Mama's Simple Instant Pot Chili
Try this Mama's Simple Instant Pot Chili recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Mama's Simple Instant Pot Chili recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 235.734373137254 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 5.67511875375737 g
- Fiber 58.6315814233204 g
- Protein 75.4613218777485 g
- Saturated Fat 1.11690325066202 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (569g)
- Sodium 128.280750226429 mg
- Sugar 177.102791713934 g
- Trans Fat 1.48679075062212 g
- Calories 1282 calories
Step-by-step
- Soak beans overnight.
- Brown ground meat using the sauté function with healthy sprinklings of minced onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- After the meat browns hit the CANCEL button.
- Add all remaining ingredients, put the lid on your pressure cooker and make sure the vent valve is in the SEALING position.
- Using the display panel select the Bean/Chili button. If your Instant Pot does not have this function select the MANUAL function, high pressure, for 30 minutes.
- When the time is up quickly release the pressure by moving the vent valve to the VENTING position and enjoy!
True chili texture relies entirely on the starch gelatinization of the legumes and the render rate of the ground fat, two opposing physical forces that must be managed sequentially rather than simultaneously. When dry pinto beans undergo an overnight soak in water salted at roughly one tablespoon per quart, their seed coats soften evenly and absorb moisture to the center, preventing the dreaded blowout where outer starches dissolve into mush while the interior remains chalky. By browning the ground meat first using the high-heat sauté function, amino acids and reducing sugars undergo the Maillard reaction to build a deep savory foundation before any liquid enters the stainless steel insert.
Managing Moisture and Pressure
Pressure cooking operates by trapping steam to raise the boiling point of water, forcing ambient temperatures inside the vessel to reach approximately 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This intense thermal environment forces the proteins in both the meat and the softened pinto beans to relax faster than they would in a traditional Dutch oven, yielding a thick sauce without requiring cornstarch or flour slurries. Tomato sauce provides the necessary acidity to balance the earthiness of the chili powder, but adding too much liquid relative to the 1.5 cups of dry beans will prevent the starches from concentrating properly into a cohesive emulsion during the 30-minute high-pressure cycle.
- If the chili remains too watery after the quick release, set the cooker back to the sauté function and simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to evaporate excess moisture without scorching the bottom.
- Should the beans retain a firm center after the pressure cycle completes, secure the lid and allow the unit to sit undisturbed on the keep-warm setting for an additional 15 minutes to let residual heat finish softening the starches.
- When substituting canned beans for the dry pinto beans specified in the original method, reduce the cooking time under pressure to 10 minutes to prevent the pre-cooked legumes from disintegrating entirely.
