The Instant Pot soup recipes have been the most popular recipes here on Live Simply in the month of January, which tells me two things:
- It’s been a really cold winter (even in Florida where it snowed twice) and we are all in need of warm, comforting soup.
- We are all officially obsessed with making meals in the Instant Pot.
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My first experience with the Instant Pot came over three years ago. The Instant Pot was an expensive investment back then ($200+). On Amazon Prime Day, the price dropped to $99. I had read good reviews about the Instant Pot, and I was looking for something to buy on the first ever Amazon Prime Day, so I clicked the buy button.
Two days later the Instant Pot was delivered to my front door. To be honest, we got a little carried away with that first Amazon Prime Day, so the Instant Pot showed up with a large amount of other boxes, too. Not exactly what I would call being intentional and living simply (hello, clutter).
For months, the Instant Pot sat in my kitchen cabinet. I was terrified to use my new appliance due to one too many old-school pressure cooker horror stories. I used the slow-cooker function a few times, but other than that my Instant Pot never got a chance to show off its time-saving purpose.
Then, last year, Helen approached me about sharing an Instant Pot recipe on Live Simply. I thought about the idea, and since the Instant Pot was gaining popularity and many reader friends were requesting Instant Pot recipes, I responded, “Okay, let’s do it!”
The first recipe Helen perfected for Live Simply was Instant Pot Salisbury Steak. I remember testing the recipe after she turned in the written manuscript. I was terrified. I stood on the other side of my kitchen, watching the Instant Pot come to pressure, just waiting for the pot to explode.
The Instant Pot didn’t explode, and within 30 minutes I was able to serve a homemade dinner that included the best gravy ever. With one dinner under my belt, I became a believer in pressure cooking.
I now use my Instant Pot once or twice a week, mainly for making soup, cooking beans, or making chicken broth. I find that an electric pressure cooker is worth the investment for these three applications alone.
Soup, even soup that calls for raw meat and uncooked grains, can be made in under 30 minutes.
Beans take about 90 minutes to make, which is a lot of time. But if you’ve ever made beans on the stove-top or slow-cooker, you know that dry beans can take all day to cook. And chicken broth takes under 90 minutes as well.
Let’s talk about another soup recipe made in the instant Pot. Or more specifically, chili made in the Instant Pot…
Chili is very easy to make on the stove-top. It’s also easy to make in the Instant Pot. I think the big appeal for the Instant Pot is, again, the quick, hands-off nature of the cooking process. If you’re looking to go the hands-off chili route, this recipe is for you.
Instant Pot Classic Beef Chili
Ingredients
- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 2 TB chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1-2 small bell peppers diced* (about 1-1 1/2 cups once diced)
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup once diced)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth or stock, or chicken broth or veggie broth
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
Special Equipment:
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute, Normal Temperature. Once hot, add the olive oil.
- Add the ground beef and brown, making sure to crumble as you go. Once the beef is browned, add all the seasonings. Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Press the Cancel button. Splash in a small amount of beef stock and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beans and vegetables to the beef, and stir to combine.
- Pour the can of tomatoes and beef broth on top of the other ingredients. DO NOT STIR. The liquid remaining on top of the ingredients is what will help the pot come to pressure. Add the bay leaves.
- Lock the lid and set to Sealing. Set to Manual, High Pressure, for 6 minutes.
- Carefully perform a quick release (use a hot pad holder or towel) when the time is up and before opening the lid.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve. Taste the chili and add more salt, if needed. (Optional) Top with sour cream or Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, or cilantro. Another idea is to serve the chili over noodles.
Nutrition
Hands down, Best. Chili. Ever. It must be the cocoa powder! I’ve been using your stovetop chili recipe for a few years as my go-to, but for some reason I wanted to make it in the IP last night. I’m sooo glad I decided to come back to your site to check for an IP recipe! Hubby said this is his new favorite! Thank you, Kristin!
That’s awesome, Tiffany! So glad you all enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to rate the recipe, too, and share. That means so much.
I made this last night, but it turned out super watery (like chicken noodle soup consistency), and there was a slight raw taste–maybe the onions didn’t cook enough. I’m new to the instant pot–any ideas? I’m at normal elevation, and pressure cooked for 6 min on high, and let it slow release. Thanks!
Hi Courtney,
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out as expected for you. Instant Pot can be a little finicky when sautéing in it. Once done with sautéing you have to make sure to scrape all the bits off the bottom or it will not come to pressure correctly. Please let me know if you did do this so I can look more into it.
LS Team
Recipe was perfect. Submitted the beans for an 1/2 lb ground beef. Do you think a 6 quart Instapot would be able to double this recipe?
Glad you enjoyed! I think it would fit. It needs to be below the max fill line which is “10 cups” on some models. I’d aim for no more than 3/4 of the way full. As long as you pour the broth on top it should still work even if you can’t use fully double the amount. Let us know!
If doing this without beans would you substitute with something or just omit?
Hi Kaitlyn, I would just omit the beans.
I have heard so much about Instant Pot, I really need to buy one now. Almost all the pressure cooker recipes include Instant Pot. Makes you want to try it to see what’s so special about it! Really nice idea for beef chili you got there. For now, I’ll have to make it in my Stovetop pressure cooker, hope it all goes fine.
Another blogging friend of mine uses stovetop and Instant Pot recipes interchangeably (she only has stovetop), so I don’t think you’ll run into any issues. Technically the stovetop is at about 15 psi and the IP only gets up to about 12 psi max, so for longer cooking recipes you might need to adjust time. I wouldn’t adjust for this though!
Hey Marie, That should work great!
Winner winner Chili dinner! Loved loved loved, my only tweak was adding corn cause in this house we like corn in our chili. Other than that everything was done to the T and the flavors & heat were perfect even for this latina! Thanks Kristin, hubby approved! ?
Awesome, Crystal! I’m so glad You enjoyed the chili. Corn sounds like a great addition!
I tried this and it was so delicious! I think the cocoa is just right and adds a richness to the chili. I have a question though, when I made it I used diced tomatoes but do you think using crushed tomatoes will make it not cook properly in the instant pot? I have so many cans of this and wanted to use some up.
Thank you 🙂 I think you’d be fine – you still have the broth which is the liquid that will help it come to pressure the most, so changing the tomato consistency just that bit shouldn’t be a problem. Let us know!
Yum, can’t wait to try this! And please share how you’re doing chicken broth in under 90 minutes! I’m still slow cooking bones and veggies. What settings do you use?
Hey Tamara, Enjoy! I do high pressure for 60 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes for the pot to come to pressure (also, using warm water will reduce this time). If I’m short on time, I’ll do a quick release. If I have time to spare, I’ll let the Instant Pot naturally release.