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This is our family favorite Instant Pot vegetarian chili, starring two beans, lentils, and a hearty flavor that everyone loves! Making pressure cooker chili is fast and easy. This recipe has become a reader favorite!
Chili never goes wrong as a crowd-pleasing meal. So if you’ve got a pressure cooker, why not try Instant Pot chili? This Instant Pot vegetarian chili is our favorite: it’s full of beans, veggies, and lentils and chock full of plant-based protein.
Alex and I much prefer a pressure cooker chili to making it in a slow cooker, which takes hours and can turn out soggy. This Instant Pot chili is full of savory, hearty flavor—in fact, it might be the best of our chili recipes. Readers agree—it’s gone on to become a reader favorite with lots of positive ratings!
Featured reader comments
“This chili is a miracle dinner! My whole family (hubby and 5 kids) love this! We have some picky eaters and it’s such a relief to have a meal everyone is excited about. Thanks so much for a quick, easy and healthy dinnertime win!” -Kallie
Flavor secrets in this vegetarian chili
A good chili has a flavor secret or two! Here are a few key ingredients in this Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe that make it hearty and satisfying:
- Two types of beans and lentils: To bring in lots of texture and protein, lentils add a key texture element to this chili.
- Fennel seeds: Adding a bit of fennel seeds gives a meaty undertone to this chili (it’s a main ingredient in Italian sausage, so it tricks your brain).
- Fire roasted tomatoes: These canned tomatoes are roasted over an open flame before canning, making their flavor sweet and developed right out of the can.
How to make Instant Pot chili: basic steps
Here’s the thing: Instant Pot chili is not done in an instant. This vegetarian chili takes about the same amount of time to make this stovetop vegetarian chili. So why use a pressure cooker? It’s a hands off method once you’re done sautéing, just set it and forget it! Here are the basic steps (or go to the full recipe below):
- Step 1: Sauté 6 to 7 minutes. Dice the onions and bell pepper. Turn on Sauté mode of the Instant Pot and add olive oil, then sauté the vegetables and a bit of fennel seed for 6 to 7 minutes, until tender.
- Step 2: Pressure cook 12 minutes. Add the tomatoes, lentils, broth, and spices to the Instant Pot. Seal the lid and pressure cook on High for 12 minutes. (It takes about 15 minutes for the Instant Pot to “preheat” or come up to pressure before cooking.)
- Step 3: Quick release, add the beans, garlic, and spices, and rest 5 minutes. Because the pressure cooker can sometimes dull flavors, we like to add ingredients at the end to brighten it up. Allow to rest, then enjoy!
Vegetarian chili toppings
The best part about chili is the toppings, in our opinion! Alex and I have found that this Instant Pot vegetarian chili needs toppings to get the final flavor, like any vegan or vegetarian chili. Here’s what we think are essential, plus a few more ideas:
- Hot sauce or lime: We like hot sauce, but if you prefer try fresh squeezed lime juice.
- Sour cream: Adding creaminess and richness is also key. If you eat vegan or plant based, use vegan sour cream or cashew cream.
- Sliced green onions or cilantro: These add freshness and a pop of green.
- Cheese: Cheese is optional, but it sure makes chili taste good! For vegan, use a dairy-free cheese.
- Pepitas, tortilla chips, or crackers: It’s nice to have a little crunch too.
- Pickled jalapenos: If you love heat, homemade pickled jalapeños add big flavor. Or if you have time to prep in advance, make pickled red onions.
- Tortilla strips: Try our crispy tortilla strips for a crunch!
Want more ideas for your pressure cooker? Try more of our top Instant Pot recipes!
Dietary notes
This Instant Pot chili recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
This is our family favorite Instant Pot vegetarian chili, starring two beans, lentils, and a hearty flavor that everyone loves! Making pressure cooker chili is fast and easy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Vegetarian / Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 1 green bell pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¾ cup dry brown or green lentils
- 28 ounce diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 28 ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin, divided
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon chili powder*
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans
- 1 15-ounce can black beans
- 2 medium or 1 large garlic clove, grated
- For serving: sour cream or cashew cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, cilantro, sliced green onion, roasted and salted pepitas
Instructions
- Dice the onions. Dice the pepper.
- Turn on Saute mode and add the olive oil to the Instant Pot. When it is heated, add the onion, pepper, and fennel seeds and saute for 6 to 7 minutes until translucent. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 3 tablespoons chili powder. Lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Place the pressure release handle (vent) in the “Sealing” position.
- Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes: Press the Pressure Cook button, making sure the “High Pressure” setting is selected, and set the time. Note that it takes about 15 minutes for the pot to “preheat” and come up to pressure before it starts cooking. (During cooking, avoid touching the metal part of the lid.)
- Quick release: Vent the remaining steam from the Instant Pot by moving the pressure release handle to “Venting”, covering your hand with a towel or hot pad. Never put your hands or face near the vent when releasing steam. Open the pressure cooker lid.
- Add the final flavorings: Drain and rinse the beans. Stir in the beans, grate in the garlic (using a microplane is easy), and add the remaining 1 teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon cumin. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Taste and season with additional salt and fresh ground pepper as necessary.
- Load it up: Load up with toppings, as they provide the final flavoring! Use sour cream or cashew cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, cilantro, sliced green onion, roasted and salted pepitas, or your other favorite toppings.
Notes
*Use chili powder which is a blend, not chile powder (like ancho chile powder, which is straight ground chiles and very spicy).
I’ve made this twice now, and love it. I was wondering if it freezes well.
Hi! Yes, it should freeze fine.
This chili is a miracle dinner! My whole family (hubby and 5 kids between 4 and 10) love this! We have some picky eaters and it’s such a relief to have a meal everyone is excited about.
The only change I make is cutting down on the chili powder. Thanks so much for a quick, easy and healthy dinnertime win!
Thank you for making!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks good and the comments are positive.
Is it possible to use chickpeas instead of lentils?
Can I add more vegetables? The more variety, the better for me.
I’m not sure what the cook time would be for chickpeas. Sorry!
This recipe was delicious, and I loved the additional flavor of fennel. The only thing was the lentils were a little chewy. My neighbor, who tried it, didn’t think it was a problem, and that it gave it a “meaty” texture. I would prefer them softer, and will try increasing the time by maybe 5 more minutes. What do you think? Thanks, we really enjoyed it.
Yes! A few more minutes should do it. Different brands of lentils can vary in cook time so these probably just need a bit more.
Wow I really appreciate all the tips for using an instant pot yall included bc this was my first time using mine and had NO idea how to use it. You rule!
Also the chili was delicious.
I was wondering if you can let it naturally vent? I wanted to step away for a while and might not be there to turn it to vent when it’s done
I think it might over cook! You’d want to decrease cook time a bit.
Hello! I love this recipe and have been making it for a couple years now but I recently broke my instant pot… can this recipe be cooked with a crock pot or stovetop?
No, but this recipe is similar! https://www.acouplecooks.com/vegetarian-chili/
Very thick and yummy. The lentils took over the spaces where ground meat would have been.
It’s basically a bowl of tomato with a bit of bean in it. I’m not sure how this would be called chili, it’s more of a tomato soup. I’m going to double the beans and hopefully that can salvage it because I couldnt’ finish my first bowl.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it!
Made this twice now, absolutely fabulous. Thank you
I was searching for a vegan chili recipe to add to a baked potato bar lunch I was making for a crowd last week. This recipe hit the spot!
I didn’t have fennel seeds on hand, but even without them, this chili was delicious.
This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you for making! :)
Have you ever tried it with the dried beans?
We haven’t! We should try it one day.
I didn’t have fresh peppers garlic and onions. I used this red bell pepper spice from pamper chef as well as from epicure. Loved this! Also the diced tomatoes just had regular no salt ones 14.5 ones and so I had to use 2 cans. I added little bit extra lentils. ( which had on hand thanks to my mom!). The toppings I used was dairy free shredded cheese bc I,cant do dairy and also gluten free tort shells. And it ia so good!!! I’ll see be making this again! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I made this recipe and thought it was quite tasty. I added extra spices and garlic. Why doesn’t the recipe (or any of your recipes) include sodium content. I need to track my sodium United closely.
My husband is allergic to lentils. Can I leave them out?
Yes, should be fine!
I love corn in chili, can I add some and at what stage. Also, frozen or canned? Thanks
You can stir in a can of drained corn at the end with the beans!
Chili was incredibly sour/tart. Adding sugar didn’t help much. Are you sure there should be TWO 28 oz cans of tomatoes? I checked with a couple of excellent cooks (I don’t count myself among them:) and they said, “No way!”
The quantities are correct! Some brands of tomatoes are very sour and just need to be simmered longer to mellow the flavor. We recommend fire-roasted tomatoes if you can find them.
My family has been part-time vegetarians (yes, I realize there’s no such thing — one family member is so we are meat-free at least half the week) for about a year. We’ve tried many vegetarian chilis but haven’t preferred the ones with sweet potatoes and quinoa as much as this one with the lentils. I made some changes only because it’s all I had in hand — 18oz of tomato sauce and 32oz of chicken broth. Even with the missing liquid, it turned out slightly soupy but after the add-ins, the consistency became thicker. The flavor was fantastic! Originally, I thought it might be too much seasoning but it turned out to be the perfect amount. Thank you for taking the time to create and post this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for making :)
Hi, was wondering if using corn would work as the “sugar” suggested by other comments? If so, when would you add?
You could add canned corn at the end. However, if you can find the fire-roasted potatoes you won’t have too acerbic of a flavor.
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. My daughter is vegetarian so I’ve been trying to cook more meals for her. I actually like this better than the traditional meat and bean chili. Will definitely use this as my go to chili recipe. Super quick too.
So glad you enjoyed it! :)
Turned out great, but if making in a 6-qt just beware that this recipe will reach the 2/3 line. Suggestion: Only put in half or two-thirds of the cooked tomatoes in for the cooking portion. I don’t like to go over the half-line.
(In addition, I didn’t use fennel seeds, but added fresh jalapenos into the saute mix with the green peppers, worked out great.)
Made this recipe tonight and was really happy with how it turned out and how easy it was to make. I would give this recipe 4.5 stars! Similar to other comments, I also added a bit of sugar to cut out some of the acidity from all the tomatoes used. I also did not have fennel seeds and it turned out perfectly fine without it. If you like spice, I would maybe recommend adding jalapenos for some heat. I may try to make some cornbread tomorrow to complement the chili!
just to clarify – you let the pot heat up for 15 minutes and THEN cook the first batch of ingredients for 12 minutes? so total cooking time for that phase is 27 minutes or thereabouts?
also after cooking, how long can this sit? thank you!
Hi! You set the timer for 12 minutes minutes, but it doesn’t start counting down until it comes to full pressure (about 15 minutes) so the full cook time is roughly 27 minutes.
It can probably sit for an hour or two.
Made this tonight and recieved two burn messages. Since there is no raw meat inside I just left it. The pressure had built and set my own timer. After two burn messages it eventually went into the countdown timer 🤷♀️
We find that there’s a lot of variation between Instant Pots — even from the same brand! We’ve never had a burn message happen on this one and have made it several times. Sometimes the message can happen because of an improperly placed sealing ring: do you think that could have been the issue?
Two cans of 28 oz crushed tomatoes?
1 can diced and 1 can crushed.
Ah, I see you made a note in the recipe! Yes, that clarifies!
Thanks for the clarification. Since you also had some of the other ingredients from the blend in your recipe, it wasn’t clear. I’ve seen powder from the pure Chile pepper referred to with both spellings, which makes it a challenge to discern one from the other, especially as I don’t tend to buy blended spices (make my own!), so I don’t tend to think of a blend unless it is specified: “chili powder blend” would eliminate the confusion.
I’ll try the recipe again cutting the Chile powder and increasing the cumin and oregano, and maybe adding some allspice and coriander. Or maybe break tradition and get a bit of the blend to try.
In the mean time, maybe adding a bunch of boiled potatoes, as well as more cumin and some coriander would help the chili I have. I can’t wait to try the recipe as it was intended.
Hmmm… when you say chili powder, do you mean actual chili powder or the chili powder blend sold in grocery stores? I used actual chili powder, (ancho) and it took over the flavor even before adding that last teaspoon.
Sounds like you are thinking of chile powder, which is quite different! Chile powder is made from ground chiles (like ancho chile powder, super hot!). Chili powder (with an i) is the blend of peppers and spices sold in grocery stores! The “chili” spelling refers to the blend and it’s what we’ve specified here.
This recipe gave my my first burn warning! I emptied everything out of the pot, cleaned it, and started again but with no success. Cooks just as easily on the stovetop though & the chili is pretty tasty.
I’m so sorry this occured! We haven’t had that issue on this recipe.
Hi there. Do you drain the diced tomatoes before adding them?
No! Add with the juices.
Hi there! I only have a 3 quart instant pot and am an absolute dunce when it comes to cooking. Could I half the ingredients and everything should still work out relatively okay? This is a general question for anyone lol
Hi! Yes, this should work fine for most recipes. The time it takes to come up to pressure will be a little different, so you may need to occasionally adjust the cooking time but you’d have to try it once first.
How big are the serving sizes? It says serves 6, but it seems like the servings would be big.
Sorry, we don’t have a cup measure for you. It serves 6 large or 8 medium servings.
Great recipe and very easy! The chili was especially delicious with the toppings you suggested. I substituted regular diced and crushed tomatoes for the fire roasted since my daughter does not like spice.
I absolutely love this recipe! This is my second time making it and it is incredible. Everyone I give it to loves it as well. Thank you for this recipe!
So glad you’re enjoying it!
Hi! I love this recipe! I’m just wondering — is there any specific reason you recommend adding the beans in AFTER the lentil mixture has cooked in the Instant Pot? Is it just a space issue? Just wondering whether cooking the beans with everything else is an option. Thanks!
Hi! Canned beans would turn to mush in the Instant Pot, and dried beans would need an extra 30 minutes. That’s why we add them at the end!
Made this tonight for my friends and I. I was a bit nervous cause I had never made it and I was hosting but wow! So delicious! All my friends loved it as well and got seconds. Thank you!!
So glad you loved it!
Hello! Are you using dry lentils? Can’t wait to make this (:
Yes, dry lentils. Enjoy!
This is delicious but a bit too spicy! What’s the best way to cut some of the heat? Less cumin or less chili powder? I only had chipotle chili powder, so that may be the difference?
Yes, the chipotle chili powder probably had a bit more quick than the standard type! Glad it was still good :)
will my 6-8 quart insta pot hold a double batch of this chili?
I don’t think there would be room, but I’m not certain!
I just tried to a double batch in my 8 quart IP. It wouldn’t pressurize and I got a burn notice. I wouldn’t attempt it.
I just made this for dinner and it was so deliciou Thank you for sharing recipies! I will definitely make this again!!
I just wanted to say that this recipe blew me away!!! I have not eaten meat in 6 months and have tried several ways to make my chili. This was sooo good. Thank you so much for sharing!!! It is going to be a must at every occasion to come!
So glad you enjoyed!
Hi
Do you think this would work with red lentils?
Hi! I think that the red lentils might cook too quickly for this one!
I made this supper this evening and it tastes great. As another commenter said, a bit of sugar cuts the acidity of the tomato sauce. This is a big batch – I’ll have a lot of leftovers for days to come.
Will this work with dried beans? Can they be added with the lentils and other veggies or should they be cooked separately and added later?
Hi! They’d take a lot longer to cook so you would need to cook them previously.
So are we using raw Lentils or cooked lentils?
Raw lentils.
I feel like this should be stated in the recipe. Try as I might I could not find that info until I looked at the comments. I rehydrated my lentils first…darn.
We updated the recipe to state “dry” lentils! As a rule recipes that call for just “lentils” in the ingredients should mean dry lentils, and “canned lentils” would signify that they’re before using. But you never know, so thanks for checking!
I only have a 3 quart Instant Pot.. it’s not big enough to make this recipe in. Can this be made on the stove? If so how long would you cook it for?
Hi! We have several similar stovetop chili recipes listed here: https://www.acouplecooks.com/3-vegetarian-chili-recipes-to-win-a-chili-cookoff/
Fabulous! Only suggestion — and it’s a small one – is to add a wee bit of sugar to cut the acidic taste from all the tomatoes.
I have just made this chili for dinner and it was DELICIOUS! Sooo easy!