How do I use dry beans in chili?

Using dried beans makes the flavor of chili immensely better! In our instructions, we use the instant pot to do a faux "presoak" for the dry beans. Older and larger beans will take longer to soak. If you choose not to use the instant pot for soaking the beans, soak them for 8-12 hours, or until doubled in size and drain.

Why use dried beans instead of canned ones?

Not only are dried beans more affordable than canned, but their texture and flavor is so much better. Soaking dried beans can make them easier to digest as well. Canned beans also tend to have a higher sodium content.

What is the trick to a good chili?

Each ingredient listed has a purpose to the overall flavor of the chili. But some of the key ingredients that make a truly exceptional chili are dark beer, Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce) and dark cocoa powder. Each of these ingredients enhances all of the flavors in the chili and they add richness and depth. These unique additions are optional, but can really take a great chili to absolutely amazing!

How do I make this vegetarian or vegan?

Simply replace the protein with textured vegetable protein, soy crumbles, or vegan chorizo and use a vegetable broth to make this an instant pot vegetarian chili!

What is the "chili setting" on an instant pot?

The default "chili setting" on an instant pot is set at 30 minutes at high pressure - the reccommended time- which does make a nice batch of chili. You can increase the time, or lower the time, depending on the bean type and whether the beans have been pre-soaked.

How do you keep chili from burning in the instant pot?

Make sure the underside of the pot and the heating element are clean and free from any debris. Always ensure the steam valve is closed to prevent too much liquid from evaporating. After sauteing, always deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits. Make sure there is at least one cup of liquid.

Do you have to soak beans before Instant Pot?

While it is not imperative to soak beans before cooking them in an instant pot- pre-soaking the beans results in beans that are cooked more evenly and make them easier to digest. Large beans like Pinto beans or red beans tend to cook a little unevenly if unsoaked. Smaller beans like black beans, need not be presoaked, but larger beans or older beans, will benefit from pre-soaking. Here, we offer a faux "presoak" with the Instant pot.

Instant Pot Chili (with Dry Beans)

Description

Hearty Instant Pot Chili made with dried beans and your choice of ground meat or vegan crumbles. A deeply flavorful, easy one-pot dinner perfect with homemade cornbread. Serve it up with Our Favorite Homemade Cornbread. Video.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups dry pinto beans, soaked (or black beans)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound ground organic beef, chicken, turkey or vegan Textured Vegan Protein (1 3/4 cups dry and rehydrated) or "Soy crumbles" or soy chorizo!
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (or 1 tablespoon granulated garlic)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder, more to taste
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
14-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes with juices ( fire-roasted are nice here)
1-3 tablespoons fresh jalapeño, finely chopped (optional, adds a kick of heat)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 cups beef, chicken or veggie broth
1 cup dark beer (or sub more broth)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional) or soy sauce
1 -2 teaspoons dark cocoa powder (optional, adds delicious depth)
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika (optional, adds smoky flavor) or 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
Optional additions: For a smoky flavor, add canned chipotle ( or some of the adobo sauce) or a little smoked paprika. Other veggies: frozen corn (fire-roasted is nice) or diced red bell pepper, or poblanos. For a thicker chili, add 1-2 tablespoons masa harina corn flour to thicken.
Optional Garnishes: grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avocado, scallions, hot sauce, pickled red onions.

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Instructions

Soak the beans. Either soak the beans for 8-10 hours in a bowl of ample water, or faux-soak in the pressure cooker: place dry, unsoaked beans in the Instant Pot, add water to 1 inch above the level of the beans, and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. (See notes). Manually release. Drain and set aside.
Saute. Turn Instant Pot to Saute function and heat the oil. Add the onion and saute 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Add garlic and the ground meat (or soy crumbles). Saute 3-4 more minutes, while continuously stirring and breaking up the meat. I find a metal spatula comes in handy for this. Add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and sauté for 1 minute, letting the spices develop a bit. Add the diced tomatoes and juices, tomato paste, broth, beer, Worcestershire, cocoa powder, smoked paprika or chipotle, and optional jalapeño. Give a good stir, then add the drained soaked beans.
Pressure cook. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 22 minutes. Naturally release for 15 minutes.
Season. Give a good stir, adjust salt and heat. If you like a thicker chili, stir in a little masa harina or masa corn flour, sprinkling it in a tablespoon at a time. Simmer for 5 minutes to cook it. This also adds a delicious “corn” flavor. You can also stir in frozen corn and set to “saute” function until heated through.
Serve in bowls and garnish with any or all of the following: sour cream, grated cheese, avocado, sliced jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, corn chips.

Notes

Pre-Soaking: If your beans are very old (like older than a year) increase the pre-pressure cooking Time to 20 minutes. Older beans and bigger beans take longer to cook. Or soak in cold water for 12 hours or until doubled in size, then drain.

Canned Beans. If you would like to use canned beans, add 2 x 14-ounce cans and reduce the broth to ¼ -½ cup. Skip the beer.

If you do not want to pre-soak or pre-cook the dry pinto beans, they will take roughly 45-50 minutes of pressure cooking time, with some uneven cooking. Black beans will take roughly 25 minutes. That being said, yes, you can absolutely do it this way, just allow for the full, natural, long release. They will need 3 1/2-4 cups of liquid, so I’d add an extra 1/4 – 1/2 cup ( 3 cups broth, 1 cup beer)

I used a 6 Quart Instant Pot. -This recipe doubled, will not fit in a 6-quart.

Slow cooker. Yes you can use a slow cooker! Cook on high for at least 6 hours, or low for 8 hours. (Make sure beans are soaked!)

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 294
Sugar: 4.7 g
Sodium: 841.7 mg
Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
Carbohydrates: 38.9 g
Fiber: 9.3 g
Protein: 23.7 g
Cholesterol: 35.6 mg