
I never thought that chili would be something we would eat every month. I grew up eating can Nalley chili over rice at least once a month, and I wouldn’t say it was my number one meal. Plus, beans and chili wouldn’t be something I would put high on my list of things I think kids would like. However when my Dad made chili for us, my family really liked it. I guess I was wrong about the beans. My favorite version of chili is a Hawaiian chili that a restaurant in Hawaii called Zippy’s makes. It has Portuguese sausage, mayo, and is a sweeter taste that most chili. If you are going to Hawaii, stop by and get some chili, katsu, and saimin at Zippy’s. That said, I didn’t really want to wait 5 hours for the slow cooker to cook up some chili, and no way I’m cooking this over the stovetop. Thankfully these types of dishes are tailor made for the Instant Pot, I mean there is a good reason that there is an actual button called “chili” on it.
The instant pot is the perfect tool for the job because it gets the ingredients tender while making it all in about an hour. Cooking chili is just so easy to do in one pot. You are able to saute the vegetables and the meat in the instant pot, and then add in the rest of the ingredients to the pot to cook the chili up. Then if that wasn’t easy enough, you can even saute the chili in the pot to thicken it to the consistency you want.
Tips for making Instant Pot Hawaiian Chili
- Portuguese sausage is a must – I just isn’t the same if you use regular sausage. I buy this at the Japanese grocery store, and buy the Hawaiian Redondo brand of mild or hot.
- Mayonnaise is your friend – If the chili is too hot for you then add some more mayonnaise to cool it down and reduce the spiciness.
- Saute for the consistency – If the chili is too watery for your taste, put it on the saute function for 3-5 minutes to thicken it up. You can also add a bit of mayonnaise to the chili too.

What to eat with Hawaiian Chili
If you have an Instant Pot and want to cook up some Asian soups and stews my favorites are Galbitang a Korean short rib and radish soup, Nikujaga a Japanese beef and potato stew, and Chicken congee a Chinese rice soup.
This instant pot Hawaiian chili recipe was adapted from MochiMommy. The recipe is great, and I only made a couple of different edits. I prefer my sausage cut not ground, and I like my chili sweeter so I add sugar. I also timed the natural venting time, and added a saute step at the end for thickening the chili.

Instant Pot Hawaiian Chili
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Green bell pepper
- 1 Onion
- 3 Celery
- 1 can Kidney beans
- 1 can Pinto beans
- 3 tbsp Chili powder
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 6 oz Tomato paste
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 4 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
- Wash and dice your Green bell pepper.
- Wash and dice your onions.
- Wash and dice your celery.
- Get your garlic and mince it.
- Cut your Portuguese sausage in thin strips.
- Put your instant pot on saute, and add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.
- Add your diced green bell peppers, onions, and celery to the instant pot. You want to cook the vegetables until the onions are transparent, about 3-5 minutes.
- Now add your ground beef, Portuguese sausage, and garlic and cook until the beef is browned, about 3-5 minutes.
- Get your chili mix ready by mixing your 3 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tbsp of oregano, 1 tbsp of cumin, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of sugar in a bowl. Then add it to your instant pot. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Now add your 1 cup of chicken broth, 6 oz of tomato paste, and 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and mix good into the chili.
- Drain your beans until there is no liquid in the can. This is important because if you don't you will make your chili too liquidy. Add your beans to the instant pot.
- Add your 2 bay leaves and seal up the instant pot lid. Make sure it it set to sealing on the top.
- Press the "Chili/Stew" button or put it on High manual pressure and cook for 30 minutes.
- When the chili is done, put it on natural release for 15 minutes. Then if you want to open the lid by moving the top to venting feel free too. Watch out for the steam that might come out of the top.
- Now go add your 4 tbsps of mayonnaise to the chili and mix it around good.
- Put your instant pot on the saute function and mix until the chili is the consistency that you want. For me this is about 5 minutes.
- You are done! I put this over white rice, and garnish with green onions if you want.
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