Instant Pot beef chili is the perfect meal when you want something hearty, filling, and protein packed, but don’t want to do too much work.

This chili is a one pot meal and ready in under an hour thanks to the Instant Pot! It cuts down the cooking time to a fraction of the amount it would generally take to get a tender chili.

You can use this in so many ways. I used it to make chili cheese dogs. But it can also used for chili fries, chili nachos, chili sandwiches, or even just a bowl of chili!
The ingredients are also pretty simple but pack a lot of flavor:
Ground Beef– if you want a lighter chili you can also use ground chicken or ground turkey. But ground beef is traditional
Onion– just roughly chop and toss is it with the beef. The pressure cooker will will break it down!
Garlic– lots and lots of garlic
Spices– salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, paprika., and cinnamon
Cocoa Powder– technically this counts as a spice, but cocoa powder gives the chili more depth and almost a smokey taste
Canned Beans-I like to use Dakota’s Pride brand grilled style beans in southern BBQ. It adds great flavor and is already tender so it melts into the chili
Tomato sauce– one can will do
Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies– one can for extra flavor
Simply dump everything into the Instant Pot, give it a good mix, then close the lid and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.

To serve, ladle into a bowl and top with green onions and shredded cheddar cheese. Or spoon over hot dogs like I did!
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 2.5 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 8-10 cloves or garlic, minced
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 can BBQ beans-I used Dakota’s Pride
- 1 can tomato purée
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies
Directions
1. Turn the instant pot on to sauté mode and add in all the ingredients*
2. Give everything a good mix, then close the lid and make sure it is sealed
3. pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Then release the pressure and the chili is ready to serve
4. To make chili cheese dogs, cook hotdogs, add to bun, too with chili, shredded cheese, and green onions
Notes
*To make chili on stove top instead, follow the same directions but in a Dutch oven or large pot. Mix dry ingredients together on high heat, then add canned wet ingredients, mix again, cover, and cook on low heat for several hours, mixing occasionally.