This Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili tastes slightly sweet, has a mild kick, and is so smooth and velvety from adding a whole can of pumpkin (plus my secret chili ingredient). It takes fall cooking to a whole other level!
No Instant Pot? Don’t worry- you can do it in your slow cooker or on your stovetop, too.
When I first heard about pumpkin chili, I’ll admit: I was skeptical. I thought it might be too sweet, or too “pumpkiny,” or just otherwise taking the fall pumpkin trend a bit too far.
I love chili, and I love how simple it is, so I didn’t want to muck it up too much.
Honestly, I didn’t even expect to put it on the blog, I was so skeptical.
But OH. MY. GOODNESS. I was wrong. It’s soooo good! I think you’re going to love it.
First of all, there’s a whole can of pumpkin added to it. It definitely adds a squash-like, pumpkin flavor to the chili, but not overwhelmingly so. (For another great recipe that uses the WHOLE CAN, try these healthy pumpkin pancakes!)
What it does do is add a big ol’ serving of vegetables to the chili (pumpkin, along with other winter squash, is super good for you– it’s packed with vitamins A, C, B6, and tons of fiber!).
And it also makes the texture beautifully smooth, thickening the base and holding everything together in a perfect balance that ensures all is as it should be in the universe. I mean, in this bowl of chili.
Beyond the canned pumpkin puree, there is so much fun fall flavor going on here.
I used apple cider as the liquid base for the chili. You don’t need much- just a cup. But it’s important to have enough liquid when you use a pressure cooker so it will work correctly.
You can also use apple juice, or even hard cider, if you want.
The apple cider adds just a hint of sweetness that’s perfect with the spiciness of the chili powder and cayenne, and enhances the natural flavor of the pumpkin. Again, I was skeptical, but I promise it’s not too sweet. It’s just right.
Most chili recipes use beef stock as a liquid base, and sometimes a dark beer. I think both would be good here as well, if you want to skip the cider. I won’t judge.
I added the apple cider after sautéing the onions and peppers with the ground beef and spices in the Instant Pot. This ensured that all the stuck-on bits at the bottom released before it cooked, helping prevent a hard to clean mess and also making sure all that flavor got into the chili, rather than hung out on the bottom of the pot.
So. We have pumpkin, and we have apple cider.
This chili SCREAMS fall and cozy weather and jumping in leaf piles and gobbling up a big bowl after trick or treating in the cold. Don’t you think?
But wait! I haven’t even gotten to my secret ingredient!
The spices I added to this really help set it over the top. There’s the typical chili powder (and lots of it), as well as cayenne pepper (for a bit of a kick).
I also added some pumpkin pie spice, which is nothing more than a combination of allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, depending on which brand you buy.
Basically, it’s a bunch of warming, slightly spicy flavors that go so well in the chili. I promise, it’s not just for pumpkin pie (or for pumpkin spice snickerdoodles!).
And as for my secret ingredient for this delicious pumpkin chili recipe?
COCOA POWDER!
I add cocoa powder to almost all my chili recipes. Ohhhh boy, are you in for a treat if you’ve never tried it.
First, I want to be clear: adding cocoa powder doesn’t add sweetness at all. Pure cocoa powder doesn’t have any sugar in it at all.
Instead, it adds a velvety smooth flavor to the chili. It tastes so good with the chili powder and cayenne flavor (because chocolate and chiles are a match made in heaven). You have to try it!
Once the chili was done cooking, I added some chopped fresh cilantro as well as seasoned it with salt. The general rule when cooking with beans is not to salt until the end, since the salt can affect the texture. I added quite a bit of salt at the end, so make sure you taste it and season appropriately.
And if your chili seems too liquidy and you’d like it thicker, you can use the sauté function on the Instant Pot to let it simmer until it’s thickened a bit. I do recommend covering it with a splatter screen, since it gets extremely hot and bubbly.
The other great thing about this recipe? It makes a TON. I froze half of it for another time. But I’m too excited, and I might seriously break into it in a few days.
I served this spaghetti Cincinnati-style: over spaghetti. So good. Basically, chili is like a bolognese sauce, so it definitely works!
You can also serve it over cornbread or rice, if you’re trying to feed a crowd.
Sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, and diced avocado are all great toppings with which to serve this chili.
If you like this Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili recipe, you’ll love this Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, and Crockpot Turkey and Vegetable Chili!
Other Pressure Cooker Soups and Stews
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Fish Stew
- Pressure Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Chili with Ground Beef and Kidney Beans
Sweeter Pumpkin Recipes
- Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Pumpkin Oat and Nut Muffins
- Dark Chocolate and Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Be sure to check out all my other Instant Pot Recipes!
Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 lbs. extra lean ground beef
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more if needed to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup apple cider hard cider can also be used
- 15 oz. canned pumpkin puree
- 30 oz. canned red kidney beans drained and rinsed (2 small cans)
- 28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Frank's (optional)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped (optional)
- lime wedges, shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped avocado, chopped tomato, sliced green onion, and/or extra cilantro for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to the "Sauté" function.
- Sauté onions and bell pepper in canola oil (1 tablespoon) until softened and starting to brown, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).
- Add ground beef and cook, crumbling as you go, until browned (about 5 more minutes).
- Add chili powder (1 ½ tablespoons), cocoa powder (1 tablespoon), and pumpkin pie spice (½ tablespoon), cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon), kosher salt (1 teaspoon), and black pepper (½ teaspoon). Stir to coat everything.
- Add the 1 cup of apple cider and stir, scraping up any stuck bits at the bottom of the pressure cooker as you go.
- Add the canned pumpkin, beans, crushed tomato, and hot sauce (if using). Stir to mix together well.
- Cover Instant Pot and set to manual at high pressure for 20 minutes.
- When time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally or use the quick release, waiting until the float valve has sunk down before opening.
- Stir in the fresh cilantro if using (¼ cup) and season with more salt if needed (you're likely going to need a lot of salt- make sure you taste it!).
- Serve with optional toppings on its own or on top of spaghetti, cornbread, or rice.
Notes
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Add all ingredients except cilantro and salt to the slow cooker. Decrease amount of apple cider to 1/2 cup. Stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Stovetop Instructions: In a large pot, brown onions and peppers in oil. Add ground beef and cook. Add spices and stir to coat. Pour in apple cider and scrape up any browned bits. Add tomatoes, beans, and pumpkin, stir, and simmer covered on low for at least one hour, or until flavor has developed to your liking (the longer it simmers the more flavorful it will be - I like to let it simmer all day sometimes if I'm home!). Turn off heat, stir in cilantro and season with salt.
- If the chili seems too thin after cooking in your pressure cooker, turn to "sauté" and allow the chili to simmer until it's thickened. You may want to place a splatter screen on top, as it will get quite bubbly.
- This chili can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- Please note: this recipe calls for apple cider, NOT apple cider vinegar! If you can't find apple cider, apple juice will work just fine.
- Depending on how warm or cold your ingredients start, and the type of pressure cooker you have, this time to come to pressure can vary.
- I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Theresa Gibbons
I was skeptical, but my family and I agreed that the chili was absolutely delicious. I used dark beer instead of apple cider and couldn’t have been happier with the result. One quick note: the written instructions don’t mention adding the cayenne pepper, which I included in step 4. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Love the idea of using dark beer in place of the cider! So glad you and your family liked it. And thanks for catching that error with the cayenne pepper – fixing the recipe card right now! Really appreciate you bringing this to my attention.
Gaile Willis
This was great but wondered why the cook time was so long with the IP.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Even though the ingredients for chili are often already “cooked,” it usually simmers for quite a long time on the stovetop (at least an hour, maybe 2-3) in order for the flavors to really marry together, the beans to get a really soft texture, etc. So 20 minutes in the instant pot takes that simmering time down quite a bit but still ends up with a really delicious flavorful result. Hope that helps!
David
Everything as promised. Delicious.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Paweł
One question. Should I brown the meat when doing it in a slow cooker?
Elizabeth Lindemann
You can, it will enhance the flavor. But the beef will cook if you just add it in the slow cooker raw, since it cooks so long. I usually just do this as I hate making extra dishes to wash!
Debbie
Really, really good! I halved* the recipe since I only had 1 lb. of meat thawed, and used an 8-quart electric pressure cooker. Fantastic! Nice flavour change up from my usual chili recipe. 1 tsp. of kosher salt was just about perfect for my half-recipe.
* instead of halving the cider I used a little more than 1/2 cup, approx. 2/3 cup to keep the liquid content where it needs to be for the pressure setting.
I freeze pumpkin purée in the fall so I’m always looking for recipes worthy of my frozen little treasures! This one is a keeper. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe – it’s one of my favorites! We love making it on Halloween :-)
Karen
I made this using Morningstar chorizo crumbles for a vegetarian version. I won a contest! I think it was the cocoa powder.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh my goodness that’s amazing! Does this mean I can call it “award winning?” I’m going to go ahead and say yes :-) Thanks for letting me know, and so glad you liked it! Love your suggestion for a vegetarian version.
Michael
Where’s the recipe?
Elizabeth
If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the written part of the post, you should see the recipe card! You can view it on the page or you can print it.
LynK
Hello! What serving size is the nutrition information for?
Elizabeth
Hi! So, I estimated that the recipe makes about 10 servings, so it’s for 1/10th of the chili. I didn’t measure the whole volume of the chili after it was done, but I think the total was about 10 cups as I look back on the ingredients, so the nutrition info is for approximately 1 cup of chili. As a disclaimer, I always estimate nutrition information to my best ability, but it’s never 100% precise. Hope that helps!
Megan A Stanley
Any suggestions to keep the burn warning from coming on in the IP? It’s happened both times even though there’s plenty of liquid
Elizabeth
Sorry for the delayed response. I’ve heard this from a few people on a few of my recipes, and I always thought it was weird because it came nowhere near to burning on mine! However, it’s come to my attention that some of the newer versions of the Instant Pot tend to show the burn warning more easily. I’d suggest adding about a cup more liquid to the chili- that should help. And if it’s too soupy at the end, you can always simmer it until it thickens up. Hope that helps!
Denni
Any suggestions for a vegetarian version? Not starting with a beef broth base seems to be a great starting point for a vegetarian/vegan version. I was thinking to substitute a couple of cans of beans for the meat – maybe mix it up and make a 3 bean chilli with a can of black and a can of garbanzo – but sometimes something seems missing with this simple substitution.
Elizabeth
I love those ideas! I actually have a vegetarian chili recipe on the blog and it uses more beans, plus mushrooms and corn. I think mushrooms would be great, and the sweet flavor of the corn would also probably pair really well! I wonder if root vegetables- carrots, turnips, etc. would also work. I’d love to know what you end up trying and if you like it!