The Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili EVER!
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This is the BEST Instant Pot vegetarian chili ever! It’s incredibly rich and hearty, super smoky and slightly spicy. Made with three types of beans, packed with veggies, it’s family-friendly, ready in 30 minutes, and will satisfy both meat-eaters and vegetarians alike!
This Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe is a family favorite in our house. It’s easy to make, requires simple ingredients, and thanks to the Instant Pot pressure cooker, you end up with that cooked-all-day flavor (like if you made it in a slow cooker) in just about 30 minutes!
I’ve made this recipe for a crowd or for our family (and saved the leftovers for another day), and it turns out great every time!
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One of the best parts about this Instant Pot vegetable chili is its smokiness, which comes from two secret ingredients: unsweetened cocoa powder and smoked paprika.
It has the deep flavor of traditional meat chilis but it’s much healthier, gluten-free, and vegetarian-friendly, and can easily be made vegan too!
👩🏽🍳 Why You’ll Love This Meatless Chili
- Tons Of Flavor: The combination of rich, warm spices gives this easy vegan chili recipe a “cooked-all-day” flavor that is hearty and satisfying. It really is the best vegetarian chili ever!
- Fiber And Plant Protein: Thanks to the beans, this chili packs a ton of protein and fiber into each bowl. Each serving has 9g protein and 10g fiber.
- Healthy: This Instant Pot veggie chili recipe is packed with vitamins and nutrients! Beans are a heart-healthy food that are a great source of iron, B vitamins, protein, and fiber. Bell peppers are rich in vitamins C, A, potassium, folate, and iron.
- Low Calorie: This healthy Instant Pot chili with canned beans is super filling and satisfying, but each serving has only 300 calories. That means you can go back for seconds completely guilt-free!
- Family Friendly: Everyone in the family – kids included – will love this one-pot meal. And it’s super easy to make, which means it’s a great recipe for busy weeknight dinners or for meatless Monday!
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🥘 Ingredients
While the ingredient list is a little bit long, all of these ingredients are easy to find, and there’s minimal prep time to prepare them for the Instant Pot. Here’s what you need to make veggie chili in the Instant Pot:
- Olive Oil: Use this oil to sauté – you can also use any other neutral-flavored oil.
- Bell Peppers: Red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper give this easy Instant Pot vegetarian chili a bright pop of color. For a time-saver, use a thawed frozen blend. Onions add a
- Red Onion & Fresh Garlic Cloves: Dice the onion in uniform sizes for even cooking. For garlic, fresh is always best, but you can use jarred, minced garlic if necessary.
- Vegetable Broth: You can easily find this in the grocery store, typically near the other broths.
- Canned Beans: Red kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans help to make this Instant Pot meatless chili hearty and meaty – without any meat!
- Frozen Corn: Frozen corn cuts prep time, but feel free to use fresh if you prefer.
- Crushed Tomatoes: San Marzano are typically the best variety of tomatoes to use, but you can use any that you prefer or have on hand.
- Spices: I used a combination of chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, unsweetened cocoa powder, garlic powder, crushed red peppers, soy sauce, salt, smoked paprika, and regular paprika to give this healthy vegetarian chili a balance of smoky, earthy, spicy flavors.
- Optional Toppings: Shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, diced tomatoes, plain Greek yogurt (or low fat sour cream), tortilla chips.
🍲 Ingredient Substitutions
- Beans: Replace some or all of the beans with different beans or any kind of legumes that you prefer. White beans, red lentils, green lentils, or even chickpeas also work well. You can even make this Instant Pot vegetarian chili with dried beans if you like, you’ll just have to soak them overnight and increase the cook time.
- Veggies: Use your own blend of vegetables in this meatless chili recipe. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and greens would all taste great. Think of it as a “clean out your fridge” recipe. If you increase the amount of veggies, just make sure to increase the quantity of spices accordingly so that it’s not bland.
- Sauce: Replace some or all of the soy sauce with vegan Worcestershire.
- Tomatoes: Try using canned fire-roasted tomatoes for extra flavor.
- Toppings: Load this Instant Pot black bean chili up with any of your favorite toppings!
🔪 How To Make Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
Here’s how to make this easy vegetarian recipe. For more detailed instructions and nutrition facts, see the recipe card below.
Sauté: Turn your instant pot to the sauté function, and add your olive oil, bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Sauté lightly for 2-3 minutes.
Pressure Cook: Add everything else into the pot (beans through paprika in the list above) and stir to combine. Close your Instant Pot and pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
Release Pressure: Once the pressure cooking is done, let it natural release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure. Give it a good stir to combine.
Serve Chili: Serve this Instant Pot veg chili warm with any toppings you like! We suggest a little bit (or a lot!) of cheese, low-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, diced tomatoes, green onions, or tortilla chips.
💭 Expert Tips
- Use Spinach: For additional greens, add one 5 oz box of chopped baby spinach into this pressure cooker bean chili while adding all of the other ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Adjust Spices To Taste: Everyone has a different level of spiciness that they like in their chili, so make sure to taste and adjust — add more or less crushed red pepper, more or less salt, as needed!
- Cook On The Stove: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make this chili on the stovetop. See our notes in the FAQs below on how to do this!
- Adjust For Your Instant Pot Model: If you have a newer Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, keep in mind that it tends to display the “burn” warning much more quickly than the older versions. If you have this model, you’ll add the vegetable broth and all the spices immediately after step 1 and stir to combine. Then you’ll add the rest of the ingredients (beans, tomatoes, etc.) and avoid stirring until after cooking.
- Make It Kid Friendly: This IP chili with canned beans is super kid friendly! If you’re making this for kids, I recommend creating a toppings bar so your kids can pick out what to top their bowls with, and cut the veggies smaller so it’s easier for kids to chew. For super picky eaters, you can even puree the bell peppers/veggies with the tomatoes so they don’t see it, and reduce the spices as needed!
📖 Variations And Toppings For Veggie Chili
There are plenty of ways to customize or dress up this easy chili!
- Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice: Add bright flavor with a touch of citrus. If you don’t have lime, lemon will work, too.
- Creamy Toppings: Try sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (use cashew cream or vegan sour cream for a vegan substitute!). The tanginess and cool flavors complement the heat in this Instant Pot vegan chili recipe.
- Fresh Toppings: Try sliced green onions, fresh cilantro, diced tomatoes, pico de gallo, or salsa – all of these will add bright color and great flavor.
- Cheese: Shredded cheese, a Mexican cheese blend, cojita cheese, or even vegan shredded cheese will all work well! Who doesn’t love melty cheese on their chili?
- Crunchy Toppings: We love crushed tortilla chips, crackers, or even pepitas (pumpkin seeds) as toppings for this recipe!
- Brown Rice Or Quinoa: Either of these is more of a mix-in than a topping, but it still tastes great. And this is one of my kids’ favorite chili add-ins!
- Spicy Toppings: To increase the level of spice or add depth, try dicing up a chipotle pepper, jalapeño pepper, poblano peppers, or adding adobo sauce to this Instant Pot veggie chili recipe.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
This meatless Instant Pot chili is so hearty it stands on its own, but if you’re looking to round out the meal even further, here are some side dishes that go with chili:
- A Fresh Garden Salad: We love it with this tomato avocado cucumber salad, but it also tastes great with this Mexican fruit salad on top of some leafy greens!
- Cornbread: This healthy cornbread pairs perfectly with chili. But you could also serve it with these biscuits without baking powder or these low calorie biscuits!
- Grains: A side of rice or quinoa pairs well with this recipe, but you can take it to the next level by serving this vegetarian chili in the Instant Pot with vegan Mexican rice instead!
- Quesadillas: When cut into strips, these can be great for dipping too! We love it with these veggie quesadillas or vegan quesadillas.
🙌 Dietary Adaptations
Vegan Instant Pot Chili Recipe: The pressure cooker vegetarian chili is already dairy-free, but if you’re concerned about the toppings, try using a plant-based cheese or vegan sour cream alternative.
Low-Carb Option: To reduce the carbs, eliminate some or all of the beans, replacing them with a hearty amount of low carb bulky veggies like riced broccoli or cauliflower florets.
🫙 Storage Directions
It’s easy to store this simple chili so that you can eat it throughout the week! And it tastes even better the next day when all of the flavors have a chance to meld together for longer!
- Refrigerator: Leftover chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make sure to store any toppings separately.
- Freezer: Let this spicy vegetarian chili cool completely, then transfer it into an airtight freezer-safe container. You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Let your Instant Pot plant based chili thaw in the fridge and then defrost in the microwave using the defrost setting, or heat gently on the stovetop.
- Make Ahead Tips: Chop all of your veggies in advance and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Wash your beans and store them in a separate container in the fridge. You can do this up to 2 days in advance – then just add everything to the pot and cook as directed when you’re ready to make it!
❓Recipe FAQs
CAN YOU MAKE THIS Easy VEGETARIAN CHILI ON THE STOVETOP?
Absolutely! Here are the stovetop instructions for this recipe:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it, the thicker your chili will be. Serve hot!
What can I replace meat with in chili?
There are so many plant based substitutions for meat in chili! Here are some of our favorites:
* Legumes: Beans, chickpeas and lentils are all great options – they’re packed with protein and have a meaty texture.
* Tofu: Crumble your tofu to get that ground meat feel and make tofu chili in the Instant Pot.
* Tempeh: A chewier, slightly more tangy version of tofu – this will add great protein and texture to your this bean chili in the Instant Pot.
* Mushrooms Or Eggplant: When sauteed or roasted, these release their water and end up with a chewier, hearty mouthfeel, similar to meat.
* Beyond Meat: A great option that’s packed with protein, has minimal processed ingredients, is vegan friendly and tasty too!
* Bulgur Or Quinoa: Combine grains and beans for a super satisfying chili!
IS INSTANT POT WORTH IT FOR VEGETARIANS?
Instant Pot is an amazing tool for vegetarians. There are tons of dishes vegetarians can make in an Instant Pot, from soups to curries to pasta dishes and more! It also happens to be perfect for cooking vegetarian proteins, and for tasks like rehydrating dry beans.
Is vegetarian chili healthy?
Yes! Vegetarian chili is packed full of nutrients from a variety of vegetables. Plus, it’s a heart-healthy meal packed full of plant-based protein and fiber.
Our vegetarian Instant Pot chili is also really good for you. It’s low in calories, high in protein, and high in fiber so it’s guaranteed to keep you full and satisfied for a long time. It also happens to be rich in vitamins and minerals from the veggies and beans, high in antioxidants thanks to the onions and peppers, and low in unhealthy fats!
🍛 More Easy Instant Pot Recipes!
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup with Cumin
- Instant Pot Risotto
- Instant Pot Vegan Posole
- Instant Pot Chili Mac
- Instant Pot Applesauce
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
The Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
This is the BEST Instant Pot vegetarian chili ever! It’s incredibly rich and hearty, super smoky and slightly spicy. Made with three types of beans, packed with veggies, it's family-friendly, ready in 30 minutes, and will satisfy both meat-eaters and vegetarians alike!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 300kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 15 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 can
- 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can
- 15 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed 1 can
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes 1 large can
- 1 tbsp chili powder use a heaping tbsp or add more to taste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper more or less to taste
- a couple splashes of soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp salt more or less to taste
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp regular paprika
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot to the Saute function, and add your olive oil, bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Saute lightly for 2-3 minutes.
- Add everything else into the pot (beans through paprika in the list above) and stir to combine. Close your instant pot and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes
- Once the pressure cooking is done, let it natural release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
- Serve warm with any toppings you like! 1 Tbsp cheese, low fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt, diced tomatoes, green onions, or tortilla chips.
Notes
Top Tips for Making Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- You can add any veggies you like into this chili. Think of it as a “clean out your fridge” recipe. If you increase the quantity of veggies, just make sure to increase the quantity of spices accordingly so that it’s not bland.
- For additional greens, add one 5oz box of chopped baby spinach into this recipe at the same time you add all of the ingredients into the instant pot!
- When you’re making this for kids, adjust the spices accordingly.
- If you don’t have an instant pot, you can make this chili on the stovetop.
- If you have a newer Instant Pot, keep in mind that they tend to display the “Burn” warning much more quickly than the older versions. If you have this model, You’d add the vegetable broth and all the spices immediately after step 1 and stir to combine. Then you’d add the rest of the ingredients (beans, tomatoes, etc) and do not stir until after cooking.
To Make on the Stovetop:
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add all of the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer on low for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it, the thicker your chili will be.
- Serve hot!
Nutrition
Serving: 2ladles | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 61.8g | Protein: 18.1g | Fat: 1.7g | Sodium: 800mg | Fiber: 20.2g | Sugar: 4.3g
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve been looking for a good vegetarian chili recipe, and this is definitely the winner. I made it in the winter and LOVED it, then froze the leftovers. The other day I reheated some, and it was just as good as the first time around!
My favorite parts are the three types of beans (I love beans! Am I allowed to say that? Haha) and the slight spicy kick. It’s perfect! I did make one substitution based on what I had on hand: I used one 15 oz can crushed tomatoes + canned tomato paste w/ water added.
Awww thanks Casey!! I freeze this recipe all the time – I agree it reheats really well! 🙂 Haha I love that you love beans — I do too! They are one of my favorite ingredients because they’re hearty, healthy, full of fiber and protein and veggie friendly. Love the substitution idea too! Thanks for letting me know!
Wow, this looks like a great recipe. I usually make a turkey chili but never use all these different ingredients. I’ll definitely be mixing in some of your ingredients for my next batch.
What tool do you use to get the nutritional values? MenuCalc?
Jose Martinez
Thanks Jose! I use Spark Recipes calorie calculator to get the nutritional information for my posts. I’ve found them to be very accurate and thorough!
Awesome. And its Free. Thanks for the Tip!
Anytime! 🙂
This is phenomenal! I just finished a bowl and can’t wait for future meal times 🙂 The spice level was JUST RIGHT and with some yogurt it was great.
Hooray!! That is so wonderful to hear, thanks for letting me know Amna! Love that you served it with yogurt too – it’s a great substitution for sour cream (which traditionally goes on chili)!
This is a good recipe. I doubled the cumin, smoked paprika, and salt to enhance the flavor. It definitely could use more spiciness, so next time I’ll try adding fresh jalapenos and maybe double the chili powder and add some crushed red pepper. But otherwise a really good recipe.
Thanks Mona! Glad you liked this recipe. Regarding the spiciness level — everyone’s tastes are different so definitely add more spice if you need to! The heat of this recipe was perfect for us but I don’t generally love super super hot/spicy food 🙂
I have never seen cocoa powder in a chili recipe, but I could see it working. Have you tried cinnamon or bay leaves? I’ve tried them before in other vegetarian chili attempts and liked them.
Hi Brianna! I haven’t actually tried cinnamon or bay leaves in this recipe – but I’m sure those would taste great. I’d definitely encourage you to try the cocoa powder though – it really makes this recipe great!
This is without a doubt,the BEST!!!!! recipe. Thank you so much for posting this. I made this for a superbowl party and the entire meat eating crowd loved it. Thanks again for such a flavorful vegan recipe..
Awww yay! Thank you so much Karen! So glad this turned out well for your superbowl party!
I added a poblano and a couple serranos, as I can get them at the Puerto Rican grocery around the corner for a song. Great recipe.
Great! So glad to hear you liked this!
I found this recipe a few years ago and have since made it numerous times. It is absolutely fabulous, and I figured it was time to thank you for the post because everyone I make it for raves about it! I’m fairly certain there isn’t a soul out there who wouldn’t eat this chili.
Thank you so much Mary — I love that you’ve made this so many times at home! It’s so great to hear the positive feedback, so I appreciate you coming back here to let me know 🙂 Thanks again!
Really Great! Showed up to a Thanksgiving get together with one picky vegetarian, and after all the leftovers were in Tupperware, the meat- eater guys kept going back for more chilli! It was a big hit, and my new favorite recipe!- Also, I doubled it, but not the onion- and I used one can of diced tomatoes along with one can of crushed. Thank you so much for the recipe- I will be e-mailing this link to everyone I know!
Aww that is so great to hear Rose! Thank you for letting me know! I love making a double batch of this recipe too — sometimes I’ll even freeze the leftovers and they still taste great when we eat them!
I’ve made this a couple of times now and it is awesome. Only had 1 can of beans on hand but that was plenty. I added some texture and nutrition by chopping up a couple of veggie patties I wasn’t crazy about and throwing them in there. I also added some sliced mushrooms and even my carnivore husband enjoyed it served with a sprinkling of cheese, chopped avocado and sour cream, It’s going in my permanent collection. Thank you.
That is so great to hear! Great idea to throw some veggie burger patties in for some texture too. Thanks for letting me know Sky!
Umm this is awesome chili! Thanks for the recipe.
Hehe yay! No problem – so glad you liked it Jessica!
This is my go-to recipe for chili. I discovered it last fall and made it at least every other week! I generally don’t add the cocoa or the soy sauce & modify it to be slightly less spicy. I also use canned corn instead of frozen, as well as sub tomato juice when I don’t have veggie broth on hand. My favorite mod is adding vegetarian mycoprotein (Quorn grounds). I did this last year & fed it to a large group of guys. I didn’t tell them that there wasn’t any meat in it until afterward. They said it was the best chili they ever had and couldn’t believe it was vegetarian! The Quorn grounds add fabulous texture indistinguishable from ground beef & boost the protein content! I make my own modifications here & there, but this is an AMAZING recipe whether you follow the instructions exactly or feel comfortable enough to make it to your own taste!
When I make cornbread to go with, I generally use good ol’ Jiffy corn muffin mix & add some no salt added canned corn & tablespoon or so of sugar.
Thanks so much for this recipe, Anjali! You’ve forever raised my family’s standards on Chili 😉
Thank you so much for sharing all of this Chelsea! I love the modifications you made – and you’re absolutely right – this recipe can totally be tweaked to suit anyone’s tastes and preferences 🙂 Thanks again – so glad you liked this recipe!!
Excellent looking recipe! I will give it a shot soon and let you know how I feel about it!
Thanks Aleks! Keep me posted!
This is a crowd pleaser! I doubled the recipe for 8 adults and 8 kids, and everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again.
Woohoo!! So happy to hear that Lindsay! 🙂
This is DELICIOUS! I added dark chocolate instead of the cocoa because I love to see it melt. Tastes great immediately and even better the next day. Love your recipes – THANK-YOU!
Ooooh love the idea of the dark chocolate – I’m sure that was delicious! So glad you liked this recipe, thanks for letting me know!
This was delicious! It was even a hit with my daughter who hates chili. I sauteed the vegetables then cooked everything in the slow cooker on low all day. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that Charity – thanks for letting me know! 🙂