This Texas Roadhouse chili is the ultimate comfort food on a cool day. While chili typically takes hours to simmer and develop those deep, rich flavours we all know and love, this chili comes together in just 40 minutes in the Instant Pot! Served with homemade jalapeño corn bread, comfort food has never been easier.
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
- A quick take on chili: The Instant Pot produces flavourful and high quality chilli without having to labour over the stove all day. This means you can have chilli on the table on a weeknight! For a chicken version of classic chili, this Instant Pot White Chili Chicken, or Instant Pot Crack Chili Chicken are delicious alternatives!
- A beans-inclusive recipe: This is controversial - I know. I, for one, love beans in my chilli, as it adds to the meatiness and heartiness of the dish. If you are a fan of vegetarian chili, packed with beans, you'll love this Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili.
- Not overly spicy: This chilli is flavourful, but not overwhelmingly spicy. If you prefer it that way, the spice level is easily customizable!
🥘Ingredients
- Ground beef: I recommend using an 80/20 blend, which is 80% meat and 20% fat. This chili will get a lot of its richness from the blend of meat and fat.
- Chicken broth: A small amount of chicken broth is needed for cooking in the Instant Pot, to avoid getting a burn notice while cooking. I like to use reduced sodium chicken broth, to control the salt content on my own.
- Diced tomatoes: Diced tomatoes are the ideal tomatoes for this chili, as they add a little bit of texture as well as liquid. Diced tomatoes also add a good amount of acidity to the dish.
- Kidney beans: Canned kidney beans work just fine in this chili. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans to get rid of the starchy canning liquid.
- Chopped green chiles: These add the right balance of spice and acidity. Green chiles are not overly spicy, which keeps the chili balanced.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Ground beef: You can use ground chicken or turkey for a lighter twist.
- Chicken broth: You can use beef broth or vegetable broth, depending on what you have on hand.
- Chopped green chiles: You can omit these if you cannot find them, or substitute with some finely chopped pickled jalapeños for a similar acidic heat.
- Kidney beans: Feel free to leave out the beans if you are team no-beans. Alternatively, you can try this with pinto beans too.
- Corn starch: You can use masa harina [corn flour] to thicken the chili. Sprinkle in a tablespoon when you would use the corn starch.
🔪Variations
- Extra spicy: Add in extra cayenne pepper to the chili to make this extra spicy.
- Chocolate: This may sound strange, but chocolate in chili is a fantastic way to deepen and richen the flavours.
- Sausage: To make this extra meaty, add some chorizo sausage.
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Chop your ingredients - Dice the onion and finely mince the garlic.
Turn your Instant Pot on sauté mode, on HI. Spray with some cooking spray, and add the chopped onions and garlic. Sweat the onions until they are translucent - they do not need to be brown. [photo 1]
Once the onions have softened, add the ground beef to the Instant Pot. With a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, break down the ground beef. Again, it does not need to be browned, just broken down. [photo 2]
Add the chopped chiles, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, kidney beans, and spices to the pot. Stir, and cover with the lid. [photo 3]
Ensure your pressure valve is set to sealing position. Pressure cook the chili for 20 minutes on HI. Quick release once done.
Once the pressure has released, switch to sauté mode once again on HI. Let the chili simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the corn starch slurry and simmer for another 5 minutes. [photo 4]
Serve with your favourite fixings!
💭Expert Tip
For an authentic texas chili, you can leave the beans out. Texas roadhouse does serve their chili with beans, but in Texas the state, beans are a no-no. The choice is yours!
For the best texture, make sure you break down the beef into small crumbles before pressure cooking. This will give the chili a nice, rich texture without large chunks of ground meat.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
Store leftover or pre-made chili in the fridge for 3-4 days, in an airtight container. You can also freeze the chili in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.
Reheat on the stove in a sauce pan, or in the microwave.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Authentic texas chili does not have beans in it! I believe it is a matter of preference, though.
Yes, you can freeze chili. Freeze the chili in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. You can also freeze chili flat in a ziploc freezer bag, for easy defrosting.
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Texas Roadhouse Chili {Instant Pot}
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ Yellow onion - diced
- 3 cloves Garlic - minced
- 1 lb Ground beef - 80/20 fat content
- 1 ½ tablespoon Chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning
- ½ tablespoon Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 15 oz can Red kidney beans - drained and rinsed
- 10 oz can Rotel diced tomatoes
- 4 oz can Diced green chiles
- 1 tablespoon Corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Cold water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Saute the onions: Turn your Instant Pot on sauté mode, on HI. Spray with some cooking spray, and add the chopped onions and garlic. Sweat the onions until they are translucent - they do not need to be brown.½ Yellow onion, 3 cloves Garlic
- Brown the beef: Once the onions have softened, add the ground beef to the Instant Pot. With a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, break down the ground beef. Again, it does not need to be browned, just broken down.1 lb Ground beef
- Add the remaining ingredients: Add the chopped chiles, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, kidney beans, and spices to the pot. Stir, and cover with the lid.1 ½ tablespoon Chili powder, 1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning, ½ tablespoon Smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper, 1 cup Chicken broth, 15 oz can Red kidney beans, 10 oz can Rotel diced tomatoes, 4 oz can Diced green chiles, Salt to taste
- Pressure cook: Ensure your pressure valve is set to sealing position. Pressure cook the chili for 20 minutes on HI. Quick release once done. While the chili is cooking, mix together the corn starch slurry and set aside.1 tablespoon Corn starch, 1 tablespoon Cold water
- Thicken: Once the pressure has released, switch to sauté mode once again on HI. Let the chili simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the corn starch slurry and simmer for another 5 minutes.
✱Recipe Notes
- For an authentic texas chili, you can leave the beans out. Texas roadhouse does serve their chili with beans, but in Texas the state, beans are a no-no. The choice is yours!
- For the best texture, make sure you break down the beef into small crumbles before pressure cooking. This will give the chili a nice, rich texture without large chunks of ground meat.
- Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, or anything else you prefer.
Superna
Fantastic!!!
Jere Cassidy
I just got an IP, must be the last person on earth to get one!!! Gotta try this chili, and I want to try the chocolate in it.
Brianna
Cozy, comforting and quick; doesn't get much better!
rika
I love anything that is under 30 minutes! I love chili too.
Anjali
Love this super easy one-pot chili!! It turned out great and my whole family loved it!
Dannii
We are always looking for new ways to use our instant pot and this looks delicious. So hearty and comforting too.