Name: Insta-Pot Vegetarian Chili
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Olive Oil; 4 Small Onions (diced); 4 Garlic cloves (minced); ¼ Cup Chili Powder; 3 Tbsp Cumin Powder; 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste; 2 Cups Vegetable Broth; 1 28-Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes; 2 14-Ounce Can Red Kidney Beans; 1 14-Ounce Can Black Beans; 1 14-Ounce Can Corn; 2 Bell Peppers (diced); 6 Celery Sticks (chopped)

Insta-Pot Vegetarian Chili is quick and easy to make that is delicious and flavorful.

Total Cooking Time: 25 minutes

I don’t have a kitchen!! Over the past several weeks, my kitchen has been undergoing some renovations which means I had not stove or oven. Due to this, I had to put my Great British Bake Off Challenge on hold but it didn’t completely stop me from cooking. And one of my favorite tools for cooking without a kitchen is the Insta-Pot. There are many things that can be made in an Insta-Pot but I went with a simple classic: Chili. This is a great recipe for making a full meal for a group of people in a fast and easy way.

Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.

Ingredients

For a recipe without a kitchen, there are a large number of ingredients that go into it. To bring forward a depth of flavor, I used onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin powder, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, corn, bell peppers and celery. For the protein, I used a lot of beans. I like to mix together kidney beans and black beans because it adds a variety of flavor in each bit.

Process

01

Prepping the Onions

The onions are the first item to be prepared as I used the Insta-Pot sauté setting to cook the onions before turning the Insta-Pot to its pressurized setting. After sautéing the onions in olive oil, I added in all of the flavorings: minced garlic, chili powder, cumin powder and tomato paste. Everything is stirred together and cooked on sauté mode for about one minute before I added everything else.

02

Add Everything Else and Cook

Then it’s time to add everything else and stir it all together. This includes the can of crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, all the beans, corn, bell peppers, and celery. After everything is mixed together in a uniform way, it’s time to pressurize the pot and cook. I put the pressure on high and cooked the chili for about 10 minutes. To let the flavor simmer after cooking, I waited a few minutes before releasing the pressure on the Insta-Pot. And then it’s ready to serve with any of the desired toppings!

Reflections

This recipe came like a god send to me because prepare a dinner for five people without a kitchen. This recipe was very easy to make and took very little active time. And honestly, it took very little cook time as well. And it made so much food! The best part was that each person could customize their own bowl in whatever way they wanted to make a unique experience for everyone at the table.

Lessons

Pressurized Cooking

Over the past decade, Insta-Pots have overtaken tools such as a slow cooker as well as replaced a rice cooker in many kitchens. This all-in-one pot is great for doing slow cooking and pressurized cooking. When cooking under pressure, heat is combined with pressure to expedite the cooking process. The Insta-Pot allows for processes that would not normally take hours to cook in one fifth of the time (depending on the recipe).