Making chili from dried beans usually requires a long simmering time on the stovetop, but it can be ready in about an hour if you use a pressure cooker instead. Red onions, red bell peppers, and garlic are cooked with spices in the pressure cooker, then dried black beans that’ve been soaked overnight, chipotles, and tomatoes are added before cooking on high pressure for 30 minutes; corn is stirred in at the end for some crunchy sweetness. This chili is vegan on its own, but you can top it with your favorite nonvegan fixin’s like sour cream or cheese—and don’t forget the tortilla chips. Also, it freezes well, so you can have a healthy lunch or dinner ready to go anytime.

Game plan: Though the CHOW Test Kitchen prefers a stovetop pressure cooker, this recipe can also be made in an electric model. Use the brown setting for steps 2 and 3, then proceed with high pressure cooking.

The dried beans in this recipe need to be soaked overnight before cooking, so be sure to plan accordingly.

This recipe was featured as part of our story on pressure cookers.