An easy vegetarian bean, quinoa, and sweet potato chili made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker or slow cooker.

We’ve had a few days of cold weather lately and that always leaves me wanting something really warm for dinner. Chili has long been my go-to cold weather dinner. I make it on the stove, in the slow cooker, and now in my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker too. My Instant Pot Lentil Soup was such a big hit (thanks, guys!) that I wanted to share another hearty Instant Pot recipe with you. Next, be sure to try my Instant Pot Minestrone Soup!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry, I’ll leave slow cooker instructions too. If it seems like I’m posting a lot of Instant Pot recipes lately, there are two reasons for that. First, I’m really enjoying using it. I love that I can toss everything in and forget about it while I go about tending to other things. Second, I know many of my blog visitors are looking for Instant Pot recipes, so I’d like to have a nice batch of recipes living here.

This Instant Pot vegetarian chili is bulked up with two types of beans, quinoa, and sweet potato. It’s mildly spiced, so it’s not too spicy for kids. You can add more chili powder if you like more spice, or a dash of hot sauce on top. I love the contrast of the sweet potato and the other savory ingredients. This is another one of those recipes you might already have most of the ingredients for. Those are the best kind!

I often make this chili in the Instant Pot or slow cooker right when we get home from school and leave it on the “keep warm” setting until we are ready to eat. It’s so nice to have dinner ready at a moment’s notice when you have a family where one person doesn’t get home from work at a regular time each night and the kids are suddenly “so hungry.”

I usually serve this easy vegetarian chili with corn bread for a hearty stick-to-your-ribs meal. Bean and veggie chili is cheap, easy, and nourishing. I love to stir a handful of nutritional yeast into the pot for a mild cheesy flavor and added vitamins and minerals. My favorite nutritional yeast is from Bragg’s or Trader Joe’s. The kids hate it, but have never noticed it in soups and chilis. It cracks me up when they see me sprinkling the “nooch” and say, “Get your YEAST away!” The only thing I was missing with this dinner was some greens. I think next time I would slice some kale and wilt it in at the end. What do you think?