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chili in a bowl with sour cream.

Quick Beef Chili Recipe (Instant Pot, Stove or Slow Cooker)

4.89 from 107 votes
Made with both ground beef and beans, plus canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, and a homemade blend of chili seasonings, this is truly the Best Chili Recipe! Hearty, filling, and ready in under an hour, you can make this easy beef chili in the slow cooker or Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Beef (93% lean)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
  • 1/2 small onion (chopped)
  • 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1 15 ounce can reduced-sodium black beans (rinsed, drained)
  • 1 10 ounce can mild diced tomatoes with green chilies (drained)
  • 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
  • 3/4 cup light beer such as corona light (Or swap for 3/4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth (check labels for GF))
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • black pepper (to taste)

Optional Toppings:

  • chopped red onions, cilantro leaves, lime wedges, sour cream, cheddar, avocado

Instructions

Pressure cooker chili recipe:

  • Press saute on the Instant Pot, brown the beef and season with salt. Cook breaking beef into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
  • Add the onion and bell pepper and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer and spices.
  • Cover and cook on high pressure 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Natural release. Taste for salt and adjust as needed, serve with toppings, as desired.

Classic chili recipe (stove):

  • Heat a large pot on medium-high heat, brown the beef and season with salt. Cook breaking beef into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
  • Add the onion and bell pepper and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer and spices.
  • Cover and cook low heat at least 60 minutes to blend the flavors, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt and adjust as needed, serve with toppings, as desired.

Slow Cooker Directions:

  • Brown the meat then cook on low 8 hours. Taste for salt and adjust as needed, serve with toppings, as desired.

Video

Notes

Alcohol-free: If you don't like cooking with alcohol you can use an alcohol-free beer or swap with broth.
Variations: Swap the black beans for kidney beans or white beans. If you want to spice things up add jalapeno and use more chili powder.
How To freeze chili: Let the chili cool then transfer to a freezer safe container or freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. To defrost, transfer the chili to the refrigerator to thaw overnight then reheat on the stove or microwave.
Refrigerate chili up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 11/2 cups, Calories: 312kcal, Carbohydrates: 22.5g, Protein: 31.5g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 71mg, Sodium: 629.5mg, Fiber: 8.5g, Sugar: 2.5g
- WW Points: 1