Instant Pot turkey chili is a family favorite in the making! This hearty and perfectly thickened chili recipe features a balance of spices along with two pantry secret ingredients to give this dish a TON of richness. Everything gets cooked in one pot with just 15 minutes of pressure cooking time for hands-off convenience.
I'm returning to this post 6+ years after I published it to update a few photos, but also to yell from the rooftops about how FANTASTIC I still think this recipe for turkey chili in the Instant Pot is.
It's straightforward, simple, and hearty-yet-pretty-healthy. It turns out dependably delicious every single time and freezes beautifully - it was a very welcome inclusion to my postpartum freezer meals. It's no wonder it's become one of the 600+ recipes on this website I personally make most often.
Chili isn't the most intuitive thing to make in the Instant Pot. My first batch all those years ago lost pressure partway through and I had to do a research deep-dive to figure out where I went wrong.
But research I did, and with intentional tweaks and steps it's been smooth sailing ever since. I've shared what tips are super important when cooking with tomato-based liquids and thick mixtures like chili in the Instant Pot in the post below.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Chili
- Rich flavor - Two easy-to-find but unexpected secret ingredients take the flavor of this chili to the next level. I will never make ground turkey chili with without them.
- Speedy cook time - An electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot brings out the best in chili. You'll enjoy that simmered-all-day flavor in a fraction of the time (just 15 minutes of hands-off pressure cooking).
- Detailed steps for success - Making turkey chili in the Instant Pot can be tricky because you need to balance the amount of liquid with the thicker ingredients. Sometimes this can mess with maintaining pressure or trigger a "burn" message, but this recipe is written in detail to save you the trouble.
Ingredients You'll Need
The two secret ingredients to make the best turkey chili in the Instant Pot are pumpkin puree and unsweetened cocoa powder. You won't taste either of them, rather they blend seamlessly into the chili to provide a rich flavor and thick, silky texture.
- Ground turkey: Sometimes "turkey-instead-of-beef" recipes get a bad rap for lacking flavor, but that's not an issue with sufficiently seasoned recipe like this one. I prefer 93% lean/7% fat ground turkey, not 99/1 ground turkey breast, for the best flavor.
- Broth: For a meatier flavor I like to use reduced-sodium beef broth, but chicken broth works just as well. (I use bouillon paste so you just see the water in the picture above).
- Beans: Canned beans = no ahead-of-time soaking needed. Pinto beans, red kidney beans, or white kidney beans (cannellini) all work great. Beans add heft to chili and a nutritious boost of fiber, and rinsing them eliminates much of the sodium.
- Cocoa powder: The cocoa powder blends in seamlessly as a support ingredient that deepens its rich flavor. It's a staple in my homemade chili seasoning. Either natural or Dutch process is fine. Just make sure it's unsweetened.
- Spices: These include chili powder (a non-spicy blend of chilis and seasonings, not one single dried chili pepper), cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Worcestershire sauce: One teaspoon brings a savory umami note.
- Pumpkin puree: Pumpkin puree doesn't change the flavor, rather it brings a silky, thick texture that makes this healthy turkey chili taste a whole lot more luxe than it is. Choose 100% pure pumpkin puree and not canned pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced. The cans look very similar to one another.
- Crushed tomatoes: Plain or fire-roasted are my first choices, but I've even used Italian basil flavored ones here in a pinch and it's all good.
Step-by-Step Instructions
We're using two Instant Pot functions to make turkey chili: the Sauté function and the High Pressure Cooking function.
Besides speeding up the process of making chili, getting to sauté right in the same pot as the pressure cooking is a huge benefit when compared to most slow cookers as there's no need to dirty a separate pan to brown and sauté things before cooking.
- Sauté the onion. Add olive oil to the Instant Pot and set it to the Sauté function. Once heated, add cook the onion for two minutes, stirring a few times throughout.
- Cook the turkey and garlic. Add turkey and break it up into crumbles. Sauté until fully cooked, stirring throughout. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes.
- Season. Sprinkle the cocoa powder and all dry seasonings over the meat and and stir in.
- Deglaze the Instant Pot. Pour ½-cup of broth into the pot and use a sturdy spatula to scrape up all stuck-on burnt bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Shut off the Sauté function. Once fully deglazed, turn off the Instant Pot as you prepare the rest of the ingredients to prevent the bottom layer from starting to overly brown and stick once more.
- Add everything BUT the tomatoes. Pour in the rest of the broth, pumpkin puree, beans, and Worcestershire sauce. Give everything a very good stir at this point, as this is the last time you'll stir the chili before it pressure cooks.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes. Slowly pour them into one area of the Instant Pot and DO NOT stir in! Close and lock the lid, ensuring the steam release handle is set to "sealing".
- Pressure cook, then stir. Program the time to 15 minutes of manual high pressure cooking. Afterward let the pressure release naturally, open the lid when appropriate, and give it all a big stir before serving.
Prevent the Instant Pot Burn Warning for Chili
Getting the "burn" error isn't unheard of when making chili in the Instant Pot. The combination of chunky ingredients and thick crushed tomatoes without lots of soup-level liquid is a perfect storm for Instant Pot shenanigans.
While I haven't gotten a display "burn" message on my particular Instant Pot model, the float valve dropping during cook time is another mechanism that signals there's not enough liquid (to provide steam) to maintain pressure. Basically it gives up before the food along the bottom of the pot scorches.
Here are 3 MUSTS to follow when making turkey chili in the Instant Pot:
- Use sufficient liquid. I've found the sweet spot for Instant Pot turkey chili to be 1 ¾ cups of broth so enough steam can be generated to pressurize and cook correctly.
- Deglaze the pot. The Instant Pot registers the temperature from the bottom of the pot, so leaving anything stuck to the bottom after sautéing and before pressure cooking risks triggering the "burn" message.
- Don't stir in the tomatoes. Slowly pour the crushed tomatoes on top of the other ingredients in one general area and let them rest on top. Stirring them in thickens the liquid too much, which can lead to issues maintaining pressure. During cooking they mix into the rest of the chili without issue.
What to Serve with Turkey Chili
- Cornbread is a classic (honey cornbread is our go-to, though lately I reconfigured that recipe to make with a bag of polenta. I highly recommend polenta cornbread if you've got some!). And if you have leftover cornbread? Cornbread croutons or slightly off-the-beaten-path baked cornbread french toast.
- Shredded cheddar, colby or pepper jack, smoked gouda, or crumbly cotija
- Sour cream
- Crushed up tortilla chips - a favorite on stovetop white chicken chili
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- A simple side salad using whatever greens and vegetables you have on hand. The juxtaposition between warm chili and a cool, fresh salad works for me any time of year.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Instant Pot Size - This recipe is pictured and was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot (paid link). The ingredients will likely need to be halved if cooking in the 3-quart Mini.
- Want thicker chili? If after cooking and natural pressure release this Instant Pot turkey chili is still too liquid-y for your liking, set the Instant Pot to "Sauté" and cook until it thickens.
- Want spicier chili? As written this turkey chili recipe is nicely spiced but really not that spicy (my toddler enjoys it). If we want it spicier, we'll stir vinegar-based hot sauce into our bowls before digging in.
- Storage Instructions - Store leftover turkey chili in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing Instructions - Chili is a freezer meal superstar. Pour leftover chili into the air-tight, freezer-safe containers of your choice, refrigerate until cool, then pop them in the freezer. They'll be just fine for 5-6 months at the proper conditions, probably even longer.
- Reheating Instructions - Thaw frozen chili in the fridge (do not thaw on the countertop), then heat on low on the stovetop or in the microwave until thoroughly warmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
I only use canned beans for Instant Pot turkey chili so I couldn't say for sure. At the very minimum you will need to thoroughly pre-soak dried beans (use your preferred method) before cooking, using caution regarding dried cannellini and red kidney beans as they contain a toxin that requires sufficient boiling time to mitigate. My hesitation is that I don't think 15 minutes of high pressure cooking time will be sufficient to tenderize dried beans, even when pre-soaked.
I wouldn't. The Bean/Chili button on the Instant Pot is a pre-programmed setting assuming the usage of dried beans. As this recipe calls for canned beans, the Bean/Chili setting will likely run too long for what we need. Choose the "Manual" button (or "Pressure Cook" on newer Instant Pot models) instead.
Sometimes things happen despite our best efforts. If you still get a burn message or the Instant Pot has trouble maintaining pressure, carefully release the rest of the pressure (if there is any), scrape up the bottom to deglaze, and add additional broth or water to thin the liquid. Replace the lid, seal it up, and cook it again. All the ingredients here are cooked prior to pressure cooking, so there isn't a worry of things not being cooked through.
More Instant Pot Favorites
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Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 pound (454g) ground turkey
- 5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon (5g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ¾ cup (420 ml) reduced-sodium beef or chicken broth
- 1 15.5-ounce (439g) can pinto, red kidney, or white beans rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 28-ounce (794g) can crushed tomatoes
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to "Sauté" and add the olive oil. Once heated, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey and break it up into crumbles. Cook for 6-7 minutes, or until the turkey is fully cooked and no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Season the turkey with chili powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper and stir to coat evenly.
- Pour in roughly ½-cup of the broth and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot with a sturdy spatula. Once fully deglazed, press the "Keep Warm/Cancel" button to shut off the Sauté function.
- Add the rest of the broth, rinsed and drained beans, pumpkin puree, and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine evenly.
- Gently/slowly pour the crushed tomatoes into one side of the Instant Pot and do not stir. Stirring would make the mixture too thick and risks triggering a "burn" error message.
- Close and lock the lid and ensure the steam release handle is set to "sealing". Press the "Manual" button (or "Pressure Cook" on newer Instant Pot models) and using the "+" or "-"buttons, adjust the time to 15 minutes of high pressure cooking.
- Once the 15 minutes are up, let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally. When the float valve goes down and the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid and give everything a stir. If you'd like a thicker chili, set the Instant Pot back to "Sauté" until it reaches your desired consistency, stirring up from the bottom often.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings, such as shredded cheese, cilantro, green onion, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, etc.
Notes
- Prevent Burn Message - Use enough liquid (do not add less), make sure you deglaze the pan fully, and do not stir in the crushed tomatoes.
- Inactive Time - This is an estimate for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure and for the natural pressure release.
- Storage Instructions - Leftover chili can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. It can be frozen in air-tight, freezer-safe containers for 5-6 months when kept at the proper conditions. Thaw in the fridge (not on the countertop) when ready to reheat.
- Nutritional Estimate - The nutritional information is an estimate. It takes into account rinsing and draining the beans and reduced-sodium beef broth. It does not include any toppings or what you might serve alongside this chili.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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Geraldine Hipp says
It sounds so good. I am going to try it
Alyssa says
I hope you enjoy!! 🙂