Instant Pot Smoky Chicken Chili is full of Mexican spices, hearty ingredients, and the most delicious smoky chili flavor! With chopped onions, peppers, garlic, canned beans, tomatoes and diced chilies, chicken stock, light beer, Mexican spices, and chicken breasts. A tasty Instant Pot chicken chili recipe that only requires 10 minutes of pressure cooking!
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Why You'll Love This Chicken Chili
This Instant Pot Smoky Chicken Chili is hearty and delicious and tastes like it’s been simmering over a campfire for days! Ok, maybe not days but at least a few hours. 😀
How do you feel about smoky flavoring?
Personally, I’m a big fan of all things smoked… like a yummy smoked turkey, some Mezcal (aka smoky tequila) in my margarita, and one of my favorite spices, smoked paprika – which of course I used in today’s recipe!
This chicken chili is soooo good my friend!
And it couldn’t be any easier!
Literally you dump everything into the Instant Pot, pressure cook it for 10 minutes, and Voila! The most mouthwatering bowl of smoky goodness you have ever tasted!
I have to say, some of my favorite Instant Pot recipes are soups. Like my Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, and my Instant Pot Chicken Salsa Verde Soup… mmm, elixir from heaven, I tell ya!
And now I have another favorite to add to the list thanks to this chicken chili recipe!
You’re gonna love this chili and not just because it super tasty but because it’s crazy easy as well.
I mentioned that you just add all the ingredients into the pot and then set the IP to pressure cook – and that is precisely what you do.
But of course, you know me, I have more words for you.
Allow me to share a few more details about this yumminess…
How to make Instant pot Chicken Chili
I will say there is a bit of chopping involved in this chili. I chopped up a large onion, two poblano peppers, two sweet bell peppers, two jalapeño peppers, and some cilantro. Then I minced the garlic and added it all to the Instant Pot.
Then, I dumped in a can of black beans, Great Northern beans, diced tomatoes, Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chili), some tomato paste, chicken stock, beer, and some mesquite liquid smoke.
FYI there are serval varieties of Rotel... In this chicken chili I used the Serrano Rotel version which gave it a little heat, but use the one you like best. There are also Fire Roasted, Hot Habanero (this one is for my heat lovers!), Chili Fixin’s and Original of course.
I should also mention, there are also a few different flavors of liquid smoke out there. I tried hickory the first time I made it and mesquite the next time. Mesquite was my favorite by far!
Next, I added the dried spices… salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, oregano and coriander...
... and gave it all a good stir.
I tucked the chicken breasts down in the mixture, sealed the Instant Pot and set the pressure cook time for 10 minutes. It took almost 30 minutes for the pressure cooker to come to pressure.
After the 10 minutes of cooking was up I manually released the pressure. That took a few more minutes.
I removed the chicken and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then shred it and folded it back into the chicken chili.
Seeee, like I said… it couldn’t be any easier!
I served it with a bunch of toppings like diced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, chopped tomatoes, Mexican cheese, and sour cream.
Time Saving Tip
Here’s a time-saving tip for you…
If you’re looking to cut down on your prep time, you could always purchase the pre-chopped veggies in the refrigerated produce section of your grocery store.
It turned out to be chicken chili perfection my friend! Seriously, you’re not gonna be able to stop with just one bowl.
In the unlikely event that you have any leftovers from this chicken chili recipe, you'll probably want to add more chicken stock when you reheat iti, because the ingredients may have absorbed some of the liquid.
Instant Pot Smoky Chicken Chili - loaded with hearty veggies and beans, warm Mexican spices, tender chicken and the most delicious smoky chili flavor!
Instant Pot Smoky Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Smoky Chicken Chili is full of Mexican spices, hearty ingredients and the most delicious smoky chili flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 poblano peppers, seeds and ribs removed and chopped
- 2 red or orange peppers, seeds and ribs removed and chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers diced (seeds and ribs removed for less spice)
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 14 ounces canned small white beans (Navy or Great Northern Beans), drained and rinsed
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 can Original Rotel
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 8 ounces lite beer
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Optional toppings:
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced green onions
- Chopped tomatoes
- Diced jalapenos
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Add the chopped onions, poblano peppers, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, cilantro and minced garlic to the Instant Pot.
- Add in the black beans, Great Northern Beans, canned diced tomatoes, Rotel, tomato paste, chicken stock, lite beer and the liquid smoke.
- Now for all the spices… add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and coriander. Give it a good stir until everything is mixed together.
- Next, tuck the chicken breasts into the middle of the mixture.
- Set the IP pressure cook time to 10 minutes on high pressure. It will take about 30 minutes to come to pressure. When the cook time has completed, manually release pressure (this will take about 3-5 minutes). Turn the IP off.
- Remove the chicken, set aside for 5 minutes. Then shred and fold back into the chili.
- Serve with your favorite toppings… chopped cilantro, diced green onions, chopped tomatoes, diced jalapeños, shredded cheese and sour cream – and enjoy!
Notes
When reheating, you'll want to add more chicken stock, because the ingredients may have absorbed some of the liquid.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
10 ouncesAmount Per Serving Calories 522Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 159mgSodium 1117mgCarbohydrates 35gFiber 10gSugar 6gProtein 67g
This nutrition card uses an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice!
PS: No Instant Pot? No worries! Try this stovetop Smoky Chicken Chili instead!
Other Delicious Chili Recipes
And if you're looking for other yummy comforting chili recipes you'll love these!
Thomas
Why don’t you write what amounts you put in of each item.
Like this..
1cup black beans
2 garlic clovers
And so on
And not time beside the 10min under pressure.
I love to try this dish but how can I when it is incomplete….
holly
Hi Thomas if you scroll down to the bottom of the recipe you'll find the ingredient card with the quantities of each ingredient and the instructions card right under that!
Marla
I’d love to try this but would like to use my Crock Pot. Have you ever tried it?
holly
Hi Maria, I have not tried this recipe in the slow cooker. But I have a similar recipe I make in the slow cooker that you could use as a guide. Here it is... https://tasteandsee.com/southwest-chicken-soup/
Ashley L
What brand of beer did you use for this!? 🙂
Bryan
Hi Ashley, we'd use a liter beer such as Corona... technically that's a "pale lager." Hope you enjoy!! 🙂 - B&H
Vicki
If you don’t have a insta pot can you make this in a croc pot.
Bryan
Hi Vicki, YES!!! We have a non-instant pot version here: https://tasteandsee.com/smoky-chicken-chili/ - Hope you enjoy it! 🙂 - H&B
Karen Weiss
This was absolutely delicious! I love the smokey flavor!!!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe. 🙂
Bryan
Thank you Karen! So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂 - H&B