Your Instant Pot pressure cooker is perfect for making vegetarian chili is absolutely loaded with unbelievable flavor and goodness. It’s a great meal that can be whipped together in a short time and is ready to enjoy in about a half-hour from start to finish. It’s instantly become one of my personal favorite recipes. It’s SO good!
Perfect Beginner Recipe
The Instant Pot is the perfect kitchen appliance for so many different wonderful recipes and cuisines. And it really excels when it comes to soup and chili recipes. The pressure cooking process naturally lends itself to meals such as this, which would normally require longer to cooking times using traditional methods. With this recipe, we can have the prep done in about 10 minutes by using simple ingredients, then we let the Instant Pot do it’s magic. The actual pressure cook time is only 10 minutes. With the time it takes to come to pressure, then the 5 minute release time, the whole dish cooks in about 20-25 minutes from start to finish. With the prep time being only around 10 minutes, we can have an awesome pot of the most flavorful chili in about a half hour. I love it!
Ingredients
The ingredient list is simple and will create a chili that eats like a meal with a robust flavor. The only prep you really need to do is to chop up an onion and a green pepper. The rest of the ingredients will be a mix of spices and canned goods. We’ll use the convenience of canned tomatoes, tomato puree and canned beans.
The Secret Ingredient
The secret ingredient is the adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce. Just a tablespoon of this wonderful sauce will bring the perfect balance to the other ingredients and really bring the flavor profile to life!
Sauté and Pressure Cook
We start be sautéing chopped onion and green pepper. We let them get all nice and vibrant for a few minutes until the onions start to get translucent and then we add some minced garlic for the final minute or so. Garlic can burn quickly so we only want it to sauté for about 1 minute after adding it. Then we add the dry ingredients (the spices) and press cancel to stop the sauté process. By stirring in the dry ingredients while there’s still the residual heat, we’re bringing those flavor to life by “blooming” them. If the bottom of the pot gets a little sticky, that’s ok. Next we pour in the vegetable broth and we can scrape any stuck on bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
Now it’s time for the canned ingredients to be added. First the tomato puree then add in the pinto beans, black beans, adobo sauce and the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (not drained). Stir it all, secure the lid and select pressure cook (“Manual” on some appliances) on high pressure for 10 minutes. When the pressure cook time is complete, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes before quick releasing the rest. Carefully remove the lid. Stir the chili and let is rest for a few minutes. It will thicken up quite a bit.
With our Instant Pot chili now ready to serve, you have a number of delicious options for toppings and garnishing. These include shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado and especially tortilla chips! Yep, break up a few tortilla chips and add them into the chili. You won’t believe how unbelievable the whole dish is!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How to store in fridge?
A: Let the chili cool and store in airtight plastic containers for 3-4 days.
Q: Can the chili be frozen?
A: One of the great things about chili is that it can easily be frozen to enjoy later. Simply wait for it to cool and add to freezer-safe, air tight plastic containers and freeze for up to 4 months.
Q: I don’t have the can of adobo sauce. What can I substitute?
A: The adobo sauce is a unique flavor and highly recommended. But, you can recreate some of the flavor by mixing 1 tbs of cider vinegar, ½ tbs smoked paprika, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cumin and a pinch of cayenne. Mix it into a paste and use it that way.
Q: What can I do with the remaining can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce?
A: This stuff is great in so many other wonderful recipes. Chop it up and add to barbecue sauce to really pump up the flavors. Here’s some other recipes which use it from Taste of Home.
Q: Can I add more ingredients that I like?
A: This is chili. There’s really not much you can’t add! I love to add an additional red, yellow or orange pepper.
Q: Can I make this if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
A: You sure can! Use a large pot or Dutch oven and place it over medium heat on the stovetop. Follow steps 1-4. When everything is finally added, cover and let simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes.
Recipe
Best Damn Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Total Time: About 30 minutes
- Yield: About 7 cups
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A hearty and robust Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe that is easy to make and ready to serve in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbs chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tbs adobo chipotle chili sauce *(see notes below)
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1 can (14.5oz) diced fire roasted tomatoes (not drained)
- 1 can (14.5oz) black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 can (14.5oz) pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- Salt to taste (usually about 1tsp)
- 2 tsp canned diced green chilies (optional)
Instructions
- Add olive oil to Instant Pot and press sauté. Once hot, add onion and green pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
- Add garlic and continuing sautéing for 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Press cancel and then add all dry ingredients (chili powder, cumin, oregano) . Mix well for about 30 seconds.
- Add vegetable broth and scrape bottom of pot with wooden spoon to get up any stuck on bits.
- Add in diced tomatoes, adobo sauce, tomato puree, black beans, pinto beans and gently stir it all together. Add salt.
- Secure lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When time is complete, let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes before quick releasing remaining pressure.
- When pin drops, carefully remove lid and stir. Chili will thicken within a few minutes.
- Serve with favorite garnishes including cheddar cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, jalapenos and cilantro.
Notes
Tomato puree can be substituted with by using a 6oz can of tomato paste and adding an additional ⅓ cup of vegetable broth.
Use adobo sauce from a can (usually 7oz) of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. Save remaining sauce and peppers for other recipes. Substitute adobo sauce with 1 tbs of cider vinegar, ½ tbs smoked paprika, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cumin and a pinch of cayenne.
Add an additional red, yellow or orange pepper for even more flavor and goodness!
For stovetop: Follow steps 1-4 using a large pot or Dutch oven over a medium flame on stovetop. Then cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min (+5 min to build pressure and 5 min release time)
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: instant pot, vegetarian, chili
Rana
Made this last night, and it was a big hit. Instead of using the separate spices, I used a lime and jalepeno taco seasoning mix. Super easy dump and go recipe. Will definitely be keeping this for later.
★★★★★
Bernie
I hate to open a can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce just to spoon out a tablespoon of the sauce. I noticed that Tapatio® sells an 8oz packet of Adobo Sauce. Looking at the ingredients it’s just Tapatio Hot Sauce® and spices (cider vinegar, tomato paste canola oil, garlic powder, onion powder & salt). I have Tapatio Hot Sauce and it seems I could put a few drops in a tablespoon, fill the remainder with cider vinegar and add a dash of onion and garlic powder.
BTW, everyone in this household thinks your Best Damn Pork Tenderloin is exactly that!
RecipeTeacher
Hi Bernie! So the can of chipotle peppers with adobo sauce is SO worth it for this recipe. In fact, I always wind up using 2 or 3 tablespoons of the sauce. And, it stays well in the fridge. You can also use it for this recipe…
https://recipeteacher.com/air-fryer-chipotle-chicken-breast/
I’ve also found the cans in 3.5oz for under $1.00. It’s great stuff. Thanks so much for the feedback and i’m glad you guys like the pork tenderloin!!
Bernie
Made this tonight for Tex-Mex Tuesday. We plan the week’s menu on Fridays so next chance I would have been able use a can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce would be a week out. Used 1 tsp of Tapatio Hot Sauce® and 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar instead. I was also surprised when I went to get a can of fire roasted tomatoes and was all out. Had a can of Rotel® diced tomatoes with green chili peppers which I used instead. That’s a nice way to get the 2 tsp of diced green chilies with out having around another almost full can to use. It’s not like we’re a Mexican restaurant. Rotel® comes in 10 oz cans instead of the 14 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough liquid but the opposite was true. I added the extra 1/3 cup of stock since I used the tomato paste substitution. Wouldn’t do this next time since we like our chili thick.
Heat and taste were spot on. I’m thinking something like brown lentils might be just what this needs to achieve that thicker texture. The family really loved this. Only 4 stars because we have a red lentil recipe that scores slightly higher by family vote; mainly because the texture was so spot on with that recipe.
★★★★