Name: Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 pounds ground turkey; 1/2 cup chopped red onion; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 3 tablespoons chili powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin; 2 teaspoons oregano; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 1/2 cups chicken broth; 14 ounce (398mL) can brown beans in tomato sauce; 18 ounce (540mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed; 14 ounce (398mL) can diced tomatoes (with liquid); 4 ounce (127mL) can chopped green chilis; 1 1/2 cups corn kernels

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This Instant Pot turkey chili is so fast and easy to make and is full of flavour. It’s even freezer friendly for super fast meals in the future!

Chili is such a great meal. It’s easy to make. It’s nice and filling and warms you up on a cold day. It freezes beautifully. And pretty much everyone likes it.

This Instant Pot turkey chili only takes about 15-20 minutes of prep time before starting the pressure cooking cycle. It then needs to pressure cook for 18 minutes, plus the time to come to pressure, so it will be about 30-35 minutes total for pressure cooking.

But that’s only about 15 minutes of actual hands on time for this recipe, which makes it a great option for an easy weeknight meal.

Plus, it makes a fairly large batch of chili, so you will likely have leftovers to freeze, depending on how many people you’re feeding.

For my family of five, this makes enough for two meals. But two of my kids don’t eat very large helpings of it, as they are not the biggest fans of anything involving beans.

While it’s cooking, you can even whip up a batch of these homemade cream biscuits, or these drop biscuits to have with it. They will be coming out of the oven about the same time the chili is finished cooking if you start making them once the chili is cooking.

Looking for more chili recipes? Here are a couple more for you:

Why did my chili burn in the Instant Pot?

It’s quite easy to get the “burn” warning when making chili in the Instant Pot. I’ve found that this can be due to one of two things.

Either there isn’t enough liquid in the Instant Pot, or there is food cooked onto the bottom of the pot before pressure cooking begins.

I’ve made this turkey chili recipe at least 6 times in the last month in my Instant Pot, and haven’t received the “burn” warning, so there is enough liquid in this chili recipe.

But you will get the “burn” warning if you’re not very careful to scrape up every little bit of cooked on food after sautéing the turkey and veggies at the beginning of the recipe. If you skip that step, add everything else, and start pressure cooking, you will have burnt chili.

So make sure to scrape the bottom really, really well before you start the pressure cooking cycle!

How do you freeze turkey chili?

Turkey chili is very freezer friendly, and I tend to freeze some of it almost every time I make it.

My two boys don’t eat a lot of chili, as they don’t love beans, so there’s only 3 of us here eating a full serving when I make it. So I usually end up freezing about half of the batch when I make this recipe.

It freezes very well. Just let it cool down after cooking it, then freeze it in an airtight container or a large ziplock bag, laid flat so that it defrosts easier.

Let it defrost overnight in the fridge, and reheat it in the microwave, on low heat on the stove, or on low heat in the slow cooker.

How do you thicken chili in the Instant Pot?

To thicken chili in the Instant pot, simply use the “saute” function after the cook time is finished, for about 10-15 minutes.

With the lid off, stirring often to prevent burning on the bottom, cook the chili until enough liquid evaporates that the chili is as thick as you like.

How to make Instant Pot Turkey Chili:

Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot well after sautéing the turkey and veggies. If there is food left on the bottom of the pot, you will get the “burn” warning when you start the pressure cooking cycle.
You can also make this turkey chili in the slow cooker. I’ve included slow cooker directions as well.
This turkey chili is not spicy as written. If you’d like it to have some heat, leave the seeds in the jalapeño pepper, or add a bit of cayenne pepper.
I’ve had a few questions about the “brown beans in tomato sauce” and what that is. In Canada that’s what the can says, but apparently in the States it’s just “baked beans“. It’s the same thing!

Here are some more great warming meals for you:

Yield: serves 6-8

Instant Pot Turkey Chili

This Instant Pot turkey chili, that can also be made in the slow cooker, is fast and easy to make and is full of flavour. Plus, it's freezer friendly!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
14 ounce (398mL) can brown beans in tomato sauce
18 ounce (540mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
14 ounce (398mL) can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
4 ounce (127mL) can chopped green chilis
1 1/2 cups corn kernels

Instructions

For the Instant Pot:

Turn the Instant Pot on the “saute” setting, and add the olive oil.
When the olive oil is hot, add the ground turkey, and cook, stirring, until no pink remains.
Add the red onion, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, and garlic, and continue to cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Turn the Instant Pot off.
Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Add the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot well, making sure there is nothing cooked onto the bottom, as this will cause a burn warning when pressure cooking. The bottom needs to be scraped clean.
Add the brown beans in tomato sauce, black beans, diced tomatoes, green chilis, and corn, and stir to combine.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it into position. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
Set the Instant pot to manual high pressure for 18 minutes (or the chili setting which will automatically be 18 minutes at high pressure).
When the cook time is finished, let it naturally release for 10 minutes, and then quick release any remaining pressure.
Give the chili a stir. If it isn’t as thick as you’d like, you can thicken it a bit by using the saute function again, letting it cook down a little bit with the lid off. Make sure to stir it fairly often if you do this so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
Serve the chili with sour cream, chopped green onions, cilantro, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

For the slow cooker:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the ground turkey, and cook, stirring, until no pink remains.
Add the red onion, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, and garlic, and continue to cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, or until the start to soften a bit.
Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Transfer everything to the crock of your slow cooker, and stir in the chicken broth (I only use 1 cup in the slow cooker), brown beans, black beans, tomatoes, green chilis, and corn.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
Serve the chili with sour cream, chopped green onions, cilantro, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Make sure to use the olive oil when sautéing the ground turkey in the Instant Pot, as it helps prevent too much of the meat from cooking to the bottom of the pot. You need to make sure that the bottom is scraped clean before pressure cooking, or you will get a “Burn” warning. Using some oil for sautéing helps with this.

When making it in the slow cooker, I decrease the chicken broth to 1 cup so the chili is a bit thicker. But in the Instant Pot I’ve found that I need the extra liquid to avoid the “Burn” warning, and it can be thickened a bit afterwards if needed, although I usually don’t bother.

I have an 8 quart Duo Instant Pot, and this recipe fills it about halfway, so it should fit in a 6 quart Instant Pot too, but make sure your Instant Pot is not filled past the 2/3 fill line.

Source: Adapted from my Instant Pot Chicken Chili.