Packed with nearly three pounds of ground beef, a from-scratch three-bean blend, and a secret touch of cocoa powder, it develops an incredibly deep, simmered-all-day flavor in a fraction of the time.

Serve it thick with sour cream, shredded cheese, and a handful of crunchy chips!

Why Make Chili in the Instant Pot?

A truly great bowl of chili con carne requires time for all the spices, tomatoes, and beef fat to meld together. Usually, that means keeping a heavy pot on the stove for hours.

The pressure cooker completely changes the game. By forcing liquid and spices into the meat under high pressure, you get that next-day chili flavor on the very first night.

Key Ingredients for Deep, Savory Flavor in Instant Pot Beef Chili

This recipe is all about building layers of flavor. We skip the generic canned chili and use specific, high-quality ingredients to create a robust base.

• The Meat & Fat: We use a hefty 2.68 pounds of 85/15 ground beef to make this incredibly hearty. Browning that beef in 1 ½ tablespoons of bacon fat adds an unbeatable smoky richness.
• The Dry Beans: Instead of mushy canned beans, we use about 1 cup each of dry black beans, dry pink beans, and dry kidney beans.
• The Base Liquids: To create a rich sauce, we combine 29 ounces of tomato sauce and 28 ounces of diced tomatoes with 2 cups of savory beef bone broth.
• The Secret Spices: Along with classic spices like chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika, our secret weapon is 2 ½ to 3 teaspoons of cocoa powder. The cocoa powder does not make it taste like chocolate. Instead, it adds a dark, earthy depth that pairs perfectly with the beef.

How to Cook Beans from Scratch in the Instant Pot

Cooking your own beans from dry is highly recommended for the best texture. We dedicate the first step of this recipe solely to the beans.

You will pressure cook the dry black, pink, and kidney beans on high for 50 minutes. Make sure they are covered with water and flavored with beef bouillon. This infuses the beans with a savory, meaty flavor from the inside out before they even hit the chili base.

The Layered Cooking Method

Once your beans are perfectly tender, it is time to build the chili.

1. Brown the Base: Sauté your ground beef in the bacon fat, then add your two diced onions and cook them until they are soft.
2. The Pressure Cook: Add in your cooked beans, beef bone broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and all of your spices. Pressure cook everything together for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, let the pot sit for a 10-minute natural release before carefully doing a quick release.
3. The Thickening Process: When you open the lid, the chili will look a bit watery. Switch your Instant Pot back to the Sauté function and let it bubble for 15 to 30 minutes until it reduces to your desired thickness.
4. The Rest: Turn the pot off and let the chili rest for 10 minutes. Do not skip this! The chili will naturally thicken up beautifully as it cools down.

How to Serve Leftovers

Serve your chili piping hot in big bowls. We highly recommend topping it with a dollop of sour cream, plenty of shredded cheese, a few dashes of hot sauce, and crunchy chips for dipping.

If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Chili is famous for tasting even better the next day, making this the perfect meal prep recipe.

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Instant Pot Beef Chili

This rich and hearty Instant Pot Beef Chili is the ultimate comfort food. Packed with nearly three pounds of ground beef, a from-scratch three-bean blend, and a secret touch of cocoa powder, it develops an incredibly deep, simmered-all-day flavor in a fraction of the time. Serve it thick with sour cream, shredded cheese, and a handful of crunchy chips!

Course Main Course, Soup, Stew

Cuisine American, Tex-Mex

Keyword best Instant Pot chili recipe, chili with cocoa powder, easy ground beef chili, homemade chili with dry beans, Instant Pot beef chili, thick pressure cooker chili

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 540kcal

Equipment

• Instant Pot Pro (8 QT) This recipe was made with an 8 QT Instant Pot Pro in mind.

Ingredients

Beef & Fat:

• 2.68 lb ground beef we used 85/15
• 1 ½ tbsp bacon fat

Beans (cooked from dry):

• ~1 cup black beans we used dry beans
• ~1 cup pink beans we used dry beans
• ~1 cup kidney beans we used dry beans
• beef bullion for beef flavor
• water to cover

Base:

• 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups beef bone broth
• 2 onions diced

Spices:

• 2½-3 tbsp chili powder
• 2½-3 tsp cumin
• 2½-3 tsp smoked paprika
• 2½-3 tsp cocoa powder
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• garlic powder to taste

Instructions

Beans:

• Pressure cook on high for 50 minutes, covered with water and some beef bullion.
  ~1 cup black beans, ~1 cup pink beans, ~1 cup kidney beans, beef bullion, water

Chili:

• Sauté bacon fat and brown the beef
  1 ½ tbsp bacon fat, 2.68 lb ground beef
• Add the onions and cook until soft
  2 onions
• Add in the black, pink, and kidney beans.

  Add in the beef bone broth

  Add in the garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, black pepper.

  Add in the tomato sauce and diced tomato cans.
  ~1 cup black beans, ~1 cup pink beans, ~1 cup kidney beans, 29 oz can tomato sauce, 2 cups beef bone broth, 2½-3 tbsp chili powder, 2½-3 tsp cumin, 2½-3 tsp smoked paprika, 2½-3 tsp cocoa powder, ½ tsp sugar, 1½ tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, garlic powder to taste, 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• Pressure cook for 25 minutes, natural release for 10, and then quick release.
• Sauté 15–30 min to desired thickness
• Rest 10 min (the chili will thicken as it cools)
• Serve with sour cream, cheese, chips & hot sauce

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