Looking for a hearty and satisfying no bean chili recipe? Try this easy and delicious Instant Pot chili with ground beef, tomatoes, and spices. It’s paleo, keto, low carb, and Whole30-friendly, too!
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The best Whole30 no bean chili!
I know: Folks can be very opinionated about what should or shouldn’t go in a hearty bowl of chili. (For another version that uses chunks of beef stew meat, try the Southwest Cowboy Chili on page 224 of my first cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans or my Instant Pot Cowboy Chili.) Some of you chili snobs may turn up your nose at this Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili ’cause it includes tomatoes and fish sauce(!), and omits pinto beans, but that’s okay—just call it something else.
No matter if you think it qualifies as chili or not, I love this umami-packed recipe because it hits the spot with my family, and I can whip it together on a weeknight with stuff that’s readily available in my kitchen. Besides, have I ever steered you wrong in the past? I swear, this is the best chili! (Bonus trivia: Henry and I won a chili cook-off way back in college, so either we know our stuff, or we had lots of friends who stuffed the ballot box. But who remembers?)
How to cook ground beef chili in a slow cooker/Crock-Pot?
Prefer to make it in a slow cooker/Crock-Pot? Then refer to the instructions below for Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili Recipe, EXCEPT:
- Do all the sautéing in a pot on the stove before transferring everything to the slow cooker.
- Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
How to cook ground beef chili on the stove top?
To make my Ground Beef Chili on the stovetop, just follow the same instructions as presented in my Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili recipe below, EXCEPT:
- Instead of using ½ cup chicken broth or bone broth, use 1 cup; and
- Instead of cooking it under pressure, simmer it in a partially-covered stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat for 1 hour or until the flavors meld.
Ingredients
Ground Beef Chili
- Avocado oil, ghee, or cooking fat of choice
- Yellow onion
- Red or green bell pepper
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Tomato paste
- Garlic cloves
- Lean ground beef (85% lean, 15% fat): I love ground beef in this recipe because I always some on hand but feel free to use another ground meat of your choice (e.g. ground turkey, ground chicken thighs, ground pork, goat, lamb, elk, bison, etc.), but choose one that isn’t super lean (e.g., 99% fat free)!
- Chili powder
- Dried oregano
- Ground cumin
- Cayenne pepper (optional): Leave out if you want a super mild chili. You can add some black pepper for a little bit of spice or some smoked paprika for smokiness.
- Fire-roasted canned diced tomatoes
- Chicken broth, beef broth, or bone broth
- Fish sauce: This secret and unusual ingredient adds umami and savoriness to the chili. Trust me!
- Apple cider vinegar (optional)
Optional toppings
- Sliced avocado
- Slivered scallions or green onions
- Finely diced white onions + minced fresh cilantro
- Unsweetened coconut yogurt or dairy-free sour cream
- Lime wedges
How to make Instant Pot no bean Chili
Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot and wait for the metal insert to heat up. Once the insert is hot, add 1 tablespoon of fat and swirl it around.
As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the onions and bell peppers with a sprinkle of salt.
Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened.
Stir in the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add in the ground beef…
…along with 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt. Brown the meat and break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
When most of the ground beef is no longer pink (5 to 7 minutes), stir in the chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne pepper (optional). For a milder chili, you can leave out the cayenne pepper and add some freshly ground black pepper.
Combine well to distribute the fragrant spices.
Toss in the drained diced tomatoes, broth, and fish sauce.
Stir everything well, making sure the liquid reaches the bottom of the insert.
Lock the lid and cook under high pressure for 15 minutes. (In other words, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and set the time for 15 minutes under high pressure.)
When the chili is finished cooking, release the pressure manually if you’re itching to eat it right away. Otherwise, you can let the pressure come down naturally and chow down when you’re ready.
Taste the chili and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Sprinkle on some extra salt and stir in the apple cider vinegar, if desired. Taste again to see if you need to punch up the flavors.
Ladle up the chili and serve with your favorite chili toppings!
What can you serve it with?
You can always go crazy with the toppings, like adding sliced avocado, white onion, and cilantro. If you’re not paleo, you can sprinkle on some shredded cheddar cheese as well! If you want to add even more protein, you can ladle it over some hotdogs and make some delicious chili dogs. If you want to add some healthy carbs, ladle the chili over baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes!
How do you store leftovers?
This Instant Pot chili recipe is a fantastic emergency entrée because it freezes so well! This ground beef chili can be kept in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months. It reheats really well on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the Instant Pot (program for 2 minutes under high pressure). You can eat it as-is, throw it on zoodles, spoon it over some grass-fed hot dogs, stuff it in an omelet—you name it!
More Instant Pot Beef recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot No Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 small red bell pepper diced
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 pounds ground beef 85% lean, 15% fat
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar optional
Optional toppings:
- Sliced avocado
- Sliced scallions
- Finely diced white onions + minced cilantro
- Unsweetened coconut yogurt I like Coyo brand the best
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot and wait for the metal insert to heat up. Once the insert is hot, add 1 tablespoon of fat and swirl it around.
- As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the onions and bell peppers with a sprinkle of salt.
- Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened.
- Stir in the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add in the ground beef, along with 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt. Brown the meat and break it up with a spatula.
- When most of the ground beef is no longer pink (5 to 7 minutes), stir in the chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne pepper (optional). Combine well to distribute the fragrant spices.
- Toss in the drained diced tomatoes, broth, and fish sauce. Stir everything well, making sure the liquid reaches the bottom of the insert.
- Lock the lid and cook under high pressure for 15 minutes. (In other words, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and set the time for 15 minutes under high pressure.)
- When the chili is finished cooking, release the pressure manually if you’re itching to eat it right away. Otherwise, you can let the pressure come down naturally and chow down when you’re ready.
- Taste the chili and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle on some extra salt and stir in the apple cider vinegar, if desired. Taste again to see if you need to punch up the flavors.
- Ladle up the chili and serve with your favorite toppings, like sliced avocado, white onion, and cilantro!
- You can store the chili in the fridge for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- Instead of using ½ cup chicken broth or bone broth, use 1 cup; and
- Instead of cooking it under pressure, simmer it in a partially-covered stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat for 1 hour or until the flavors meld.
- Do all the sautéing in a pot on the stove before transferring everything to the slow cooker.
- Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very good and easy to make.
I don’t comment on recipes often. But I realized I’ve now made this 4 or 5 times because it’s just amazing as written. Thank you!
This is in our regular rotation! Works great when we are eating keto, we will also add black beans and too with cheese and serve with chips when we aren’t eating Keto/ paleo. I also like to make this in single size frozen servings and take camping.
This was great!! I added some tomato sauce and didn’t use the fish sauce. Increased the cayenne pepper. Added some diced carrots, mushrooms, kidney beans, & pinto beans. For toppings, I did cashew milk yogurt (like sour cream), radish, & avocado. So delicious! My husband who doesn’t ever eat much ate two big bowls which is saying a lot.
easy, quick, tasty! But, I skip the fish sauce for my taste.
This recipe was great. I did not have some things and substituted, but it turned out fine. I added too much liquid thinking that it was too thick before I cooked it and that was a mistake. The amount of broth in the recipe would’ve been perfect.
this was amazing! loved doing it in the instant pot. used coconut aminos instead of fish sauce, used the cayenne pepper and the apple cider vinegar. a great weekday lunch idea.
Hello there! Love this recipe. What is the serving size?
Thanks Lynn. There are 6 servings per pot.