This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own!
Instant Pot Chili with Canned Beans and Tofu is one of my family's favorite meals, and it's so, so easy to make!
We have been eating this easy, delicious Instant Pot Chili with Canned Beans and Tofu once a week for months now! I love how it makes the house smell as it cooks, and I love that I don't have to watch a pot on the stove. Instead, you just saute a few ingredients, then add the rest of the chili ingredients, and let the pressure cooker do its thing.
PS - If you have leftover Instant Pot Chili, you can use it to make an awesome Leftover Chili Pie for supper tomorrow!
You may be asking, "Why use canned beans in the Instant Pot?" Of course, you can make chili from dried beans in your Instant Pot, but it takes longer. Sure, it doesn't take all day, like it would on the stove, but it still needs to cook at pressure for about an hour. Instant Pot Chili with Canned Beans and Tofu cooks at pressure for just 8 minutes!
Prepping Your Tofu
Pressing your tofu makes a big difference when you're cooking up this chili. As you guys probably know by now, I like to press mine with my EZ Tofu Press. The EZ Tofu Press uses two flat boards that tighten together with screws to press the tofu quickly, thoroughly, and evenly. I like to start my tofu pressing before I prep my veggies and other ingredients for this chili. That's more than enough time!
When you press, you get the water out of the tofu, which makes it much firmer and better at standing up to the heat and pressure in the Instant Pot.
Plus, when you press your chili, you're making more room for it to soak in the tasty broth flavors as it cooks. You'll end up with much more flavorful tofu if you take the few extra minutes to press.
Let's make some chili!
This recipe makes about four to six generous servings. For my family of two adults and a preschooler, we get three suppers and two adult-sized lunches out of this pot. I'm erring on the conservative side with this recipe and calling it four servings, but you can definitely stretch it out depending on the toppings that you choose.
Like most chilis, the toppings are my favorite part of this recipe. I think that's what makes chili such a crowd-pleasing recipe. Everyone can mix and match toppings to create their own perfect bowl of cozy, beany, goodness.
SO! Choose your toppings, pull out your Instant Pot, and let's make some chili, y'all!
Instant Pot Chili with Canned Beans and Tofu
Ingredients
For the Instant Pot Chili
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 bell pepper - chopped (Whatever color you like!)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed and diced into 1" pieces
- ¾ cup water
- 1 Not Beef Cube
- 1 15-ounce can black beans - drained
- 1 15-ounce can pinto beans - drained
- 1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned corn
- salt and pepper - to taste
Toppings (Choose your faves!)
- Haas avocado
- green onions
- pickled jalapenos
- vegan sour cream
- vegan cheese shreds
Instructions
- Turn on your pressure cooker to the saute function, and add the oil. Saute the onion and bell pepper for a few minutes, until the onion turns translucent.
- Add the garlic powder, salt, chili powder, and cumin. Give a quick stir, then add the tofu. Toss the tofu with the spices for 2 minutes.
- Add everything else but the salt, pepper, and toppings. Stir, and lock your pressure cooker's lid. Bring to high pressure for 8 minutes, then do a natural release (10-15 minutes).
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Donna Ponte
I have a beautiful All-Clad pressure cooker and would like to make the chili from scratch. Please tell me how much dry black and pinto beans to use. I'll then soak them overnight before I make the recipe in the pressure cooker.
PS I love Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes too!
Becky Striepe
That's a great question! That kind of conversion would require quit a bit of testing to sort out, and I'd hate to guess wrong! I'd recommend cooking the beans completely first, then using the cooked beans (1 1/2 cups per can the recipe calls for) in the chili recipe.
Shellie
Delicious Becky. We loved it, and two of us ate it all.
missy
Why has this recipe disappeared? All I can see are the comments & an about me blurb
Becky Striepe
Oh that is weird! I am seeing it on my end. Maybe it was just a momentary glitch, where the recipe card wasn't loading? Let me know if you still can't see it if you refresh the page.
ROBIN Denise SCHULTZ
If the beans are canned, why do you need to cook it for so long? Seems like it would just need a couple of minutes to heat it through.
Becky Striepe
The cooking time allows the flavors to meld. You know how chili usually tastes even better the next day? Cooking for a bit longer gives you a bit of that flavor boost on day one.
Kermit D Gingerich
wonder where the recipe is also. Can't find it.
Becky Striepe
If you are having a hard time finding it, you may need to disable your ad blocker. I use a recipe card plugin, and aggressive ad blockers block the recipe for some strange reason!