Do you have a go-to meal that you have on repeat in your kitchen? Chili is that meal for me, and I never get tired of it. Even before embarking on a low carb diet, chili was a staple in our house. I make it at least once a week for dinner and always have enough for leftovers to bring to work with me. This tomatillo chili recipe has been in constant rotation lately.
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I’m always on the lookout for a decent chili recipe. When I stumbled across Suzanne’s Keto Chili recipe over at her blog KetoKarma, I knew instantly it was a keeper. Slow cooked, spicy, yum.
My family adored it (a prerequisite for any of my go-to meals), and we’ve devoured it numerous times. Her keto chili serves as the inspiration for this recipe. The 50/50 beef-to-pork ratio was a solid base to build off of, and you really can’t go wrong with ground cumin and chili powder.
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I’ve adapted the recipe for the pressure cooker
and use tasty tomatillos and jalapeno peppers as my vegetables of choice to give it a little extra kick. Make sure to include the jalapeno seeds if you like it spicy! I go back and forth between using fresh and canned veggies - I prefer the taste of fresh veggies, but if I don't prep ahead, the can opener has its appeal.
If you are on the hunt for canned tomatillos or jalapeno, try checking where they stock the ingredients for Mexican cuisine. Grab your chili powder while you're there too, there's usually a wider variety to choose from, and in my experience, they are quite a bit spicier.
Tomatillo Chili in the Slow Cooker vs. Pressure Cooker
Don't have a pressure cooker? Bust out the crockpot so you can eat this asap… and then immediately go pick one up while it’s cooking because they’re amazing.
I’m a total convert for a couple of reasons: 1) the cook time for EVERYTHING is dramatically reduced and 2) most recipes are one-pot meals because you can do all the browning and sautéing right in the pressure cooker (fewer dishes to wash! Yay!).
What's the best pressure cooker?
I recommend the InstantPot to everyone because it's an electric pressure cooker with pre-set buttons, taking all the guesswork out of cooking under pressure. I got one for my birthday (thanks, mom!) and both my mom and sister followed suit after I couldn't shut up about my new favorite kitchen gadget. I only use stovetop pressure cookers now if I'm working in huge batches or cooking something unusually large.
This tomatillo chili is great when you are short on time but want a home cooked meal from scratch. If you have any extra tomatillos left over, be sure to try this tomatillo pico de gallo recipe!
Meal Planning & Prepping Tips
- Plan meals using similar ingredients to maximize your grocery budget and time in the kitchen. Waste not, want not.
- Chop all of your veggies ahead of time (prep days are fantastic, btw), and you can easily shave 5-10 minutes off of your prep time for this meal.
- Buying meat in bulk and freezing is a great way to save money and eliminate unnecessary trips to the grocery store. Just be sure to remove it from the freezer to thaw in advance. Waiting for something to thaw when you’re ready to cook is like watching water boil.
- Make enough for leftovers! This tomatillo chili is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. Don’t be afraid to make extra to have for lunch or dinner later in the week. You don’t have to live in the kitchen to eat healthily!
How much water?
The model of your pressure cooker will determine how much water is required for the tomatillo chili. When developing this recipe, I used an older model of the InstantPot. In this older model, ¼ cup water was sufficient. But the new IP models run hotter and that means you'll get a burn notice if you don't use a bit more fluid. I'd recommend using anywhere from ¾ - 1 cup water if you are using a newer InstantPot model. Adjust the fluid volume based on how your pressure cooker runs.
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Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground beef
- 1 pound Ground pork
- 3 Tomatillos Chopped
- ½ white onion Chopped
- 6 oz Tomato paste
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper Chopped, including seeds
- 1 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tbsp Chili Powder
- ¼ - 1 cup water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Brown the beef and pork. I prefer to use the pressure cooker for browning to make it a one-pot meal and only one dish to wash!
- Add all other ingredients to the pressure cooker: tomatillo, onion, tomato paste, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, and water. [Note: If you are using an older model Instant Pot, ¼ cup water is sufficient, new IP models run hotter and require more fluid to prevent burning. Use up to 1 cup water, depending on the model of pressure cooker you own.] Thoroughly mix.
- Close and secure pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 35 minutes, then remove from heat to allow the pressure to drop naturally.
- Serve as-is or with low carb toppings of your choice!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Tasha–nutritionist, recipe developer, and multi-published cookbook author.
I would really prefer not to use a pressure cooker for something like this. How do I convert pressure cooking instructions to conventional stove instructions? Also, is he amount of water needed in the recipe increased when made the conventional way?
What takes a quick 30-40 minutes in the pressure cooker can easily translate into an all day simmer in the crockpot or stovetop for similar taste and texture. I would start off with the same amount of water and stir periodically as it simmers on the stovetop for this. If you go for a long simmer, you may need to add small amounts of water as it starts to cook off. I personally have not cooked this on the stovetop without a pressure cooker, but I would follow the prep instructions and place into a big soup/stew pot instead. Just taste as it cooks and serve it up when you are satisfied with the flavors and consistency. That's the best part of stovetop cooking, you get to taste and season you go!
What is the size of a single serving?
Based on the nutritional numbers given, looks like the whole pot is 8 servings (56/7 = 8).
Making this in the crock pot now! Had to use canned tomatillos and accidently put 1/2 cup water instead of 1/4 ? hopefully it's still yummy
How long should I cook in my crock pot on low? Thanks!!
Fantastic recipe, a keeper, i will add a bit more jalapeno next time though
This wasn't fantastic! Because my girls aren't fans of spicy, I used the jalapeño but without the seeds. Fantastic!!
Ahh I mean fantastic! Not wasn't! Oops
I do this on the stove stop, Brown the meats then remove to add and soften the onions I put the tomato paste in next and fry it a bit. They I add the garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder and toast them a bit, I also add a tbsp of smoked paprika for that authentic chili taste and an 1/8 of a teaspoon of organic Saigon cinnamon for that extra “hmm what is that?” Add back in the meat and tomatillos and jalapeño stir to coat the meat then I bump the water up to 2 3/4 cup this way as it’s simmering on the stove it gives it enough moisture not to dry it all out! It takes about 3-3 1/2 hours all told, not as fast as an insta pot but not that hard or bad time wise either.
This is the second time I’m making this it’s fabulous! I also top it with shredded cheddar scallion slices and cilantro. It’s super filling and satisfying.
How many calories? I can't seem to find it anywhere on the page
I was wondering how much a serving was. Like is it 1 cup, 2 cups, etc.
Could you please advise as to what size can are 3 Tomatillos equivalent to if buying canned tomatillos? Thanks.
Most cans of tomatillos are very large...that is 28 oz, like the big tomato cans. You could divide that can into 3 equal portions (saving and using the juice) and use that in the recipe. Also, if you are buying tomatillos for a recipe, avoid the big ones...you're better off buying four small- med ones. A big one is the size of a hot-house vine tomato, or about 3" across...it's better to buy 4 tomatillos that are 2" across. (The large tomatillos can be slightly bitter, whereas the smaller are not.) You don't have to worry about bitterness with canned ones. With the fresh ones, peel back the paper when choosing at the market... so that you can see the skin and avoid ones that are getting old (black spots/mushed). By the way, you use the whole tomatillo in a recipe, skin and all.
Another tip. Herdez Brand Salsa Verde is AWESOME, ketogenic and very low carb. 2 Tablespoons have only 2 carbs and 1 fiber, so 1 net carb for two T! You could use that instead of tomatillos in the recipe. It's basically made out of tomatillo with some chilis, garlic, cilantro, onion...I'd use maybe 1/2 cup to replace 3 tomatillos in the recipe. It's not spicy. I put that Salsa Verde in everything from bone broth & soups, to eggs & keto cream sauces. I would not live without it. It might be more versatile for you to have this in the fridge as a staple,, then to buy the can or the fresh ones... Every brand of Salsa Verde is slightly different tasting, you can get Walmart pretty cheaply, and it's good to use in soups/stews, etc, but not nearly as good as the Herdez brand.
Mary thanks for the tip on using Herdez Salsa Verde. I made the chili with it and used a can of rotell drained and my husband said it was the best chili ever. I loved it as well.
Thank you for the tips Mary! I have never bought or cooked with tomatillos before so I appreciate it!
Mary this is our new favorite salsa and it worked great in this chili! Thanks!
How much water do you add? (it’s not on the ingredients list)
I was also wondering this
I made this exactly as directed, using an 8 qt. Power XL Pressure Cooker, and 2 cups of water.....I was a little skeptical as the ingredients seem minimal, but this was one of the best chili I've had, and came out perfectly! My wife and son loved it too! Definitely a keeper.....Thank You for sharing this recipe!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. It's been a while since I've made this for the family, I think I'll whip it up this week. We all love it too! Thank you for the kind words and positive review. (:
Hi, I am ready to try this recipe but it doesn’t say how much water to use. Please advise.
I used 2 cups of water and it came out about right...... if you want really thick chili, you could try 1.5 cups.....
Was this in the instant pot? I used 2 cups in mine and it basically made soup. So disappointed.
So sorry! This is an older recipe on my site and when I switched over to a new recipe plugin some of the recipes didn't transfer perfectly over. I appreciate the feedback, didn't realize the water amount didn't populate in the recipe until I started looking back at my older posts. I updated the recipe to reflect the amount. I used 1/4 cup water in the Instant Pot.
Sorry if this is a silly question.. I just got an InstantPot and still getting used to using it. How long does the InstantPot take to brown the meat before you add in the rest of the ingredients?
Brown the meat on the saute function. That would take the same amount of time as would browning the meat on any other heat source.
Looks so flavorful and delicious. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
The recipe mentions adding water, but I don't see an amount. How much water should we be adding?
This was great! My husband loves chili, and his only complaint was that I didn't double the batch! It is on the mild side, but this works well for kids, and we like to pile pickled jalapeños on top of ours anyways. For all of those asking about water, I didn't add any at all to ours. There was plenty enough moisture from the meat and veggies to come up to pressure.
I would have to disagree and can't fathom how that was that you didn't get a 'burn' notice on your IP. I got one twice bc I didn't realize the recipe even needed water until I started scrolling through all the comments. YIKES! That was a headache!
So sorry! I've updated the recipe with the water amount, I didn't notice the issue until reviewing comments on this older post. I used a quarter cup water when developing this recipe, but I have an older model of the Instant Pot. I have heard from many people that the newer models run hotter and burn more easily. I'm going add a note in the recipe about potentially increasing the water amount to prevent that burning from happening, hopefully prevent it from happening to others!
How much water? It's not on the ingredient list Thanks..
1/4 cup! If you are using a new model Instant Pot, you may need up to 3/4 cup to prevent the burn notice from occurring.
Water amount??
1/4 cup! If you are using a new model Instant Pot, you may need up to 3/4 cup to prevent the burn notice from occurring.
How much water? It has been asked repeatedly but no answer
1/4 cup water, sorry for the delayed response! There was an error with my recipe card, but I’ve updated the recipe. I appreciate the feedback, it really helps me out!
Like several other readers, I would like to know how much water to add. It is not listed in the ingredients.
1/4 cup water, sorry for the delayed response! There was an error when transferring my recipe cards to a new plugin. I've updated the recipe with the correct amount! Thanks for pointing out the issue, I appreciate the feedback!
How big is a serving size? 1 cup, 2?
The recipe makes 8 servings. Divvied out evenly 8 ways the nutrient info provided will align with that. My estimate would be that you will get about 1.5 cups per serving. If you divvy out the chili 4 ways, just be sure to double the nutrition info!
This came out so yummy... no, FABULOUS! My first recipe for my new Instant Pot 6 qt Duo. I used just over a cup of water since the pot directions mentioned using 18oz fluid for most recipes. I figured the Tomatillos would give off plenty of their juice too. I had never thought about Tomatillos in my Chili before, but now I am a believer! I tried it out on my coworkers and they went nuts for it. This will be my Go-to Chili recipe from now on! Thank you so much!
Teresa, thanks so much for the positive feedback! It's really helpful to receive input, I appreciate you sharing the volume that worked for your pressure cooker model. It will definitely help other readers who give the recipe a spin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 😘
Hi Teresa, did you use canned tomatillos and if so which brand??
Will this work with canned tomatillos? I have never once seen a fresh tomatillo where I live in Canada 😞
Yes! It will definitely work with canned tomatillos or even a low carb green salsa.
Awesome thx! I can get both of those at my local grocery store.
Hi there, I will be making your chili tonight and I JUST got my Instant Pot yesterday so my apologies if this is a stupid question.....When you say "cook at high pressure for 35 min, then remove from heat", what setting (Soup? Meat/Stew?) do I select? And what does "remove from heat" mean? Does it shut off on its own?
Okay this is my third recipe from the website I can’t wait to eat it tonoght! I’ve already make “eggroll in a bowl” and the cabbage and beef soup both were excellent and very well received in my house now tonight will be the tomatillo chili! So far easy recipes to make and they last a few days for easy suppers too!
This is my new favorite chili. I've been making this once, sometimes twice, a month since discovering it this past September. So flavorful! Couple it with some nice cornbread and it's a homerun.
Thanks Elizabeth! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It's a family favorite in our house as well. 🙂
I have been making chili since I learned how to cook. I have so many different chili recipes I’ve tried over the years. I’ve even won a couple of competitions. This is hands down one of the best chili recipes I’ve ever tried. I really followed it pretty close prob added about 1.25c of water, I drained the fat, used a whole small onion, and used carne picarta for the beef (sort of like course grind skirt steak). I will be using smoked brisket next time I make this and look forward to it. Thanks for sharing your recipe my wife and I have been doing keto for almost a month now and we both love chili so nice to get some keto friendly comfort food. Only reason I added the extra water is it gave me a burn alarm when it was trying to pressurize, I use the instant pot viva 8qt. So I just added a tad more water stirred it up real good off bottom and it was fine.
Thank you for the positive feedback, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Instant pots are a bit tricky from model to model, so I really appreciate your comment about the extra water. It will definitely help other readers with the same model. Thanks a bunch! 🙂
Made this chili a couple days ago and it was delicious! Very little liquid, and mostly meat, but still tasted like chili for sure! My only complaint is that it didn't make enough left overs! I might double it next time!
Also, as advised by Mary in the comments, I bought Herdez brand Salsa Verde and used 1/2 cup of that instead of buying whole tomatillos. My brother and I both love it now on eggs and in burritos too!
I also used a crock pot to heat this and put it on high for 2 hours which worked great. And 1/4 tsp of salt worked out well for me.
Thanks you so much for the feedback and comments. I appreciate you taking the time to add your recipe tweaks, so helpful for other readers!