Ways To Serve Your Lentil Chili
Now the fun part, serving! Chili is one of those things that you can kind of go crazy with. If I’m having people over, I might do a chili bar situation with all sorts of toppings, but if I’m at home, then I’ll keep things pretty simple. I’ll include toppings like:
- Avocado
- Sliced jalapenos
- Fresh cilantro
- and maybe even some crumbled up corn chips
But no matter how you serve it, this lentil chili is a winner! It’s thick, it’s nourishing, it’s full of plant-based protein and best of all, it’s super easy to make. Oh, and did I mention it’s also great for meal prep? Well, it is, so yay!
Should I Add Cocoa Powder Espresso Or Cinnamon To Chili
These ingredients are so-called flavor enhancers, so if you have some on hand you can either add 1 espresso shot, or 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, or 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. They will enhance the flavor of the chili and give it an earthy tone.
Add any of these before you add the crushed tomatoes. Do not use all of the flavor enhancers, just pick one. Or combine the cocoa with the cinnamon or the espresso with the cinnamon.
Should I add apple cider vinegar to the chili?
If you would prefer a more tangy taste to your chili, adding 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or even balsamic vinegar at the end, once its cooked, it will enhance the tomato flavor and make it tangier.
How do you sweeten up a chili?
When you taste and adjust for salt and pepper, if you are looking for a sweeter chili, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
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Homemade Chili In Less Time
For years my hubby made his chili on the stove and it took several hours to achieve perfection. I have to admit though, it was worth it for the amazing chili it produced.
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Recently, I challenged him to make a faster version of his stovetop chili so I could share it on the blog. He did not disappoint!
Amazing flavor, in a lot less time. But we really felt we could adapt his original recipe to the Instant Pot to make it even easier and faster. So we got to work and came up with this recipe with dry beans.
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What The Instant Pot Can Do For Your Chili
Pressure cooking can do a whole lot of good for your next bowl of chili. There are the practical benefits, like giving you all-day flavor in a fraction of the cooking time and being able to brown the ground beef right in the pot, but pressure cooking also means you can use dried beans. Dried beans not only release their starch to thicken the stew as they cook, but also flavor the stews base. Theyre soaked overnight for better texture and even faster cooking.
For Your Information
- Soak the beans for eight to 12 hours for faster cooking.
- Cook the chili on HIGH manual pressure for 15 minutes and natural release for 15 minutes.
Saut Onion Garlic Spices
Now, add diced onions, minced garlic, 1 tbsp ground cumin seed, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp dried oregano in Instant Pot.
*Note: Adjust the amount of chili powder depending on your chili powders spiciness and how spicy you want your chili to be.
Sauté for about 5 minutes until the spices start to release their fragrance. Stir frequently.
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Can I Use Dry Beans For Chili
While this recipe calls for canned beans to save time, you most certainly can use dried beans! Heres what youll need to do:
- Rinse and pick through your beans , discard any broken pieces.
- Add the dried beans to the liner of your Instant Pot and cover with 1 inch of water.
- Pressure cook on HIGH for 12 minutes, then quick release.
- Drain the beans and set aside.
- Follow the remainder of the recipe as written.
Heres A Video Showing You How Easy Instant Pot Chili Is To Make:
If you need to set it for the day and go follow the directions above but push the slow cooker setting instead of manual and pressure. It should automatically set to 4 hours total so it is still shorter than cooking in a traditional crockpot AND you dont have to dirty a pan on the stovetop to cook the meat beforehand.
You can also easily leave out the meat and make an easy vegetarian Instant Pot chili too with this. Either way, the fast or slower version tastes great, depends on how much time you have.
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What Exactly Is Chili Con Carne
Theres lots of conjecture and debate about the origins of Chili Con Carne and who has the most authentic recipe!
In Spanish, the word chile refers to a chili pepper, and carne is simply the Spanish word for meat.
A recipe dating back to the 1850s describes dried beef, suet, dried chili peppers and salt, which were pounded together, formed into bricks and left to dry, which could then be boiled in pots to make chili, but its not the recipe as we know it today.
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Reheat Chili In Instant Pot
The chili from the night before always tastes better, but only if its reheated correctly. Chili is such an instant food. Cook in bulk, freeze it and eat it whenever the hunger pangs strike. If you dont have time to cook each day, cooking and storing chili for later is your solution to a quick meal. If you plan to cook loads of chili, youll need to learn the proper way to reheat chili in instant pot. Thats the quickest, or shall we say instantaneous, way to reheat this delicious and mouthwatering food.
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This Chili Is A Staple Recipe
Chili is one of the dinners I make on a regular basis year round. We eat it every other week.
I keep ground beef in the freezer so like I said I have everything on hand, I usually always stock bell peppers too but if I dont have one I just skip it.
I love the flavors, its so filling, its easy to make, I almost always have everything for it on hand, and my whole family loves it.
Plus it freezes well so I save whats left for my kids school lunches. I let it thaw in the fridge for a day then reheat and put it in their Thermoses.
How To Make Chili In An Instant Pot
Making this recipe in an instant pot is really easy because theres an actual setting for chili and beans . That pretty much takes all of the thinking out of this, and everything can be done in the instant pot, which means only one dish to clean!!
Lets go through it step by step:
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What To Serve With Chili Con Carne
First of all you need some toppings to make it EXTRA delicious! Avocado, a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro, a few sliced of jalapeño, and a couple squeezes of lime juice if you like.
The side can be anything from white rice, to brown rice, to quinoa, or simply a piece of bread. It all depends on how many more pots you want to get dirty )
I love to eat it with just the toppings and no sides but a few times I have made a side dish. My favorite side for chili is rice and ever since I have my Instant Pot I exclusively make Instant Pot Rice. I couldnt be more in love with this awesome machine!!!
Instant Pot Mini Chili Is A Quick And Easy Dinner For Cold Winter Nights Its Been On My List Of Recipes To Try Once The Cooler Weather Came Around
Maybe its just me, but with all the chili recipes available, it feels like there are a lot of passions around what to include in your chili. Beans or no beans. Spice combinations. Oh my! For my Instant Pot Mini Chili recipe I adapted one from an old favorite in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Chili also freezes really well so you can have a few dinners to eat later too!
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Reheat Chili In An Instant Pot
Follow these steps:
*Tip: When youre pouring the chili into the instant pot to reheat it, fill it below the max fill line. When the timer beeps to indicate that your chili is warm, let the pressure release on its own for 5 minutes before you press the quick release button to let out the rest of the steam and open the lid.
You are now free to take out the chili from the fridge or freeze to reheat it in your instant pot. If you dont have an instant pot, its a good investment for heating chili, soups, and other types of dishes.
How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Chili:
- This Instant Pot chicken chili isnt spicy. Its full of flavour, but doesnt have a lot of heat. The green chilis give it a tiny bit, but not much at all. If you like your chili spicy, you might want to add some cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit.
- This chicken chili freezes very well if you want to make a double batch and freeze half for later. Or if you are only cooking for 2-3 people and dont need the whole batch for one meal. Let it cool completely and then freeze it flat in a large ziplock freezer bag. Defrost it overnight in the fridge and reheat for a couple of hours on low in the slow cooker, or on low heat on the stove.
- I have an 8 quart Duo Instant Pot, so I can just fit a double batch of this chicken chili in it. If your Instant Pot is smaller you likely can only make a single batch, so keep that in mind if youre considering making more to freeze. Make sure to only fill the pot to 2/3 full for pressure cooking.
- Ive had a few questions about the brown beans in tomato sauce and what that is. In Canada thats what the can says, but apparently in the States its just baked beans. Its the same thing!
- Here are some more great warming meals for you:
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Make Instant Pot Chili A Step By Step Guide
Start by mixing the ground beef with the baking soda, a little water, and the salt as this will help retain moisture in the meat, you need to let it sit for twenty minutes or so.
Once youve done that you can go ahead and in your Instant Pot, or whatever the equivalent function is in your electric pressure cooker brand and add the olive oil.
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Then, add the chopped onions to hot oil and cook them for a few minutes until they are soft, translucent, and slightly golden around the edges, do not let them get really dark brown.
Next the ground beef and which will take about five minutes.
Add only half the dried spices to the beef, along with the garlic, and stir well to combine.
We will add the remaining spices only after the chili has been pressure cooked.
Pour in the gluten free beef broth and fully deglaze the bottom of the pot to prevent burning later on.
Carefully pour in the canned Crushed Fire Roasted Tomatoes onto the top of the chili mixture, DO NOT STIR OR MIX.
The tomatoes can stick to the bottom of your Instant pot and sometimes prevent it from coming to pressure, so please just leave them on top of the meat before you add the lid.
Lock the lid and let your Instant Pot Chili cook for 12 minutes at high pressure.
Once the cook time at pressure is complete and youve removed the lid you can add in the remaining dried chili spices along with the beans.
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The Best Instant Pot Chili With Dry Beans
Once you make this delicious Instant Pot Chili with Dry Beans you will never go back to making it on the stove. It’s hearty, comforting, packed full of amazing flavor, and just the right amount of spice. Your family will love the taste and you’ll love how easy it is to make.
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There is nothing better than sitting down to enjoy a warm bowl of delicious homemade chili. My family is big on chili and my husband sure knows how to make a good one. This Instant Pot Chili with Dry Beans is easy and will save you so much time versus making it on the stove.
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Slow Cooker Chili Made In The Instant Pot
Slow Cooker Chili is a thick, hearty, warming dish to come home to at the end of the day. You can make it in any slow cooker, but using the Instant Pot saves on dishwashing. This recipe is not too spicy, but you can add to that if you wish. It makes a nice, big batch, filling my 6-quart Instant Pot.
Pin for later.
Are you using your Instant Pot? Have you made roast beef in it yet? Have you tried the Slow Cook setting?
I’ve used a slow cooker for years and especially like the way stews and chilies blend their flavours with time. Although it’s not instant, the Instant Pot has a slow cooker function. I appreciate the ability to brown my meat and any vegetables I want to in the same pot that they will cook in. There’s less mess and cleanup later.
How To Store And Freeze Your Chili
This chili will keep in the fridge for at least five days, or frozen for up to three months.
To freeze, transfer the cooked and cooled chili to freezer containers or bags, press out as much air as possible, and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or heat while still frozen. The best way to reheat chili is in a sauce pan over low heat on the stove top.
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Best Instant Pot Chili
Who can resist a good chili? Natasha here from Salt & Lavender with a cozy recipe for you. Chili is so easy to make in the electric pressure cooker! Prep time is minimal, and you can do other things while the Instant Pot works its magic. This chili is delicious straight out of the pot, but its also great for freezing/meal prep. Just freeze it in individual portions or use a larger container and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
Instant Pot Dry Bean Chili
Loaded with flavor and just the right amount of spice.
- 3cupsbean broth or water as a substitute
- 2cupswater
- Start by power soaking your beans.
- Next, set the Instant Pot to ‘Sauté’. Allow the pot to warm up for a couple of minutes and then place the ground beef in the pot and cook until brown.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Cut the ‘Sauté’ function off. Add 2 cups of water to the ground beef and then add all of the dry ingredients to the pot – chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and flour. Mix well.
- Add the power soaked beans along with the bean broth. If the beans did not yield a full 3 cups of bean broth, then substitute what is missing with an equal amount of water.
- Stir all the ingredients in the pot.
- Add the can of tomato paste to the top of the chili. Do not mix it in.
- Close the Instant Pot and set the pressure release valve to ‘Sealing’.
- Next, set the pot to ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’ High Pressure for 15 minutes. Allow for a 15-minute natural pressure release.
- Once the 15-minute NPR is complete, release any remaining pressure, open the pot and enjoy your chili.
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