Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe

 This is a sponsored post for Head Country. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view. 

Easy Chili Recipe

Do y’all know what time of year it is?! It’s time for this Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe! Oh, how I adore fall and winter! Summer’s brutal heat gives way to a gentler, more subdued temperature as the cool, crisp, winds of autumn begin to rustle the leaves in the sturdy old oak trees. Squirrels begin their frantic search for sustenance as winter slowly begins to take hold of the land with it’s skeletal fingers. Everyone is alive with the fresh promise of new beginnings, fires crackle merrily in houses all over town, and the laughter of children fills the yard as leaf piles are raked and then destroyed by giggling boys and girls.

Pumpkins and scarecrows begin to grace the front porches of neighbors, and you may even see a pointy black hat or a ghostly white shape in the yard. It seems that in the brief fall and winter months, time slows down and we are allowed to savor the moment and live in a slower, gentler, season. With the onslaught of falling leaves and brisk breezes comes the advent of Chili Season. We all seek comfort from foods that we know and love, and this Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe is going to be your new family favorite!

Best Chili Recipe with the Best BBQ Sauce

No matter what you have planned this fall and winter, make sure your plans include the Best Chili Recipe! We just love chili in the cooler months. There’s something about coming home to a bowl full of chili on a cold, rainy evening or inviting a bunch of friends over for game night and chili. So many wonderful memories are made around good chili and this chili is extra special for two reasons. First, this Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe has two secret ingredients – The Best BBQ Sauce  and Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning.

Now, before we move any further, let me just say that this Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe DOES NOT taste like Bar-B-Q Sauce! I know some of you are wondering, so I just wanted to clear that up right away.  The particular flavor of this Best BBQ Sauce that I used in this easy chili recipe actually doesn’t taste anything like your traditional, super thick and extra sweet Bar-B-Q sauce. Head Country Hot & Spicy Sauce is just that – hot, spicy, and absolutely delicious in this Instant Pot Spicy Chili and it pairs beautifully with their Head Country High Plains Heat Seasoning that I used as well.

Instant Pot Spicy Chili

Now that we have all of the announcements out of the way, let me tell you the second reason this Instant Pot Chili Recipe is so special. You have probably already guessed from the name that this chili is made in the Instant Pot, but the other wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is ready in only 25 minutes from start to finish! Yes, that’s right! Only 25 minutes, completely effortless, and totally delicious! How can you even beat that?! Well, you just can’t!  The night I made this easy chili recipe I was tired and exhausted from a long day and didn’t even feel like cooking.

It was so nice to just reach into my pantry, grab the ingredients I needed and have dinner on the table in 25 minutes. I was a happy Momma and my family were sure happy to enjoy the warm, comforting meal! To get started, I’m using my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cooker here. Any electric pressure cooker will work! Lay out your ingredients (listed in the recipe card below) and select the “saute” feature on the Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Chili Recipe

Once the Instant Pot begins to warm, add in:

1 pound of lean ground beef (ground venison will also work)

1 tablespoon fresh, minced garlic

2 tablespoons dried minced onion

2 tablespoons Head Country High Plains Heat Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

Best Instant Pot Chili Recipe

Once all of your spices and seasonings have been added to the meat in the Instant Pot, grab a spatula or meat muddler. I highly recommend a meat muddler because it works so well to break and crumble up your ground meat into small pieces! I received this one as a gift last year for Christmas but I think they can be found at almost any large grocery store or home kitchen store. Use the meat muddler (or spatula) to break the square of meat up into smaller pieces and mix in your seasonings as you go.

Ground Beef Chili

The saute function on the Instant Pot is automatically set to run for 30 minutes, but don’t worry, you won’t need it that long. The Instant Pot gets so hot while sauteing that it only took me 5 minutes to have my meat completely cooked and it was still partially frozen!

Homemade Chili Recipe

Once your ground meat is completely cooked through and broken into fine crumbles, turn the Instant Pot off. There is no need to leave the saute function on while adding in the other ingredients – you don’t want to burn your meat!

Quick Chili Recipe

Time to add in those veggies! Grab two, 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies with the juice and add them to the ground beef in the Instant Pot. I used mild diced tomatoes with green chilies and my chili was still plenty spicy, but if you want to ramp the heat up a few notches use medium or hot diced tomatoes with green chilies.

Ground Beef Chili Recipe

Once you’ve added in the diced tomatoes with green chilies, open one, 14.5 ounce can of red kidney beans. Drain the kidney beans and then place them in the Instant Pot with the other ingredients. There is no need to rinse the kidney beans before adding them in, just make sure you drain them really good.

Homemade Chili with The Best BBQ Sauce

Give the ingredients in the Instant Pot a good stir, then add in 3/4 cup of Head Country Hot & Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce, 28 ounces tomato sauce, and 1 cup of beef bone broth. In case any of you are wondering, I DO NOT recommend substituting the Best BBQ Sauce for another brand – why would you do that when it’s the best?  The simple reason is because I’ve never found any other brand that can compare in flavor and texture to this particular sauce and adding regular BBQ sauce just won’t taste good or mesh well with this recipe.

Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe

Once you’ve added in the Head Country Hot & Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce, the tomato sauce, and the beef bone broth, give everything a good stir. You can taste the chili at this point since your meat is cooked and add in a little extra salt or spice if you feel it is needed.

Easy Instant Pot Chili Recipe

Now that all of your ingredients have been added to the Instant Pot and everything has been stirred together, place the lid on your pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place and set the steam release valve to the sealing position. Select the Bean/Chili pre-set cooking feature, then use the addition or subtraction buttons on the front display to adjust the cooking time to 15 minutes. Make sure the display reads “high pressure” and “normal”.

Once the cook time is set, the Instant Pot will beep three times to let you know everything is good to go and the cooking process has begun. If you have a fear of pressure cookers like I did at first, don’t worry! They beep, sizzle, pop, and hiss when coming to pressure – sort of like a mad rattle snake! haha! But I can assure, all of the weird noises do NOT mean they are about to explode and take the house down with them. 

The Best Easy Chili Recipe

Once the cooking cycle has completed, you will hear three loud beeps and the Instant Pot will begin a count letting you know how long the food has been in once the cooking process is complete. You can allow the pressure to release naturally (which can take up to 30 minutes) or you can quick release the pressure like I did. Use a long handled spatula or spoon (Not your fingers!) to move the steam release valve to the venting position. Hot steam will immediately began to erupt from the steam release valve when you shift the position so it’s very important not to have your fingers anywhere near the valve when that happens. Once the steam has been completely released from the pressure cooker, the pressure pin on the top of the lid will drop and you will be able to unlock and remove the lid.

Best Instant Pot Chili

Once you’ve removed the lid from the pressure cooker, stir the chili really well so that all of the ingredients combine. Grab a ladle and get ready to serve up this Instant Pot Chili because your family will probably already be gathering around, ready to dig in!

The Best Classic Chili Recipe

Since the chili is cooked, go ahead and turn the Instant Pot off from keeping the chili warm by pressing the “cancel” button on the bottom. If you’re serving this chili at a home-gating party, Halloween party, or game night, you can go ahead and leave it on to keep the chili warm. Once the pressure cooking feature has cooked it’s allotted time, the Instant Pot just defaults to a “keep warm” feature so there’s no worry of burning the chili if you choose to keep the Instant Pot on.

Award Winning Chili Recipe

Okay, so while this chili may not have won any official awards, it definitely won the “Husband Approved” award in my house! We love to serve our Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe with corn chips, sour cream, and shredded American, Colby, Cheddar, or Pepper jack cheese. Some other toppings that taste great with this Easy Chili Recipe include: diced purple onion, sliced avocado, or sliced jalapenos.

Best Freezer Friendly Chili Recipe

If you have any chili leftover (which you probably won’t, but just in case!) you can store it in freezer safe airtight containers with lids. Label the containers with the name of the recipe and the date you made it, then place in the freezer for up to three months. Set in the fridge to thaw and then heat in the microwave or on the stove top for round 2 of a delicious, fast and easy chili meal! If you don’t have any plastic or glass storage containers on hand, you can also use some sturdy freezer safe ziploc bags.

I hope you have enjoyed your time in my kitchen today and that you will come back soon and cook with me! I have many wonderful fall/winter/and holiday themed recipes coming your way that you won’t want to miss out on! Hope you have a wonderful Monday and a great week.

5 from 1 vote

Print

Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe

This Easy Chili Recipe is spicy, delicious, and made in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker in only 25 minutes! Fast and easy Game Day Chili! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Easy Chili Recipe, Game Day Chili Recipe, Instant Pot Spicy Chili Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8 cups

Author Amy - The Speedy Spatula

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef or venison
• 3/4 cups Head Country Bar-B-Q Hot & Spicy Sauce
• 28 oz tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef bone broth
• 2 tbsp Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning
• 2 tbsp dried minced onion
• 1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 2 10 oz cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis NOT drained - mild, medium, or hot
• 1 14.5oz can red kidney beans drained

Instructions

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker Instructions:

1. Place the lean ground beef or venison in the Instant Pot and add in the Head Country High Plains Heat Seasoning, dried minced onion, salt, chili powder, paprika, fresh minced garlic, and garlic salt.

2. Use a spatula or meat muddler to break the meat into small pieces and set the Instant Pot to the Saute mode. 

3. Continue sautéing the meat, using a spatula or meat muddler to continue breaking the meat into small pieces as you mix the seasonings in.

4. Saute the meat until it is fully cooked, then turn the Instant Pot off. 

5. Add in two cans of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, undrained.

6. Drain the can of red kidney beans then add them to the ingredients in the Instant Pot.

7. Add in the Head Country Bar-B-Q Hot & Spicy sauce, the tomato sauce, and the beef bone broth.

8. Stir all ingredients together, then place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it into place. 

9. Set the steam release valve into the sealing position, then select the Bean/Chili feature. 

10. Adjust the cook setting to 15 minutes on high pressure and allow the Instant Pot to do it's job.

11. Once the cooking cycle is complete, quick release the pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position.

12. Carefully remove the lid, give the Chili a good stir, and serve with your desired toppings. 

Slow Cooker Instructions:

1. Brown the meat in a skillet with the spices and seasonings, using a meat muddler or spatula to break the meat into tiny pieces.

   
   

2. Place the meat in the cooked meat in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker and add in all other ingredients.

3. Stir well and place the lid on the slow cooker.

4. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6 hours. 

Recipe Notes

Some great toppings for this chili include: Sour cream, shredded cheddar, American, Colby, or Pepper jack cheese, sliced jalapeños, diced red onion, and corn chips.