Instant Pot Veggie Chili

Hello, my chickpeas! Firstly, did you notice that there's been an update to the site and now you can find recipes based on category? Just go up to the top menu, hover over "recipes" and then choose whichever category you'd like! You can browse through my breakfast recipes, my soups, my sides, etc. I hope it makes you're lives just a little bit easier when searching for recipe inspiration! Speaking of recipe inspiration, I think you'll be highly inspired by this week's recipe: my Instant Pot Veggie Chili!

This Instant Pot Veggie Chili is one of my favorites to throw together at the beginning of the week and reheat all week long for easy meals. There are only a few veggies to chop, and the instant pot makes our cook time less than 30 minutes! I'm super excited for you to make this one in your kitchen.

Inspiration for Instant Pot Veggie Chili

One of my favorite meals growing up was vegetarian chili, served on top of Fritos. (My family's simple version of Frito chili pie, if you will). A few months ago I suddenly had a craving for this (luckily, Fritos are vegan!), but I realized that I didn't really have a go-to chili recipe anymore. I started playing around in the kitchen, and here we are!

My goal with this recipe was to pack in lots of nutrition through various veggies and beans, but also keep it somewhat simple so that it could be made on busy weeknights. It also makes a decent sized batch, so you could definitely reheat leftovers for some extra meals throughout the week!

This recipe is probably a bit more of a fall recipe than a spring one, but I've been obsessed with it lately. Apparently my body thinks chili is appropriate year-round. So I decided to go ahead and share it anyway, just in case you may feel the same way!

Ingredients

We are packing in some of my favorite ingredients in this one. Lots of flavor and lots of nutrients! Here's what we've got:

• Onion, bell pepper, and garlic: my go-to veggies for most meals. These are staples in most of the veggie chilis I've experienced, and I didn't see any reason to change that!
• Carrot & corn: These are going to add a little bit of sweetness, and I think they pair so well with all the flavors we've got going on. Plus, they add some fun color to our meal!
• Veggie broth & fire roasted tomatoes: To properly cook, our chili needs some liquid. We throw in the entire can of fire roasted tomatoes, including the liquid, so this combined with the veggie broth fits the bill! Plus the fire roasted tomatoes add more fun veggie flavor.
• Tomato sauce: to thicken our chili and add some acidity
• Black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans: in my book, beans are definitely a necessity for veggie chili. Plus they add some great protein and fiber! I wanted to mix it up with this one and throw in multiple types, so here we are.
• Lots of seasonings & spices: Because what is chili without some spices? We will be throwing in chili powder, along with a number of other spices, to get our desired flavor.
• Lime juice & salt: thrown in at the very end to bring out some of the best flavors. The lime juice will also add a little bit of freshness that really brightens up our chili!

How to Make Instant Pot Veggie Chili

Here's the basic breakdown:

1. Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode and sauté your onion.
2. Add some other veggies, continue to sauté.
3. Sprinkle in your spices.
4. Add tomatoes, beans, corn, and veggie broth. Stir.
5. Add tomato sauce, but do not stir.
6. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes.
7. Let the Instant Pot naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release.
8. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
9. Stir in lime juice and salt.
10. Serve & enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

As usual, here are some of my thoughts on what you can do to mix things up if you are feeling experimental!

• Switch up the beans! I use black, kidney, and pinto in this recipe - but any 3 cans of beans should do the job. You can pick your favorite and just use 3 cans of one type, or you can switch one (or multiple) of these out for another bean of choice. I think chickpeas could also be fun!
• Serve this however you'd like - but my favorite way to serve it is on top of Fritos! I also love serving it on top of a baked sweet potato if I want something a bit more filling, or on top of some greens if I want to sneak in some extra veggies. It's also delicious just on it's own!
• Make this on Sunday and reheat it throughout the week! This one is great as leftovers, so use it in your meal prep!
• Get creative with toppings! My go-to is avocado (is anyone surprised?). Vegan cheese, plain coconut yogurt, or cilantro are also delicious options. 
• Looking for some other bean-filled recipes? Check out my Black Bean Burger, Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl, or Cowboy Caviar next!

Enjoy!

Instant Pot Veggie Chili

Recipe by Delaney Romero - Joyful BalanceCourse: Main

Servings

5

servings

From Start to Finish

1

hour 

This Instant Pot Veggie Chili is completely vegan and perfect for busy weeknights & meal prep! My favorite way to enjoy it is with Fritos, but it's also delicious on its own. Add your toppings of choice & enjoy!

*Note that "From Start to Finish" is an estimate that assumes about 10 minutes to chop your veggies, and 50 minutes to complete the steps of the recipe. Within those 50 minutes, the first 10 are hands-on, but the following 35-40 are mostly passive steps (in which the chili is simply cooking in the instant pot, or sitting to thicken).

Ingredients

• ½ medium yellow onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ medium green bell pepper, diced

• 1 medium carrot, diced

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• 1.5 tablespoon ground cumin

• 2 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes (NOT drained)

• ¾ cup frozen corn, thawed (I like to thaw mine by simply placing it in a colander and running cold water over it in the sink - only takes a couple minutes!)

• ¼ cup vegetable broth

• 1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 15oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 15oz can tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon lime juice

• Salt, to taste

• Optional toppings: plain coconut yogurt, avocado, vegan cheese, or cilantro

Directions

• Set your Instant Pot to sauté mode. Once it has heated and is ready to sauté, add a splash of water to the Instant Pot to prevent sticking, and toss in your diced onion. Allow to sauté about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to prevent sticking.
• Add your garlic, bell pepper, and carrot to the Instant Pot. Continue to sauté another 3 minutes. By this time your onions should be slightly translucent.
• Add in garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, and smoked paprika. Give everything a stir so that the veggies are all evenly coated in the spices.
• Add in your fire roasted tomatoes, corn, veggie broth, black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. Give it a stir so everything is evenly incorporated.
• Pour your tomato sauce on top but do not stir. (Tomato sauce is rather heavy and if it falls to the bottom of your pot it is likely to cause a "burn" notice on your Instant Pot. This is prevented by letting it sit on top!).
• Turn off the sauté function on the Instant Pot, and set it to pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. Place and secure the Instant Pot lid, make sure the valve is set to "sealing", and allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and complete its 8 minute pressure cook (it usually takes mine about 15 minutes to come to pressure before the 8 minutes begins)
• Once the Instant Pot has completed its 8 minute pressure cook, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 5 minutes (this just means to let it sit for 5 minutes and don't touch it!). After 5 minutes, move the valve to "venting" and allow the pressure to "quick release". Once the pressure has been released, remove the Instant Pot lid (your Instant Pot should have a little metal pin called a "floating valve" that will drop when the pressure is adequately released and you can open the pot).
• Give the chili a stir, and then let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will thicken slightly during this time.
• Stir in lime juice and salt. Serve however you wish and enjoy!

Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your chili-making ways.

Stay joyfully balanced!