Instant Pot Turkey Chili–ground turkey is simmered with fire roasted tomatoes, green pepper, onions, garlic, beans and spices to produce a comforting bowl of chili that is topped with cheese, fritos and green onions. (P.S. you can also use ground beef in this recipe)
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Sometimes you just need a nice bowl of chili. January is the month for that! I know a lot of you are in blankets of snow and freezing temps so if you can make it to the grocery store pick up the ingredients for this instant pot turkey chili.
Here are a few notes about the ingredients:
Ground turkey: I used a lean(ish) ground turkey for my chili. You can also use ground beef. I just rarely have ground beef at my house so that’s why I opted for the turkey chili.
Fire roasted salsa style tomatoes: I bought a can of these at Walmart and they provided a major flavor boost to the chili. If you can’t find them you can just use a can of fire roasted tomatoes instead.
Corn: I chose to add a can of corn which gave the chili somewhat of a taco soup taste. You can leave the corn out if you prefer.
Quinoa: To add some more texture and protein to my chili I added rinsed and uncooked quinoa. I love quinoa but you can totally leave it out if you want. If you do use it make sure to rinse well before adding it in to the pot. It will taste bitter if you don’t.
Toppings: I love corn chips (Fritos) with my chili but you can also crunch up some tortilla chips (Juanitas are my favorite). I do think that some kind of crunch on top of the instant pot turkey chili is necessary. I also believe you need a dollop of sour cream and some grated cheddar to make the chili complete.
More recipes you’ll love…
Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Turkey Lentil Chili
Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili
Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker Skinny Taco Chili Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
For Instant Pot Turkey Chili I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I also own the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker.* They are both great pressure cookers! The first one I mentioned has a yogurt making function but other than that they are fairly similar. The price difference between the two is about $20.
PrintInstant Pot Turkey Chili
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes plus 10 minute NPR
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Description
Ground turkey is simmered with fire roasted tomatoes, green pepper, onions, garlic, beans and spices to produce a comforting bowl of chili that is topped with cheese, fritos and green onions. (P.S. you can also use ground beef in this recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth or beef broth
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 1 (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 oz) fire roasted salsa style diced tomatoes
- 1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup rinsed uncooked quinoa (optional)
- 1 (16 oz) can corn, drained
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp to 1 Tbsp of chili powder (I don’t love a lot of chili powder so I only put in 1 1/2 tsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- Toppings: diced green onions, grated cheddar, sour cream and corn chips
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot to the saute setting. Add in the ground turkey and break it up with a wooden spoon. Brown it for a couple minutes and then add in the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent. About 5 minutes. (If you’re using ground beef you may have to drain off grease).
- Add in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Then layer in the following: green pepper, crushed tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, quinoa, corn, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Don’t stir.
- Cover and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to “sealing.” Set the manual pressure cook button to 5 minutes on high pressure. When the timer beeps let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (or more, if you have time). Move the valve to venting and when you can, open the pot.
- Stir the chili and then season to taste. You may want to add in more chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and serve topped with desired toppings. This chili tastes better as leftovers than it does the day of! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. This chili would also freeze well. Freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Ground turkey: I used a lean(ish) ground turkey for my chili. You can also use ground beef. I just rarely have ground beef at my house so that’s why I opted for the turkey chili. Fire roasted salsa style tomatoes: I bought a can of these at Walmart and they provided a major flavor boost to the chili. If you can’t find them you can just use a can of fire roasted tomatoes instead. Corn: I chose to add a can of corn which gave the chili somewhat of a taco soup taste. You can leave the corn out if you prefer. Quinoa: To add some more texture and protein to my chili I added rinsed and uncooked quinoa. I love quinoa but you can totally leave it out if you want. If you do use it make sure to rinse well before adding it in to the pot. It will taste bitter if you don’t. Toppings: I love corn chips (Fritos) with my chili but you can also crunch up some tortilla chips (Juanitas are my favorite). I do think that some kind of crunch on top of the instant pot turkey chili is necessary. I also believe you need a dollop of sour cream and some grated cheddar to make the chili complete.
- Category: Chili
- Method: Instant Pot
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Stevie says
This is our go-to chili recipe. I’m not a fan of any other chili. I leave out the green pepper (we don’t care for them) and add a jalapeño. My hubby eats it with Fritos chips, which is apparently a Texas thing. Great flavors!!
Karen says
So glad to hear it Stevie! Thank you for the 5 stars
Stephen says
Our go to chili recipe!!!!
Karen says
Thanks Stephen! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Liz says
Did anyone else keep
Getting a burn notification? I had to redo 3 times so it turned out really overcooked.
Jamie says
Yes! Not a fan
Diana says
When you add the liquid, be sure to scrape all of the stuck-on meat pieces from the bottom of the pot to keep from seeing the burn notice.
Amanda says
I’ve used this recipe about 3 times now, so delicious! Since I live by myself I freeze a batch and it’s such an amazing thing to just thaw and reheat for a super easy meal! Thanks for the recipe
Karen says
So glad you liked it Amanda! Good to know it works well frozen and then reheated!
Briana says
If Im using frozen turkey will I need to adjust the time or anything? Thanks!
Karen says
You’ll have to get it thawed enough to brown it. Then follow step 1. Unless it’s already browned??
stevie says
this has been a staple in our house for a while now. I add in a jalapeño and leave out the quinoa. I’m not a fan of any other chili but this one! it feels light! The hubby likes to put tortilla chips or sliced avocado on the top.
Karen says
So glad you both love it!
Ameria Sanhez says
For the nutritional, info is it for a cup, or what is the measurement for the one serving?
Karen says
Yep 1 servings is about 1 cup
Andrea says
How much is one serving?
Christina D Salazar says
Should I add cooking oil to my instant pot before throwing my ground turkey in?
Karen says
I didn’t but you can if you’d like!
Karen Peters says
So delicious I am kicking myself for not making a double batch. My son and husband scarfed it up and we were literally fighting over it the next night 🙂 Really good chili and very easy to make. We’re not big fans of green pepper so used a sweet orange pepper, skipped the quinoa and didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes but not an issue, it still had amazing flavor. Thank you for the recipe. Will be making it again next week but will make a bigger batch!
Karen says
Haha this is great. We also fight over food at our house lol!!! I’m so glad you guys liked it so much 🙂
Sue says
I am not a big chili eater but this is really good! I will be making it again
Karen says
So glad you hear that Sue!
Luvmyyacht says
So good! I had made a different recipe a while back in my instant pot and it was okay. This was so much better!
Karen says
Yay! That’s what I like to hear!
Peri says
I’m wondering if this would work with leftover turkey, from thanksgiving. What do you think?
Kayla says
I actually just did this today. It was perfect.
Karen says
Yum! I bet it would be great!
Brittany says
This recipe was a huge hit! We added a half a pound of ground sausage to add a little bit more meat. Does anyone know the nutritional facts for the original recipe? My fiancé’s on a diet and we’re just trying to figure it out.
Karen says
I just added in the nutrition info!
Dawn W says
Very tasty Karen. Made this last night and it was a great mid-week, quick meal. I definitely made it my own by adding more spice and leaving out a few other ingredients. But isn’t that the point of cooking; taking a recipe and making it your own? Thank you for the guidance in using the instapot for chili. We loved your suggestion on the Frito chips!
Karen says
Yes I do agree with you Dawn! I’m glad this helped you make your own perfect chili 🙂
Mike F.L. says
Hi Karen. This recipe looks amazing, and I plan on trying it very soon. Since I am cooking for a large group, I’d probably want to prepare 3 pounds (maybe even 4) of the ground turkey chili. What changes to cook time would you advise me to make? Thank you!
Karen says
Do you have a large Instant Pot? I would reduce the cooking time by a couple minutes.
Nick says
Do you cut ingredients measurements in half if using a 3 qt instant pot?
Karen says
If the recipe is too big then yes you would. Just make sure the ingredients don’t go over the max fill line.
Cristina says
Hi! Made this tonight. Tasted great! Giving it five stars because the flavor was awesome. Only thing is we love spicy food and it wasn’t very spicy at all :(. What should I add to give it more kick?
Karen says
Maybe some red pepper flakes?
Sigrid Trombley says
How about tossing in a jalapeño? If that doesn’t make it spicy enough, use a poblano or for an even greater kick a habanero pepper?
Topher Mueller says
This recipe is perfect by itself – or a foundation to add your own touches. We threw in a small can of chipotle peppers with adobo and it added an earthy element. Thank you! Awesome to have chili in the instapot.
Karen says
Nice!! Sounds so good!
Johana Anguiano says
Great flavor! It tasted as if it had been simmering in the spices for hours & hours. I nixed the quinoa and corn. I prefer my chili a little chunkier but next time I’ll just use less broth. Still had great flavor!!!
Alissa Rogers says
Hi how long should I cook if I use chicken and double the recipe?
Karen says
ground chicken or chicken breasts?
Yvonne says
I don’t have a green pepper, do you think adding a little bit of wheat grass powder will give the earthy taste of the pepper?
Karen says
I don’t even know what wheat grass powder is–lol! I’m not sure. You could try it and see 🙂
Deanna says
I have to give this recipe 5 stars because the flavor is amazing, it really tastes so good! However, EVERYTIME I cook this recipe in my IP I get the burn notice. One night I got the burn notice 3 times in a row! I’m not sure why this keeps happening with the recipe but it’s so frustrating. Maybe next time I’ll try not stirring and just layer everything? My instinct is to always stir the food up before cooking so all the flavors get mixed up but maybe that’s my problem 🤷🏼♀️. Anyways, the recipe is good enough for me to keep trying to cook it and figure out what I’m doing wrong!
Karen says
Dang it. I would try not stirring. Sometimes when tomato products are touching the bottom the burn notice comes on. Do you have a duo? lux?
Deanna says
No, I just have a regular 6 qt IP. I’m going to try cooking it again this week and not stir it to see if that fixes the problem!
Gloria says
This burn notice happened to me too.
It won’t pressurize if burning 🙁
Elsie says
Today was the first time using by new IP was afraid to use, but did it, but before I used it I bought a non-stick inner pot for it like that nothing will stick and made the turkey chilli and it came out really really good I am impressed
Karen says
HOORAY!
Erin says
My family loved this recipe and I love how easy it was! For my husband and my bowls, we added some Sriracha powder/spice… definitely added some heat but gave the chili much more flavor and made it even better!
Karen says
Sounds so great!
Flo says
I made this tonight…followed the recipe all except green peppers. It was DELICIOUS and so quick and easy. Thanks!
Karen says
Hi Flo, thanks so much for your comment. I love this one too!
Martin says
Nice balance of flavors and textures. I added Mexican oregano. Instead of regular yellow corn, I used posole, which are large whole “hominy” corn kernels. They add even more corn flavor and have a nice toothsome texture. So if you can find canned posole, or whole-kernel hominy, in your supermarket, you should try it.
Karen says
I like your suggestions! I will have to try this for sure.
Bianca says
do you know if i change should the measurements for an 8 quart pot? Im a cooking and instant pot noob lol
Karen says
I think you could keep everything the same for the 8 quart.
Dena Martinez says
I dont understand #3. If its on Saute and then I turn the lid , I cant make the timing button go up or down. Should it be on stew? Ive tried every thing. It just flashed 30 minutes and then it says on. Im just staring at it. ….
Dena Martinez says
ok now its says 30 min and I still cant get the manuel timer button to work.
Karen says
I’m sorry Dena, did you figure it out. Turn off the saute button before you put the lid on. Then put the lid on and press the manual button.
Teresa says
I got the “Burn” message, ugh! I stirred the food up before turning it on. Should I not have stirred it first?
Karen says
Hmmm, weird. Next time try not stirring first and make sure to deglaze the pot after sauteeing the onions and garlic.
Isha Bangia says
First instant pot recipe and it was delicious! I didn’t add beans and corn as I’m not a fan but even without them it was an easy and tasty recipe
Karen says
Welcome to the instant pot! you will love it. I’m so glad you tried my recipe first!!
Cindy says
This was my first Instant Pot recipe as well. It was absolutely delicious and I look forward to making many more. I never leave reviews but this was so good I had to.
Karen says
Hooray Cindy! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 I know you’ll love your instant pot 🙂
Carin says
This was my first instant pot recipe to try. I love this. Easy and great taste.
Karen says
Welcome to the IP world! Glad you liked it.
Samantha says
It tastes good, but it has a kind of mush consistency. We may have cooked it too long because we had a mishap with our IP counting down before coming to pressure.
Karen says
Hmmm. Weird. It shouldn’t be mushy. Hope you can figure out your IP!