The ultimate comfort food from my childhood! Brown up some beef, add beans, tomato sauce, water and that good ole’ bag of premixed spices. Let it all stew away and you had yourself a good pot of chili. For the longest time, I kept on making it like my mama did. It was so easy and cheap! As we started moving to a more natural lifestyle, I was ready to move on from prepackaged mixes.
Yet, I knew we couldn’t give up chili. It’s always been a favorite of mine and I’m pretty sure it’s my husband’s absolute favorite food. So we tried some different recipes. They were not that great. They either had huge tomato chunks (I’m not a fan of just chunks of tomatoes), were too watery, had too many vegetables, or they had no beans. We were looking for something thick, meaty, with plenty of beans for filling up the stomach and moderately spicy. I finally found a slow cooker recipe that seemed promising. Without much hope, I made a batch. It was so spicy that not even my spice loving husband could eat it! However, he could tell that it had promise. So I made another batch, this time drastically reducing the amount of cayenne powder. Now that was a good bowl of chili!
It’s been our go to recipe ever since. I could make up a pot every week and my husband wouldn’t mind one bit! Over time, I’ve tweaked the recipe and made some changes, the main one being quantity. We started with a small crockpot and eventually migrated to an Instant Pot. This recipe fits perfectly in an 8 qt. Instant Pot, feeding our large family while having leftovers, or even feeding another small family!
It’s become a staple in the house and the perfect meal on a cozy autumn day or winter evening. Serve with a delicious pan of Buttery Corn Bread and you’ve got a perfect meal that everyone loves! We’ve served it to lots of guests and brought is a meal for someone in need many a time, and everyone seems to love it! So I’m sure that you and your family will love it too. The best thing about it is that it’s completely gluten and dairy free, so it’s great for feeding people with food sensitivities. You can also adjust the seasonings for your preferences.
Instant Pot Hearty Chili
The perfect slow cooker recipe for a hearty chili to satisfy anyone!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4-8 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 4 oz. can diced green chilis
- 29 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 29 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 29 oz. cans of black beans
- 1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. celery salt
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 3 Tbsp. chili powder
- 4 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Cook ground beef on Sauté in the Instant Pot or in a saucepan on the stove.
- Add all ingredients to a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- In a crockpot, cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- In an Instant Pot, hit the Bean/Chili button and make sure the vent is set to sealing.
Notes
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and some hot Buttery Corn Bread.