Instant Pot Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

Guess what?! This is my first Instant Pot recipe for you! If you don’t have one, don’t worry! It can easily be made on the stovetop or in a Crock Pot. I bought my Instant Pot on Black Friday, which is definitely the best time to buy it if you’re in the market for one. Then it sat in my cabinet for over a month because using a pressure cooker made me nervous. I know I’m being a little ridiculous because electric pressure cookers are so easy to use, but it took me some time to build up the courage to use it. When I first started using it, I made three recipes that I loved. Wild rice and mushroom soup, chicken and spinach ramen, and picadillo were all hits! I became a lot more comfortable with the appliance and wanted to create my own recipes with it.

Here were a few things that surprised me about the Instant Pot. First, people rave about how quick they are. Dinner in 15 minutes? Sounds like a dream come true. Obviously that is cooking time, not prep time, but it also doesn’t include the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. While this won’t turn 15 minutes of cooking time into an hour, it definitely takes a little time for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Also, if you don’t do a manual release and allow the pressure to release naturally, that can also take time. By no means was this a deal-breaker for me, but it is important to note if you are cooking dinner and expect it to literally take just 15 minutes.

Here’s what I do love about the Instant Pot. It’s a very versatile cooker. It can make yogurt, hard-boil or soft-boil eggs, cook grains super quickly, and has a saute function. I especially love this feature for anything that requires browning meat before pressure cooking, making it a truly one-pot meal. All in all, I’m happy to have my Instant Pot and at the rate my kids eat yogurt, I’m sure I’ll be using that feature on it soon. 

Our all-time favorite chili with meat in it is this one, but I also wanted to have a meatless chili option on the blog. This one is hearty and full of protein without having meat in it, and if you do have an Instant Pot, cooking it is as simple as dumping all the ingredients in the pot and setting it to high pressure for 15 minutes. Cooking it on the stovetop is just as easy; just combine all the ingredients and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender. Done and done!  I use smoked paprika in this recipe, which has become one of my favorite spices. It has so much more depth than regular paprika and I’m using it so frequently that I snagged a huge container of it at Costco! If you don’t have smoke paprika in your pantry, I highly recommend adding it, but regular paprika will also work in a pinch.