Instant Pot Chili KID FRIENDLY

Instant Pot Chili – A family friendly chili for any occasion that only requires 15 minutes of pressure cooking time.

Chili is one of those foods that I don’t think about all year long and then Fall hits and BAM! Chili is all I can think about.

After a few nights of cool weather, I really started to get a hankering for a big bowl of comforting chili.  I only had one dilemma, well two really.

Their names are Nora and Josh.

My kids.

Those kiddos are so stinkin’ picky.  Nora used to eat chili when she was 3 and then Josh made a comment like “that’s gross” and she never ate it again.  This was going to be a challenge but I was up to it.

Josh has been a trooper lately with ground beef.  He has been loving taco meatloaf and taco pasta (made in the IP) so I thought he’d be the easier one to get on board with a ground beef chili. It’s that darn girl I was worried about.  That darn girl.

I am smart enough to know that beans would be a deal breaker for my darling angels.  I made the sacrifice (even though I love beans).  If you want to have beans just add a can of rinsed and drained red kidney beans or black beans in with all the other ingredients.

Do you like your chili spicy?

I do, but I know that kids generally do not, so the heat level is mild in this chili.  You can increase the heat by tossing in some cayenne pepper or diced jalapeno with or without the seeds.  Your other option for adding a bit of heat is to use a variety of diced tomato that has chilies in it, like a Ro-Tel or similar brand.

Now, let’s get to how easy this is.  Soften the onion and peppers then brown up the ground beef.  If you aren’t using a lean beef, you’ll have to drain the fat.  Add everything else, seal the pop and set the timer.  When the timer is done, you’re good to go and serve it up.

This chili recipe is not only perfect for the kiddos but it’s a great recipe to serve during football, bring along to a potluck or for any party really.

So, how did the kids like it? 

Here’s my trick, I put extra cheese on top of Josh’s (he’s my cheese lover) and I put an extra helping of tortilla chips with Nora’s (that girl has never met a chip she didn’t love).  And I’m happy to report this was a HUGE success.  Once I informed my son it was chili, he said “doesn’t chili have beans? I hate beans”. I explained that I made a special version without beans, just for them and he says “huh, so I guess I like chili now”. 

I’m putting a check mark in the mom-win column for this one.