Meaty, spicy and full of flavor, this awesome Instant Pot chili recipe is a delicious, hearty meal. Loaded with boneless beef chuck, black beans and fresh veggies, this easy recipe can be ready to enjoy in about an hour.
The Instant Pot pressure cooker excels at so many things, and some of my favorite recipes for it are chili recipes. Whether making a vegetarian chili recipe or one that’s loaded with hearty beef chuck, chili can be done in a fraction of the time it takes by traditional means.
What is Instant Pot Beef Chuck Chili?
Beef chuck chili is a simple recipe where we use chunks of beef chuck, such as stew meat, in a traditional chili recipe in place of ground meat. The result is a delicious, full flavor chili recipe with tender chunks of beef which are loaded with flavor. The pressure cooking process makes the whole dish come together in about an hour, compared to an all day event with traditional chili cooking methods. The dish eats more like a beef stew with delicious chili flavors.
Simple Ingredients
The star of the show is, of course, the beef chuck. You can purchase a chuck roast and cut it into chunks and you’re all set to go. Many supermarkets also carry “stew meat”, which is the same thing and the cutting into chunks is already done for you. I like to go that route, as it saves additional prep time. We’ll also need some fresh vegetables including an onion, one or two bell peppers (colors of your choice – I like yellow and red) and a jalapeno pepper. Our seasonings will come from a mixture of chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. We’ll use a mixture of canned ingredients to round everything out including tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles, and a can of black beans.
Preparation
Chop up the onions and peppers and set aside. With the jalapeno, be sure to remove the seed and the ribs of the pepper. Then cut the chuck roast into chunks of approximately 1 inch in size. You don’t need to be perfect here. You can do smaller chunks if you like. If you’re using store cut stew meat, this step will already be done.
We’ll then use our Instant Pot in sauté mode to brown the meat. This step is important as it brings out so much additional flavor of the meat, as well as locking in the juices and giving the meat the texture we want. It’s best to do this in 2 batches. If you overcrowd the meat it won’t brown properly. Once the meat is browned, set it aside on a plate. With the Instant Pot still in sauté mode, add the diced onions and peppers and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Then press cancel to stop the sauté process
Deglaze the Pot
After we’ve sauteed our meat and veggies, add about ¼ cup of broth to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. This step is called deglazing. The “stuck on bits” are called fond. There’s a load of flavor in that fond and it becomes an integral part of the flavor profile.
Add Remaining Ingredients
After deglazing the bottom of the pot, we’re ready to add our ingredients together. Pour in the broth first, followed by the meat and Worcestershire sauce. Add all the spices and give it a good stir. Then add the diced tomatoes right on top, followed by the tomato paste and then the beans. Don’t stir at this point. Let it all sit just the way it is. Secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.
When the pressure cooking time is complete, you don’t have to do anything for 15 minutes. The pressure inside the pot will be naturally releasing during this time and the magic of pressure cooking is still occurring. You’ll see the counter on the display counting up at this point. After the 15 minutes, you can quick release the remaining pressure. Carefully remove the lid and gently stir it all together.
Serve and Garnish
After a few minutes, the chili will begin to thicken. You’re then ready to serve this delicious chili with some awesome toppings. Some of my favorite toppings include: green onions, diced red onions, fresh cilantro, jalapeno slices, shredded cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt.
PrintRecipe
Best Damn Instant Pot Beef Chuck Chili
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Description
A hearty Instant Pot Beef Chuck Chili that’s loaded with beef, fresh veggies and a little heat. Easy recipe that’s ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into one inch pieces (or stew meat)
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 medium bell pepper (orange, yellow, red or green), diced
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
- 1.5 tbs chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (not drained)
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Season meat with salt and pepper. Turn instant pot to “sauté” mode and add the oil to the pot.
- Once oil is hot add the meat and brown for 2-3 minutes. (Make sure not to overcrowd the pot, do this step in 2 batches)
- Remove the meat to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno to the pot. Sauté for 3 minutes, or until slightly softened.
- Add ¼ cup of broth to pot and use a wooden spoon to deglaze (scrape up the stuck on bits off the bottom of the pot)
- Add the remaining broth, meat, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and Worcestershire and stir.
- Pour in the tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste. Don’t stir.
- Secure lid and make sure the seal is set to “sealing”. Pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. When the time is up, allow the instant pot to release naturally for 15 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.
- When pin drops, carefully remove the lid and gently stir everything together. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Chili will thicken.
- Serve with your favorite garnishes and toppings!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min (+15 release time)
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ale Swan says
Hi Jason – can you please give me your thoughts? My big question is “why doesn’t this recipe include garlic”? Maybe I’m missing something but usually chili includes garlic above and beyond the garlic in the chili powder. OK. My 2nd thought is for other readers and chefs – we honestly found this recipe too spicy. I love spices but it was too hot spicy as writte . So we have modified the recipe by adding 1.5 teaspoons of powdered garlic (Morton’s), and we substituted non-spicy for roasted diced tomatoes for the ones which include green Chili’s, and we did include the 1 jalapeño which isn’t very spicy after cooking. But I would really like to know why the recipe doesn’t include minced garlic or garlic powder. Thank you dear Jason!
RecipeTeacher says
So basically… no real reason, lol. When developing a particular recipe I always try and start with some very basic ingredients and build out from there. This was SO good, and had that nice beefy flavor I was looking for, so I left it at that.
However, I try and make all these recipes so that the reader can adjust to their own liking. You can absolutely add garlic and cut back on any spiciness. I LOVE when readers customize the recipes. I’ve learned a lot just from that.
Thanks for the feedback, as always!
Ale Swan says
Sorry Jason, this recipe was way too spicy for some members of my family. Perhaps you can add notes on adjusting the heat level? In this case, I chose the mild rotel cans, but even those were too spicy given the addition of jalapeños. Moving forward, I will use plain diced tomatoes and keep the fresh jalapeños. Also, I added 1/4 tsp of dried garlic. I know the chili powder contains garlic but the recipe needed more than what was in the chili powder. Overall it was very good but it was just too spicy / heated for my husband and FIL.
Katherine Dickerson says
I doubled the recipe and added 5 minutes to my instant pot time. It turned out great. I garnished with fritos scoops, chopped green onion, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. My friends loved it and asked me to share the recipe, so, I did. Thank you for publishing!!!
Brenda says
Everything turned out great. I added some dark chocolate and just one can of tomatoes. I also added corn and used beef broth. Used a ton of garlic. The timing of the beef made it turn out perfect
Ale Swan says
I agree – adding corn is a winner! The chocolate sounds interesting I must try that next time I make chili!
Becky C says
I think I failed in making this chili. I mixed all the ingredients up before seeing the recipe said to NOT mix them. Alas, I have faith it will turn out fine. Hoping by mixing before cooking that doesn’t cause a “BURN” to pop up. Smells delish.
RecipeTeacher says
My guess is that it will be fine. Let me know how it turns out.
Kirsten says
After a long day away from our home, I decided to take stewing beef out of the freezer. Defrosted quickly in the microwave, then added to the Instant Pot. I served it with a microwave-baked potato. It was very delicious and a keeper!
Alex says
HinJason! Just curious – why no garlic or garlic powder?