Chicken and Black Bean Chili {Pressure Cooker}
This pressure cooker chicken and black bean chili is fast, simple, so tasty…and it freezes amazingly well.
In the long list of recipes to convert people over to pressure cooking forever, this chicken and black bean chili should rank very, very high.
It’s one of the best things I’ve made throughout years of pressure cooking. Granted, I heart chicken chili in a big way, but regardless of my starting bias, this stuff is good.
And not only that, it’s ridiculously fast – even using dried beans.
I don’t know about you, but I just want to give my pressure cooker a big ol’ squeeze every time I’m able to crank out a crazy delicious dinner like this in less than an hour (waaaay less than an hour, actually, and most of that time is spent twiddling my thumbs waiting for the pressure cooker to cool off) when under normal circumstances it would take at least half a day.
There’s no precooking here (unless you forgot to soak the beans overnight) and not a lot of advance prep, either – dump in all the ingredients and let the pressure cooker go to town.
Because I know some of you may ask, yes, you probably can make this in the slow cooker (I adapted it to be pressure-cooker friendly from a slow cooker version, after all) but I haven’t actually tried it like that yet because it’s too irresistible (and did I mention speedy?) in the pressure cooker.
Fast, simple, so tasty…and it freezes amazingly well. If you can’t tell, there’s not a whole lot to dislike here.
New to pressure cooking? Here’s a good starting place to figure out your feelings on the subject (hint: I think you’ll fall in love).
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a 6-quart InstantPot and a 7-quart stovetop pressure cooker; I’ve included directions in the recipe below for either electric or stovetop models.
What To Serve With This:
The Best Cornbread
All the toppings you love on chili
One Year Ago: Beef and Sweet Potato Stew with Corn and Green Chiles {Slow Cooker}
Two Years Ago: Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry Soup with Shrimp and Rice Noodles
Three Years Ago: Mosaic Heart Jello Jigglers
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup (283 g) dried pinto beans
- 1 ¼ cup (283 g) dried black beans
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup chopped yellow or white onion
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Toppings: sour cream, grated cheese, diced avocados, tortilla chips, fresh lime wedges
Instructions
- Combine the dried beans in a bowl and cover with cool water by 2- to 3-inches. Soak overnight (8-12 hours). Drain and rinse. Read the note above the recipe for a quick-soak option if you haven’t soaked the beans overnight.
- In a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker, combine the beans, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Nestle the chicken in the liquid.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. For electric pressure cookers, cook on high pressure for 22 minutes (for the InstantPot hit manual –> 20 minutes). For stovetop pressure cookers, cook on high pressure for about 19-20 minutes (start timing once high pressure is reached).
- Let the pressure cooker naturally release pressure for 10-15 minutes before releasing the rest under quick pressure. If it starts foaming/bubbling as you let out pressure, wait a few more minutes or just release in short bursts (for stovetop models, run cold water around the sides of the pressure cooker for a non-bubbling quick release).
- If for some reason the beans are not tender enough to your liking when you open the pressure cooker, take out the chicken and simply bring the pressure cooker back to high pressure (this will happen fast since the ingredients are piping hot) for a few more minutes. Release pressure the same way as described above.
- Shred the chicken breasts into pieces and stir back into the chili. Add additional salt and pepper to taste (very important!). Serve with toppings: sour cream, grated cheese, diced avocados, tortilla chips, fresh lime wedges.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe at Smitten Kitchen (converted it from slow cooker to pressure cooker, varying some of the ingredients)
70 Comments on “Chicken and Black Bean Chili {Pressure Cooker}”
The seasonings for this dish are perfect. Really enjoyed it!
Turned out delicious! Thank you for the recipe!!!
I’ve made this a couple times, and I enjoy it a lot! Its got a good flavor and texture, and it’s got a lot less “greasy” nature to it than beef-based chili (not that I don’t love those too) and it’s very easy to make in my InstaPot!
I do have a question: what is the measurement of a serving? Because the nutrition information says “1 serving” without specifying a serving size. The recipe says it “serves 6” but 1/6th of this recipe just based on volume of ingredients is over 2 cups, so that would be a HUGE serving size. Im keeping track of my calories and knowing how much a serving size is would be *very* helpful!
Hi Eric, the serving size and nutrition facts are just a starting point. I don’t usually measure out the serving sizes but rather judge a recipe based on how it feeds my family, so as you can see from that criteria, it’s rather subjective. This recipe could probably feed 6-10 depending on the serving sizes. But the recipe plugin I use doesn’t have the ability to calculate nutrition facts by saying a serving size is 1/2 cup (or whatever it would be) – it calculates the nutrition facts based on the number of servings I put in the recipe.
Made this last night after seeing it on Facebook yesterday. It was so yummy. Since I’m lame and sometimes don’t plan dinner until I’m hungry (I know I’m lame but this year I’m kind of in survival mode) I didn’t have time to soak the beans so I used two cans of each kind of bean to replace the other beans. Smelled so yummy! My kids had multiple bowls and my 11-year old declared it was his new favorite chili! If you’re on the fence try it! So easy and so yummy!!
We loved this chili so much! Though I only had canned beans on hand, two cans of pinto & one of blk worked just fine; I added a can of green giant white & yellow sweet corn to perfect the consistency towards the very end after simmering in the crock pot for the day. Can’t wait to use dried beans next time!
I should have read the comments first! I used rinsed and drained canned beans and mine came out too soupy, as several others have mentioned.
Fortunately, we weren’t planning on eating it until much later, so I had time to adjust. I fished out most of the solid stuff with a slotted spoon and set that aside. I put the “tomato soup” on the stove to simmer. It’s been a couple hours so far, and it’s reduced down from “broth” to “thin pasta sauce.” I think by dinner time we might be back to chili.
Why did mine come out like soup!!?!??!?
It will thicken up as it cools down a bit.
Hi Mel,
I haven’t made this yet but was wondering, could I use cooked roasted chicken (like the one from Costco) to make this and if so, would I just shred the chicken and then add at the point in your recipe where it says to do that with the chicken your cooking in the soup?
Thanks and your recipe’s are always so awesome so I’m looking g forward to making this one.
Hey Geri! Yes, you can definitely use already cooked rotisserie chicken. If so, I’d stir it in at the very end and let it heat through so it doesn’t overcook.
I made this last night and it was delish! After reading the reviews, I decided to put less chicken broth. I used frozen chicken thighs (and upped the time to 27 minutes per another reviewer’s suggestion), which I figured would let off some water, so I halved the chicken broth to 2 cups. I like my chili thick so I also added some tomato paste that I had leftover from another recipe I made last week (about 1.5 tablespoons) and this made it so thick and perfect! I can’t wait to eat it again tonight! I used your quick soaking method in the Instant pot for the beans and they also came out perfect in the end. I will be making this one again!
So good! I used frozen chicken thighs and upped the time to 27 minutes. They fell apart and were very tender. I did the quick soak for the pinto beans, and used some leftover black beans. The chili was a little too soupy for our taste, so I thickened it up with some corn masa. I used about 5 tablespoons and mixed it with some cold water to make a paste before I dumped it in the Instant Pot.
Even my newly-picky twelve-year-old liked this chili. I used pinto beans without black beans and substituted chicken leg quarters because that’s what I had. I cooked it about 5 minutes longer because of the bones. In the future, I’d debone first. We can’t have added salt, so I upped the spices and added about a quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes and paprika.
I’ve made this a half dozen times. It is a family favorite and so easy!
What changes to the recipe do I need to consider if I have an 8 quart pot?
None, you can make it exactly the same as the recipe (although it will take longer to come up to pressure and release pressure).
Wait.. I’m failing to see the note above the recipe for the “quick” option for the beans. It is just dumping it in with the other ingredients if I didn’t pre-soak?
Thanks!
Nevermind – I see it (I guess it was down below in the Notes Section)
Made this last night and four kiddos gobbled it up without complaint. It was SO easy and delicious. I used 1.5 cps of each type of beans and the liquid ratio was perfect! Thanks!!!
Can you use ground chicken breast? Wanna make this tonight
I haven’t tried that but you could definitely experiment!
Can you stir in some cream cheese at the end to make it a little more creamy? I plan to put in the rinsed canned black beans instead of dried beans since that’s what I have on hand.
Sure! You could definitely try that.
I made this delicious and hearty stew last night. Did the quick presoak as noted below (fast and handy). Reduced the amt of beans to one cup each. Instead of pintos i grabbed mayocoba beans instead. I upped the garlic (5 large cloves) & the onion (1 large onion), added 2 celery stalks and only one skinless chicken breast. I sauteed the garlic and dry spices in a tablespoon of oil to bloom the flavors for a minute before adding everything else. Cooked per stovetop instructions but the beans were too hard & consistency was too soupy for my liking. Another 13 mins under high pressure with natural release reduced the juices and softened the beans without making them mushy. The end result was worth the additional wait. Oh yumm, my husband loved this!
Can you please post the size of the Instant Pot that this is best for? We have a 6 quart and this seems like a lot of ingredients and still needing to leave 1/3rd the pot empty.
All my instant pot recipes are written for the 6 quart.
I made this chili. It was delicious but a bit too liquidy. Should I have drained the tomatoes?
I don’t drain them, but if you want it thicker, you definitely could!
So, this dish isn’t even out of the pot yet and I find myself writing a review.
Because it was 4 PM, I had soaked a motherlode of beans intending to have cooked beans on the stovetop all day, but did I? Noooooo.
So, I come to my go-to site for recipes (here, of course) and search for black bean recipes and bam! Here it is. Do I have all the ingredients? Yes. Do I have an Instant Pot? Yes. And I have those soaked beans.
The best thing of all is that every single recipe that I have made of Mel’s has turned out and become a favorite. Why would this be any different? So, thank you, Mel.
You’re the best, Erika.
Thank you so much for this recipe. This is exactly this recipe I was searching for. I am so excited (I don’t get out much) and I will, it looks like, cook this in a couple of days. Well, maybe I have time today. It’s wonderful having choices, thanks and take care, I’ll be back to report…
If I want to use canned beans instead of dried, how much liquid should I cut? Also, how many cans of each bean? Thanks for always saving dinner Mel!
I would probably cut the broth down to 2 cups (You can always add more if it’s too thick). My friend, Deb, just made this with canned beans in the slow cooker and said it was way too liquidy as is, so I think 2 cups is a good place to start. I’d probably do about 3-4 cans of beans total (4 cans if you want it super beany). 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and we all loved! Great recipe.
I think my favorite thing about the instantpot thus far is I don’t have to plan ahead. My friend had her 7th! Baby and I’ve been meaning to get dinner over. With busy nights, I haven’t had tons of time but I just threw this chili together in 15 min and waiting for it to cook. Awesome. Keep the recipes coming!
Just made this in my new Instant Pot! It was great and made a ton! I made your recipe for refried beans last…awesome also. Thanks for sharing all your great recipes.
I did it! This was my first pressure cooker meal! I don’t have the famous instapot but the $40 Ambiano multicooker from Aldi. I followed your time instructions and…perfection. I thanked God for you this week. Your blog has helped me so much this past year.
So happy to hear this, Colleen!
Hi.
Is the 4 cups of stock correct? We tried it, tastes good , but very watery.
Yes, that’s how much I used. Did you use dry black beans or canned? You could definitely cut down the amount of chicken broth if you make it again.
Hi Mel! Ok made the chili this morning. Do you think I can just keep it on the “keep warm” function until dinner in about 5 hrs?
Sure, I would do that if it were me.
It was -20 today, so this soup was perfect for dinner. I served it with your best cornbread recipe, which is a family favorite. Thank you!
I just got an electric pressure cooker for Christmas, and I’m trying this today and putting the tortilla soup on this week’s menu as well – thanks! I was wondering if I need to defrost the chicken before I add it to the pressure cooker, or can I just add a little extra time? Thanks!
If your chicken is frozen, I’d add about 5-6 minutes.
Thanks!
I made this for our ward trunk or treat last night and it was a hit. My crock pot was scraped clean. It’s definitely going on the repeat list.
Can I double this in the instant pot?
Only if your InstantPot is big enough to handle the quantities – you don’t want to fill more than halfway when using beans.
I made this a few months ago and had enough for 2 containers. I served one which I didn’t get to eat but my husband and in laws loved it. The other container I had put in the freezer for another time. I finally got to try it last week and it was delicious. My husband served it over a little rice to make it heartier and so yummy. Thanks for an easy and great recipe.
I made this today in my duo60. First time out actually. Used pork tenderloin instead and doubled the black beans since it was all I had. So good! Fast soaked the beans while the pork was thawing. Flavor was outstanding!
I want to say I love your site! Everything I have tried off of here has been amazing and I have made a lot of your recipes. I always know if I need a recipe for something to look here first. After hearing about pressure cooking and then your blog post I decided to get one. I got an electric one yesterday and made this today! It was delicious as always! We had friends over and our kids and theirs liked it as well. I know I don’t even need to try one of your recipes before making it for friends. Thanks for all your hard work, your recipes are amazing!!
Can you skip the chicken and keep everything else the same? Thanks!!
Yep!
Mel, I recently got an Instant Pot and have been eyeing this chili as my first recipe to try! That being said, do you think canned beans would work okay? I was worried they might get mushy. Thank you for all of your delicious recipes!
Hi Kristin – I think you could use canned beans but I’d stir them in at the end and cook for 2-3 more minutes at high pressure instead of adding them at the beginning.
Hi Mel (or anyone else out there reading this)…just wondering if you have any tried and true tips for removing the odor(s) retained in the silicone ring inside the InstantPot lid. So far I’ve tried washing it in the top rack of the dishwasher, soaking the ring in half/half hot water and white vinegar and steaming water/vinegar/lemon for 5 minutes. The odor has faded but isn’t gone completely. And I have an Oreo cheesecake to bake! I may just order a second ring for neutral/dessert recipes but any tips you have in the meantime would be appreciated!
I totally know what you mean, Courtney! I have minimized the odor in my ring doing similar things (a vinegar/baking soda “bath”) but it isn’t gone completely. I think I’m going to do what you are thinking of and order a second ring to keep the sweet and savory odors separate. 🙂
Thank you, thank you for posting both electric and stove top pressure cooker times, I needed help using mine more, so this is wonderful!
One of the reasons I love your recipes is that I generally have all the ingredients already in my pantry. Yesterday morning I saw this and though, oh, but I have to soak the beans overnight. Duh!! Started soaking them at 9 AM and they were good to go by 4 PM when I started dinner. Thank you for posting pressure cooker recipes.
I don’t usually experiment with recipes but I made an exception for this one since I don’t have a pressure cooker and it looked so delicious and I had most of the ingredients. I used rinsed canned beans (black and Northern) and simmered on the stove top for 2.5-3 hours. It was soooo good! It was a tad spicy for my young daughter and me but I mixed in some yogurt and cheese to help temper it and it took the edge off. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!
Your posts have convinced me I need a pressure cooker! My husband was so tired of hearing me talk about it that he’s getting me one for Valentine’s Day. Thanks for these great new posts that should give me a good starting place.
Thank for the Chicken and Black bean chile recipe. I hope you have many instant pot recipes as I just purchased mine and need recipes
On beans … I make a LOT of beans – various from Rancho Gordo. I’ve found a big difference in flavor and consistency and ease of cooking with the RG beans. I think it is because they are very fresh. For this recipe, I’m going to use pinquitos and midnight black beans as they take the same amount of time to cook and have some bite but not crunchy or mushy. I sometimes find that pintos cook faster than black beans and over cook to mush – not always a bad thing.
Soaking – I do, but I sometimes decide in the morning to cook beans for supper and start the soak first thing in the morning. The beans have 8 hours before I start cooking them and with a pressure cooker especially there is time to soak and cook the same day.
I am LOVING the Instant Pot which I purchased after your post, Mel. Also bought a FAGOR DUO stovetop which I like as well. A whole new world – thanks, Mel and for converting and sharing pressure cooker recipes!
I’m getting one for Valentine’s Day too! I can’t wait!,,,
My husband bought me an Instant Pot for Valentine’s Day (I told him I’d MUCH rather have a pressure cooker than flowers). It’s supposed to come today! I’m sure he won’t mind if I open it early and make this for dinner! Thanks for all your delicious recipes! We devoured your Winter Minestrone Soup for dinner last night! It was heavenly!
Dang, you are really making a good argument for buying a pressure cooker…. I may just have to go for it! This looks amazing! 🙂
This looks so delicious and perfect for the super cold weekend we are having here in DC!
That’s some pretty high praise for a PC meal; I think I’ll scrap my dinner plans for tonight and put this on the menu. Thanks!