Cook Chili Faster With Your Instant Pot (2024)

FAQs

Does an Instant Pot cook food faster? ›

Instant Pots are designed to cook food faster than a stovetop or oven, which is the main reason why people are drawn to them, said Elizabeth Barbone, a recipe developer and cookbook author who runs the site Cook Fast, Eat Well.

What Is the Instant Pot Chili/Bean Setting? The bean/chili setting on the Instant Pot cooks at high pressure and can be set to "more," which is 30 minutes, or "less," which will cook for 25 minutes. You may choose the bean/chili setting and do a quick release after 15 minutes.

Most things cook (at least) 60–70% faster in a pressure cooker than when using any other type of cooking. That doesn't count the prep time of course, or any time the oven, pot, or pressure cooker takes to come to temperature for the food to start real “cooking” though, or “resting” time in the pot for some foods.

Con– The Instant Pot uses steam under pressure to cook food and not everything is meant to be cooked in the Instant Pot. I attempted a crustless quiche which turned out well but it was too wet and moist to my liking and I prefer to cook it in the oven with dry heat.

An improperly sealed lid can cause the Instant Pot to just cook and cook your contents as it attempts to reach pressure. This will lead to scorching and then a burn notice. Make sure that you're using enough liquid.

To Thicken the Chili:

OR, create a slurry by combining 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Turn Instant Pot on to SAUTE. Once chili begins bubbling, add the slurry a little bit at a time while mixing until chili reaches desired consistency.

Enameled cast-iron is maybe best, because if you find yourself making chili with tomatoes in a plain cast-iron pot, the fruit's acidity may react poorly with the metal, leaving the chili with an off taste. A heavy stainless pot will do, as will an aluminum one if you're careful not to let the bottom of the chili burn.

Overfilling your Instant Pot can affect the pressure that builds up inside, so you might end up with a mushy meal, or one that doesn't cook properly. Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat.

Is Instant Pot better than crock pot? ›

An Instant Pot does have more functionality (like sautéing, pressure cooking, slow cooking, and acts as a rice cooker, steamer, and warmer!) than a slow cooker, but if you don't plan to use all of its extra functions and just prefer the simplicity of a slow-cooker, then you might prefer a Crock-Pot.

Thin chili may just need time to cook down. Cook it uncovered low and slow, at least one hour, for it to thicken on its own. Cooking it uncovered allows for evaporation to reduce and concentrate the chili.

A low and slow cook time—at least an hour total—is key for drawing out the most flavor in a pot of chili. Yes, a quick chili is most welcome on weeknights, but it won't have quite the same results. A slow cooker works wonders, but if you're short on time, try a pressure cooker.

I have cooked this chili for 9 hours on low and it was delicious but ever-so-slightly burnt on the top. The tomatoes contain sugar, which caramelizes in the slow cooker, and will eventually burn if it cookes for too long. Anything longer than 10 hours on low is risky.

Time: The pressure cooking function of the Instant Pot allows it to cook food much faster than a slow cooker. For instance, a pork shoulder in a slow cooker takes at least 6 hours on high to become shreddable. In an Instant Pot, you can have pulled pork in an hour.

However, the Instant Pot is more functional than a slow cooker and a rice cooker combined because it can also pressure-cook. The word “instant” in the name gives it away: You can cook things astonishingly fast in a pressure cooker—even notoriously slow-cooking or labor-intensive foods, such as risotto and brisket.

That time doesn't actually start until pressure builds, which often takes about 10 minutes. You'll also want to add about 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure to release. In the end, a "30-minute" recipe can take about 50 to 60 minutes.