Pressure Cooker Classic Beef Chili
Updated Feb. 20, 2020

- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1pound ground beef
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
- 1large onion, diced
- 1green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1jalapeño, seeded or not, diced
- 4cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
- 2tablespoons chili powder
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- ½teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 1(13.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2(15-ounce) cans pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ⅓cup chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
- Fresh lime juice, to taste
- Sour cream, for serving
- Cubed avocado, for serving (optional)
- Pickled jalapeño, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oil in the pressure cooker (see Tip) set to the sauté function on high if possible. Add beef, spread it over the bottom of the pot over the oil, and let it brown without stirring for 7 minutes. Give it a good stir and sauté for 1 more minute, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a plate. Season meat with 1 teaspoon salt.
- Step 2
Stir in onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt; cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Stir in chili powder, tomato paste, and cumin, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in beef and any juices from the plate, oregano, tomatoes, beans and remaining ½ teaspoon salt, then cover and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Let pressure release naturally.
- Step 4
Stir in cilantro and a squeeze or two of lime juice, then taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with sour cream, avocado and pickled jalapeño if you like.
- Some newer electric pressure cooker models have more sensitive burn indicators than the one this recipe was tested in. If you get the burn signal, add ½ cup water, beer, or stock to the pot.
Private Notes
Comments
I use only dried beans - they taste better, and you don't have a can for the recycle stream. These recipes should always list options for using dried beans. And if you are using a pressure cooker, there is NO REASON to be using canned beans. I used one cup of dried red beans, soaked in salt water for a few hours. It worked really well!
With no liquid added, the instant pot will not come up to pressure and the bottom will scorch. I added about a half a cup of beer before turning the pressure on in order to make it work (and taste yummy).
Can this be made in a regular slow cooker (after sauteing meat etc. on the stove)?
I made this tonight using dried beans and it was so easy and delicious. To adjust for using dried beans, here’s what I did: - soaked 1 lb of beans for about 7-8 hours - added the soaked beans in to the recipe as instructed in place of the canned beans - after adding the canned tomatoes, filled the can with water once and added that too. I didn’t need to add any other liquid - pressure cooked for 20 minutes That’s it! Otherwise made this exactly as written and will absolutely be keeping this in rotation all fall/winter!
Used dried beans (the pressure cooker helps this) and doubled the spice mix - much better!
Kid friendly: Use red/yellow/orange bell pepper Add 3-4 sliced carrots along with onion and bell pepper Season with smoked paprika instead of chili powder Use 1 can of garbanzos and 1 can of black beans No jalapeno Add enough water ( about 1/2 cup) so it's soupy and wont burn in pressure cooker