Instant Pot Honey BBQ Fritos Chili Bake–twisty, crunchy Honey BBQ Fritos and shredded cheese top a steaming bowl of 2-bean and ground turkey chili that has a slight sweetness from barbecue sauce and honey.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Honey BBQ Fritos Chili Bake
This slightly sweet and cheesy chili with two types of beans is a family favorite. Skyler had the leftovers for breakfast the next day! The twisty Honey BBQ Fritos are a must and bring this dish together and make it more fun. And don’t forget the fresh toppings like guacamole and diced tomatoes for color and bright flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp oil–vegetable, canola or olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey–or ground chicken, beef or pork
- 1 cup diced onion–yellow or white
- 1 bell pepper–your choice of color
- 2 ribs of celery–sliced or diced
- 1 jalapeno–remove the seeds and minced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic–fresh or jarred
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chicken broth–or 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained–you can also use another type of beans that you like
- 1 (14.5 oz) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained–you can also use another type of beans that you like
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes–I like petite diced tomatoes. You can also use crushed tomatoes.
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce–I like Sweet Baby Rays
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp cornmeal–to help thicken the chili
- 8 ounce shredded Mexican blend cheese–or another blend of cheese that you like (ie cheddar, colby jack, monterey jack, etc.)
- 1 bag Fritos (Honey BBQ Twists variety)–if you can’t find the Honey BBQ Twists you can use regular Fritos
- For topping: guacamole, diced green onion, chopped cilantro, diced tomato and pickled jalapenos
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (the more setting is what I used). When display says HOT add in the oil and the turkey. Break up the ground meat*. Add in the onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Coat the meat well. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking (to prevent burn message). Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Dump the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, BBQ sauce and honey into the pot. Don’t stir (layering prevents the burn message).
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 5 minutes (if you don’t have a soup button just use the pressure cook/manual button). When the time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir in the cornmeal (this is optional but I like how it thickened the chili a little). Let the chili reduce down for a few minutes until thickened a bit (I did this for about 5 minutes).
- Turn off the pot. Stir in half of the cheese.
- Scoop into dishes and top each dish evenly with the rest of the cheese, Fritos and all the toppings.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil and the turkey. Break up the ground meat. Add in the onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Coat the meat well. Pour into the slow cooker.
- Add in the broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, honey and cornmeal (use 1/4 cup instead of 2 Tbsp listed in the directions) into the pot. Stir.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (you can also use the high setting and cook for 3-4 hours).
- Stir in half of the cheese.
- Scoop into dishes and top each dish evenly with the rest of the cheese, Fritos and all the toppings.
Tips/Notes
- This recipe has a bit of upfront prep time to chop the vegetables and brown the ground turkey. But after you get it going in the Instant Pot it’s easy peasy.
- You can also make this recipe with leftover chopped turkey or chicken. Saute the onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno in some oil and then stir in the chopped turkey, the seasonings and the garlic. Follow the recipe as stated from there on out.
- You know what’s surprisingly good? Dipping the honey bbq fritos into the guacamole! Yum Yum! I couldn’t get enough.
- I used a 6 quart Instant Pot. You can also make this in a 3 quart pot, with no changes. For the 8 quart pot increase broth to 1.5 cups.
- To make gluten free: make sure broth, cornmeal and BBQ sauce are gluten free
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or you can freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months. Reheat by thawing overnight and then stirring in a pot over medium heat on the stove.

More Recipes with FRITOS…
Instant Pot Loaded Frito Taco Soup
Instant Pot Frito Pie Chili or Slow Cooker Frito Pie Chili
Instant Pot Walking Taco Casserole
Instant Pot Sour Cream Chili Bake
Instant Pot Chuck Wagon Dinner
Instant Pot Chicken Taco Salad
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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Instant Pot Honey BBQ Fritos Chili Bake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Twisty, crunchy Honey BBQ Fritos and shredded cheese top a steaming bowl of 2-bean and ground turkey chili that has a slight sweetness from barbecue sauce and honey.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable, canola or olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced
- 2 ribs of celery, sliced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5 oz) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp cornmeal
- 8 ounce shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 bag Fritos (Honey BBQ Twists variety)
- For topping: guacamole, diced green onion, chopped cilantro, diced tomato and pickled jalapenos
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and the turkey. Break up the ground meat. Add in the onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Coat the meat well. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Dump the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, BBQ sauce and honey into the pot. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 5 minutes. When the time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting and stir in the cornmeal. Let the chili reduce down for a few minutes until thickened a bit.
- Turn off the pot. Stir in half of the cheese.
- Scoop into dishes and top each dish evenly with the rest of the cheese, Fritos and all the toppings.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil and the turkey. Break up the ground meat. Add in the onion, pepper, celery and jalapeno and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Coat the meat well. Pour into the slow cooker.
- Add in the broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, honey and (¼ cup of) cornmeal into the pot. Stir.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Stir in half of the cheese.
- Scoop into dishes and top each dish evenly with the rest of the cheese, Fritos and all the toppings.
- Category: Turkey
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This recipe is soooo delicious. Highly recommend it! The four of us adults loved it. Only had a bit more than one serving left. Gave it to our daughter for lunch tomorrow. Wish now I would have kept the leftovers and served over baked potatoes. We also used all pinto beans and ground turkey. Followed the recipe. Only thing we left off was cilantro as my husband does not like it. This will go in our favorites! Thanks Karen for this awesome recipe. 💜
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Dianna!
I could be generic here and only say that this is another winner of a recipe. But honestly, this chili is special. I used Turkey, and for the beans I used 2 cans of Pinto’s. Also used the Sweet Baby Ray Bbq sauce. The very slight sweetness in this chili is a game changer. So subtle, and compelling. Your chili was fully devoured by the 4 of us, who were perhaps greedy portion wise. No regrets on that! Can’t thank you enough for the groundwork that you do, to make us home cooks feel so accomplished. Additionally Karen, you’ve introduced me to those honey twisted Frito’s….addicting!
★★★★★
YES those fritos are so good, right!? So glad you made this and loved it Jeff! Thanks so much for your nice review.