This recipe for Instant Pot chili con carne is packed with flavor and can also be made in a slow cooker. I’ll share both ways in the recipe card and you’ll be enjoying a bowl in no time.
Have you ever had chili con carne? It’s super flavorful beef chili with no beans! And while I love a slow cooker chili with beans, sometimes you just want something quicker and different. So today I’m going to share with you an easy recipe for chili con carne – made in an Instant Pot or slow cooker.
What exactly is chili con carne?
- Chili con carne is a flavorful beef chili with no beans. And I’m not talking about ground beef, I’m talking about hearty beef chuck roast.
My husband first introduced me to chili con carne when we went on a trip to Phoenix and Scottsdale a few years ago. I had never even heard of it. He explained that chili con carne literally means ‘chili with meat’ and that he loved it from all his travels to the South West.
How to make chili con carne in an Instant Pot
- Combine olive oil, beef and onions in the Instant Pot.
- Add cumin, oregano and salt/pepper.
- Pour in salsa (or make salsa if needed), water and brown sugar.
- Seal Instant Pot and set for 25 minutes.
- When done, let steam release naturally.
- Ladle out one cup of liquid, stir in corn meal and return liquid to Instant Pot.
- Divide between four bowls, add toppings and enjoy!
I could share the most hilarious story about how Nick was so proud to make me a batch of chili con carne, but swore the final step was to add fish sauce – a whopping 4 tablespoons. I couldn’t believe it, but I trusted him and away we went! I’ll spare you all of the details, but I promise you, this particular attempt was not a success.
These days, I feel like I’m always short on time, so the Instant Pot is my best friend. This chili con carne is also great in a slow cooker, but obviously just takes longer. I’ll share info on both in the recipe card below.
What do you serve with chili con carne?
- Adding great toppings to chili is one of my favorite things to do. For chili con carne, I like to add any mixture of the below items:
- Avocados
- Onions
- Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Lime wedges
- Once you’ve got your toppings figured out, I love to enjoy chili alongside easy sweet potato cornbread muffins or slightly sweet skillet cornbread.
Tips for the best chili con carne:
- I use a jar of chipotle salsa for an extra shortcut/time savor, but I’ll share in the recipe how you can use the same ingredients (minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, diced tomatoes, jalapeño and garlic cloves if you don’t have the salsa).
- To give this recipe the final perfect touch, you add a little bit of cornmeal into the soup to thicken it up.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Easy Sweet Chili Fish Tacos Recipe
- Vegan Red Lentil Chili
- Healthy Slow Cooker Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Chili con Carne
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2.25 lbs boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- 1 jar chipotle salsa Or - 1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile, 4 garlic cloves and 1 jalapeno)
- 3 cups water or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
Optional toppings
- shredded cheddar cheese
- avocado slices
- red onion
- lime slices
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Combine olive oil, beef and onions in an Instant Pot and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add in cumin, oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper (or more to taste).
- Pour in salsa (or make salsa with ingredients in a food processor) and water and brown sugar.
- Seal Instant Pot and set for 25 minutes.
- When done cooking, let steam naturally release.
- Ladle out one cup of liquid, stir in corn meal and stir and return liquid to Instant Pot.
- Divide between four bowls and add toppings and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Combine olive oil, beef and onions in a pan and saute for 5 minutes.
- In a slow cooker add in meat and onions, then add in cumin, oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper (or more to taste).
- Pour in salsa (or make salsa with ingredients in a food processor) and water and brown sugar.
- Set slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
- Ladle out one cup of liquid, stir in corn meal and stir and return liquid to slow cooker.
- Divide between four bowls and add toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Howard Anstedt says
This was a great chili. Usually I do not like using pre-made salsa but the ingredients in the Frontera Gourmet Mexican Chipotle Salsa are all natural. Meaning I do not need a chemistry degree to know what is in it. Also normal grocery stores sell it. We used a standard pressure cooker and left it pressurized for maybe 45 minutes, I think 30 minutes would have been fine though.
We served it with cheddar cheese, oyster crackers and sour cream and it was excellent. We did add some local leftover La Fuente restaurant salsa we had which made it very spicy. I am sure it would have been just fine without it but maybe a little less spicy/hot.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! So glad you liked this recipe (and I completely laughed out loud in agreement at your ‘meaning I do not need a chemistry degree to know what is in it” comment.)