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Instant Pot Slow-Cooked Ground Beef and Cocoa Chili

By Daniel Shumski

3.4

(8)

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Slow-cooking and chili-making are a match made in heaven. The tightened lid of the Instant Pot means that the aroma of the chili stays mostly inside the appliance, although sometimes you’ll catch some of the chili scent wafting out, maybe when you come home from errands or work. It’s bound to whet your appetite. This ground beef version has pleasantly deep, bitter notes from the addition of ground cocoa. Those aromas are a tempting reminder of what’s for dinner—and one of the reasons you have the Instant Pot.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium white or yellow onions, finely chopped
1 medium green or red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra as needed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup store-bought reduced-salt beef broth, or homemade beef broth
Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 2 medium limes
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Crushed roasted peanuts, for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Press Sauté and select the lowest temperature. Place the olive oil in the inner pot, wait about 1 minute for it to warm, then add the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook with the lid off, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and sauté until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Add the chili powder, cocoa powder, salt, pepper, tomatoes, broth, and lime zest and juices and stir to combine, scraping up any brown bits off the bottom.

    Step 3

    Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Venting. Attach the condensation collector. Press Cancel, then press Slow Cook and select the lowest temperature. Set the time to 5 hours.

    Step 4

    When the cooking time is finished, press Cancel and remove the lid. Add the beans, stir to distribute evenly, and then close and lock the lid to allow the residual heat to warm the beans, about 5 minutes.

    Step 5

    Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot, garnished with crushed peanuts.

  2. Do Ahead

    Step 6

    Chili will keep, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.

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Excerpted from How to Instant Pot: Mastering All the Functions of the One Pot That Will Change the Way You Cook by Daniel Shumski (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2017. Buy the full book from Amazon.
TagsChiliStewSoup/StewAmericanBeefMeatMainDinnerLunchNut FreeEasyWeeknight MealsOne-Pot MealsInstant PotSuper BowlWinterCookbooks

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