Vegetarian Zucchini Chili | Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

square image of vegetarian chili served in a pink bowl

5 from 9 votes

Vegetarian Zucchini Chili | Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

Delicious and comforting vegetarian chili with zucchini made in Instant Pot! Check out my "Saute, Dump and Go" vegetarian chili recipe with detailed step-wise pictures.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Pressure Cooking + Pressure Releasing Time20

Total Time45

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chili sin carne, vegetarian zucchini chili

Servings:

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil
1 onion finely chopped. Approx 250 grams
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp ginger chopped, optional
¼ cup corn I used frozen. Thaw it to room temperature.
500 grams zucchini peeled and chopped
½ cup colored bell peppers chopped
1 tbsp dark chili powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp brown sugar. Refer notes
3 oz tomato paste half of 6 oz can
1.5 tsp salt
2 canned black beans
2 tbsp cilantro chopped
1.5 cups water
½ cup cheese grated to serve, optional

Instructions

Chop all the veggies(onion, bell peppers, and zucchini) and set aside.Drain the water from the black beans and rinse it and set it aside.
Mix 3 oz of the tomato paste with 1 cup of water and set aside. Make sure there aren't any lumps.
Set the Instant Pot in saute mode. Add the 3 tbsp of oil and after 30 to 45 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger (optional). Saute until the onion turns soft and tender or for about 4 to 5minutes.
When it starts to turn brown, turn off the Instant Pot. Turning it off after sauteing onion helps to prevent the burn signal in the newer Instant Pot models.
Now add the corn, zucchini, bell peppers, and all the spices - dark chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, cocoa powder, and brown sugar. Gently mix.
Add the tomato paste mixed with water and mix again.
Now add the drained beans and gently spread it—no need to mix. As the canned beans were already soft, I did not mix them frequently. Add the remaining ½ cup of water.
Close the Instant Pot. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 3-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes, then quickly release the remaining pressure. Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure and mix the chili.
As you can see, the zucchini is soft but not mushy.
Now add the chopped cilantro and mix well. Add cheese, if using, and serve warm.

Notes

I used my homegrown zucchinis, and they weren't tender by the time I plucked them. So I went ahead with 3 minutes of cooking time. If you are using soft and tender zucchini, 2 minutes of cooking time should be enough.
Instead of 2 cans of black beans, you can use 1 can of black beans and 1 can of red kidney beans.
Sugar is optional. Adjust the salt and spices as per your preference. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder. If you don't have unsweetened cocoa, you can skip it.
Instead of zucchini, you can use butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Or instead of zucchini, you can add one more can of beans. You can add black bean, kidney beans, and navy beans and make it like a three-bean chili.
Skip the cheese for vegan chili.

Nutrition