes
- If your pot is sensitive to getting the BURN signal, add a 1/2 – 3/4 cup of water to the pot with the other ingredients.
- I prefer the taste and texture of ground turkey, but 90/10 ground beef will substitute great
- DO NOT drain and rinse the beans
- Leftover can be frozen flat in gallon size ziplock bags for up to 4 months
- Add a splash of cholula hot sauce to individual bowls for extra spice
Keywords: chili, winter food, healthy dinner
Welcome! I’m Marci, wife to my motorcycle dream man and mother of 3. I have a passion for creating and cooking delicious masterpieces in my kitchen and am ecstatic to share my discoveries on TIDBITS! I like my food tasty, wholesome, memorable, and always, ALWAYS followed by dark, salty chocolate.
Hello so I didn’t get to make this when I posted my last comment to you But I did get to make this tonight. Wow, so good! I forgot to buy celery so I didn’t get to add it and only added half of the chili powder as I don,t like spicy but everything else same. I did omit corn chips. I really am enjoying this and thank you again for posting the freezing formula. So helpful for one.
★★★★★
Christie, I’m glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my favorites of all time.
I am going to try making this this week. And a big thank you on putting the part about freezing and how long it can be froze for also. I am always not sure on the freezing part and that is a big help.
Was very good! I also found it to be a little “soupy” but I will definitely be making it again.
Deb, That made me smile! My mom is always after me about how my chili isn’t soupy enough! Chili is definitely a food where people like it how they like it 🙂
Followed the directions exactly … this was nit chili but soup…
Hi Marci,
Delicious chili! My clan loved it. Hubby said he missed the chunks of bell peppers and carrots I usually put in my chili. Yes, carrots.. Why? Honestly, many moons back I needed to use the carrots before they would spoil and I just so happened to be making chili that night. So I thought, why not sneak them in and get the kids some’s veggies, hoping they wouldn’t notice? Well, they noticed and ate them anyway! Yippie! I now use your recipe for chili recipe and add chucks (not diced) of carrots and bell peppers. Try it!
Shelly
Shelly, I love this! I’m absolutely trying that next time. It sounds fantastic, thank you!
Thank you for another quick and delicious recipe! My hubby can’t eat green chilis, so I did add a few chili pepper flakes and some smoked paprika for a little kick. I also deglaze my Foodi with a 1/4 cup of red wine which added a nice flavor. This was great after a busy day of cleaning house and doing yard work – thank you again!
★★★★★
Kim, I Love your changes, thanks for the feedback!
Yum, you made me hungry for chili! I’ve been using ground turkey in my recipe for awhile now and no one knows any different. I like the idea of using a variety of beans! I’ll have to give this a try.
😊 Cecilia
Cecilia, I love ground turkey. I think the texture is so much better!
I agree it seems a very nice recipe but must disagree with your statement “absolute best chilli”. A chilli must be
and should be beef always. I agree you can use whatever protein you like turkey, chicken, lamb, prawns, etc etc but that is not a chilli. It is a chilli flavoured casserole (stew)
I do like your recipes and have made many. Only 3 stars because it is not a chilli but looks tasty.
★★★
It appears to me as though you rated this recipe based on some misguided idea of what ‘Chili’ is and not the recipe itself. I did some reading, as your ‘review’ made me curious, so I thank you for pushing me to learn. Was I wrong all these years? Is there really a true definition of what makes a ‘Chili’? The answer? There is no one definition of what a ‘Chili’ is. Even those that compete in competitions for making the stuff do not have one definition. Some use venison, some use multiple meats, some use beans, some say no beans, some make it vegetarian. So yes, this is a chili. You appear to speak British English, based on the spellings of some of your words, so perhaps that is where your misunderstanding springs from. In the US, where this recipe originates, this is a chili. Perhaps in Europe it is different? I would like to read about that, if you have some links to share with us.
Back to the recipe, this is my absolute GO TO chili recipe. I do omit the green chilis and instead I use Ancho Chilis in Sauce. I think it adds a delightful smoky spiciness and my husband can’t get enough spicy in his life. It is an amazing recipe. I have gotten the burn notice a couple times, I think it’s the tomatoes getting mixed in (I deglaze like crazy before I seal), but it doesn’t seem to ruin anything. I just open the pot, scrape the bottom, reseal and cook.
★★★★★
Susan, thanks for the education, I love hearing these details. I’m so glad you love the chili and I’m excited to try your ancho twist. I love that flavor! I haven’t had the burn notice before, but the newer models seem more sensitive, perhaps I’ll advise adding some water.
John, thank you for your feedback! Do you have a go-to chili recipe you love?
Hey Marshall John, Marci’s chili is succulent. If you have a different version (among the many thousands out there), just run along! If you insist on raising a finger while you bark in such a high-pitched tone, just make sure you remove the sh_it from under your nails! Someone’s best is not necessarily YOUR best! Get it?
★★★★★
Has anyone else has an issue with the burn message coming on? I stirred it well, but it still settled down and started sticking to the bottom even before the valve popped up. I’m at a loss, and will probably have to put it on the stove. Looks like pizza tonight. 😕
Judi, dang, I’ve never had that problem here. What pressure cooker do you own?
Question:
How easy is this chili on the tummy? Its my understanding that rinsing the beans thoroughly reduces the gassy effect. So, is there something else going on here that makes the starches more digestible? Could one rinse the beans and just add a bit of thickener (cornmeal or cornstarch) at the end? Thanks so much and love your site!!
Twiisa, I definitely have a more sensitive gut, and I would say this recipe is about medium on the “easy to digest” scale. Saying that, I haven’t noticed that it is any different than any other chili or bean dish for me. I think you could definitely rinse the beans if you want to though, it might be a touch thinner, but the taste will still be amazing
VERY delicious recipe, yet simple. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Scott, It’s my favorite chili of all time:). I’m glad you liked it!
I made this chili and adapted the chili powder. I put a scant 4 Tbsp. in, otherwise, it was fantastic. Even plan on making it for our family when we get together next Wednesday night for pumpkin pie making. This is a keeper. Thanks.
Lornel, my mom likes a bit less chili powder as well. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I love it so much. That sounds like a cozy family moment 🙂
I’ve made this recipe a number of times now and everyone I’ve fed it to has loved it. Also I just saw your bit about faking a rolled ankle to go read a book…..SAME. haha, I hate competition and I did all sorts of things to get out of competing.
Anywho, off to make chili, again!
★★★★★
Susan, I love hearing that! This Chili seriously rocks! And I’m happy to hear there’s others like me 🙂
I’m pretty partial to my stove top chili but this recipe took it over the top! I had to substitute a couple of items…I mistakenly picked up a 29 oz can of whole tomatoes instead of tomato sauce and I didn’t have a can of diced chili peppers. So I used the juice from the whole tomatoes, a can of Rotel tomatoes, an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and 8 oz of beef broth to equal the 29 ounces of liquid from the tomato sauce. Kept the spices the same except I only used 4 T of chili powder. Pressure cooking really added a huge depth of flavor. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Glinda, you made my day with that comment! I love this chili more than any other I’ve ever tried. And genius work with the substitutions. Sounds like you know your way well around a kitchen!
I made your chili recipe last Friday, it was a hit with my family!!! Thank you! Now looking forward in making your new butternut soup I just received through email!! So thrilled I’m back on your website since I found you and your sister like a year and a half ago or maybe it’s been two years? Either way, thank you!
★★★★★
Nancy, I’m having it for dinner again tonight, haha! I’m so glad you guys loved it. This butternut soup is absolutely dreamy! Thanks for hangin around TIDBITS!
I love every single recipe of yours that I try. Not ONE has been mediocre. And this one? It knocks it OUT OF THE PARK. I had to make a couple changes due to what I could find but dear God your recipes are so perfect. I always check to see if you have what I want to make before I check anywhere else. I made a different chili recipe a few months ago and it was crap. This was perfection. Thank you for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Susan, Wow, you just started my day off right! That was a seriously sincere compliment and it meant the world to me, Thank you!
Wonderful! Wonderful! Recipe! Thank you!
★★★★★
Marilyn, I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
Great job on the television segment, Marci!
Karen, Thank you! Ive never been so nervous about something in my life!
Would you consider appending to your recipe instructions for using DRIED beans instead of canned?
Echo, I plan on doing a post all about beans at some point. It didn’t work so well to do it along with chili.
Just watched your tv segment. So proud of you! Fantastic job!!
Thank you Lyn! I’m so glad I did it, not sure I ever want to do it again though!