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Instant Pot Vegan Chili – Oil-free Kidney Bean Red Lentil Chili. Easy Flavorful Bean Lentil Vegetarian Chili 18 Gm Protein! Saucepan Option. Vegan Glutenfree Nutfree Soyfree Recipe. Jump to Recipe 
It was hot last week to give a glimpse of Summer, and then we hit a cold front again. So here we are enjoying a bowl of chili for dinner! Curries, stews, chili, Dal are all season meals in my house. A hearty 1 Pot meal with veggies and beans and flavors of choice!
This chili has veggies, red lentils and kidney beans. The lentils add a great texture and also thicken the chili really well. Add whichever beans you like to make up the bulk. I like to use chipotle and ancho chilies for flavor. Use dry or canned chipotle pepper to preference.
This chili is Simple, hearty, quick and Delicious.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto. No standing and stirring needed! GF
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chickin(soycurls). GF – Creamy, Delicious
- Japanese Veggie Curry. GF
- Potato Chickpea Spinach Soup. GF
- More Instant Pot Recipes!
Use re lentils in this popular Instant Pot Lasagna Soup with Red lentils, Tortilla soup, Srilankan red lentil coconut Curry!
Tips for an amazing chili in the instant pot every time
- Cook the veggies and tomato on saute for a more rounded flavor and texture.
- Add just enough liquid for the lentils for a thick chili as water does not evaporate while pressure cooking.
- Add texture ingredients such as chopped mushrooms, beefy crumbles, walnuts. Add a blend of different mexican dried chilies, powdered or flakes for flavor variations.
- Toppings are not optional 🙂
- Burn issues: Red lentils can sometimes tend to clump and settle and then burn at the bottom. To reduce this possibility, 1. Mix the lentils in really well for about 10-15 seconds so that they distribute and start to absorb some liquid and hence not settle. 2. Or sprinkle them over after step 3 and dont mix, 3. Or Add 1/2 cup more water and 1 or 2.
- There are several things that can affect thick dishes in a pressure cooker. The model, type of IP, the moisture content in veggies& tomato, anything stuck on the bottom of the pot, the age of the lentils etc. Sometimes whole lentils are labelled as red lentils. I use the split kind in this recipe. The non split red lentils will make an even thicker chili.
Instant Pot Vegan Chili - Oil-free Kidney Bean Red Lentil Chili
Instant Pot Vegan Chili - Oil-free Kidney Bean Red Lentil Chili. Easy Flavorful Pressure Cooker Vegetarian Chili. Vegan Glutenfree Nutfree Soyfree Recipe. Saucepan Option
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water or broth
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 jalapeno or 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 red bell pepper or green bell pepper, chopped
- 15 oz can kidney beans or 1.5 cups cooked, , or use black beans
- 1/2 cup dry red lentils, quick cooking lentils (masoor dal)
- 2 tsp ground cumin or a combination of cumin and coriander
- 1 to 2 tsp paprika, I use a combination of smoked paprika and sweet
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili flakes or powder, or ancho chili powder
- 1 to 2 tsp chili powder blend, chili blend not pure chili powder, optional
- 1/2 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 28 oz diced tomato, with juices
- 1 to 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 tsp salt, (less if using salted broth and beans)
- 1.5 cups water, or veggie broth
- lemon juice to taste, , cayenne or black pepper for heat
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- avocado, , hot sauce, vegan sour cream, chopped onion, tortilla strips, other toppings
Instructions
- Add water or broth to the instant Pot on Saute when hot. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir frequently. Add another tbsp water to deglaze if needed.
- Add the veggies and a good dash of salt and mix. Cook for another 2 minutes. (At this point you can add the tomatoes and cook them until tender for 3 to 4 mins, stirring occasionally. This adds a deeper flavor profile or follow next step for quicker).
- Add the kidney beans, red lentils, spices, tomato, tomato paste, salt and water and give it a good mix to pick up any stuck bits. (You can also add other cooked beans at this point. Add some corn, veggies, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts for texture for variation). Add 1/2 cup more water for thinner consistency or if tomatoes werent as juicy..
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 8 to 9 minutes (Manual/Pressure Cook, high pressure). Let the pressure release naturally. Mix in 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice and half of the cilantro.
- Taste and adjust salt, heat and flavor and add more if needed. Serve hot garnished with chopped onion, jalapeno, cilantro, avocado, hot sauce. See Saucepan instructions in Notes
Video
Notes
For variation: Add a pinch of cinnamon and all spice with the spices.
Use a 1/3 cup red lentils and add a can of black beans for more beany chili.
Saucepan: Follow steps 1 and 2 in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatoes, spices and tomato paste and cook until tender, mash the larger pieces. Add beans, lentils, salt, 2 cups water/broth, mix well. Partially cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition is 1 of 3 serves
Nutrition
Calories: 306kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 682mg, Potassium: 1416mg, Fiber: 21g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 4805IU, Vitamin C: 63.2mg, Calcium: 193mg, Iron: 7.9mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Loved this chile! I’ve been wanting a good vegan chile recipe- this is it! The flavors are delicious.
My big question regarding the instant pot recipes is when you say pressure cook on manual. My pot does not have a manual setting and when I pressure cook for 8 minutes, it takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure then the 8 minutes starts and that creates an overdone creamed product. For this recipe, knowing 8 minutes on pressure would be overdone, I used chile setting and timed it with my phone. It still needed longer cooking, but that was not a problem. Can you explain the manual setting and the time? I love your recipes! Thank you!
Yes, they changed the button to “pressure cook” in the new models. It used to be “manual”. The cook time is the time you would set the IP to, whichever the button name. So 8 mins is the time value to set on the pot. ie. time the food is getting cooked when the pressure has reached in the pot, that does not include time to come to pressure. hope this makes sense.
You can cook for less time. I found that the 8 mins worked best tocook the lentils and veggies to a more chili consistency than a stewish
Thank you very much; so thoughtful of you to reply so promptly and explain it to me! 😊
I’m not a huge chili fan, but this was delicious. Made it in my 3 qt Instant Pot. I’ll be making this again. Thanks Richa.
awesome!
Sadly I don’t have any lentils! I might create this with solely pinto beans, even though the overall base won’t be the same. You definitely know how to marry spices and flavors beautifully, so I have faith that the recipe will still turn out marvelously!
This was great! This was my first time not using oil to sauté. I did not add the water because I subbed fresh tomatoes for 1/2 of the diced and used the liquid in the can of beans
awesome!
In the US, red lentils is not kidney beans. Those are different and look like the yellow moong dal.
Red lentils are not kidney beans anywhere. Red lentils are masoor dal. The chili has both red lentils (masoor dal) and Kidney beans(rajma). Red “Beans” can be used for small kidney beans.
Which instant pot do you use? I am thinking of buying one.
Thanks
6 qt Duo instant pot
Just cooked it. Delicious! Thank you for these recipe!
awesome!
Thanks. Making this today. Can you tell me where you got the very nice bowl in the photos?
from etsy.
This was awesome!!!
yay!
Amazing! as always. It was so quick to throw it together for dinner tonite.
awesome!
I’m in love with this recipe and I’ve made it 3 times in the last month and shared with colleagues at work! It’s been a hit each time! Comes out perfect each time!
I made this today and its amazing thank you