The chili from the night before always tastes better, but only if it’s reheated correctly. Chili is such an instant food. Cook in bulk, freeze it and eat it whenever the hunger pangs strike. If you don’t have time to cook each day, cooking and storing chili for later is your solution to a quick meal. If you plan to cook loads of chili, you’ll need to learn the proper way to reheat chili in instant pot. That’s the quickest, or shall we say instantaneous, way to reheat this delicious and mouthwatering food.
Rules to Reheat Leftover Chili in Instant Pot
If you have leftover chili or you’ve cooked in bulk to freeze and eat later, don’t leave the chili or any leftovers for that matter outside for more than two hours. Two hours is the max you can go, and exceeding it threatens both the flavor and freshness of the dish. You need to place the leftover chili in an airtight container.
Safety First: Rules to Follow for Using an Instant Pot
Before we tell you how to reheat chili in instant pot, there are some safe reheating rules you need to follow. They include:
- Place your instant pot on a countertop or a flat and heat-safe surface such as the countertop in your kitchen.
- Don’t place it near kitchen towels, papers, or water.
- Check to ensure the cord is not stuck or crimped and turn the vent hole on the instant pot’s lid to face towards the center of the room.
- Use a programmable instant pot. You can set a programmable instant pot on either “high” or “low” setting for a predetermined number of minutes.
Reheat Chili in an Instant Pot
Follow these steps:
- Pour the chili if in the fridge directly into the instant pot. If you’ve taken the chili out of the freezer, let it thaw for at least an hour before you put it in the instant pot.
- Once poured, close the lid, and turn the knob to a “sealing” position, select either the “manual” button or the “pressure cooker” button, and set the timer to “zero.”
- The instant pot will reheat the chili as pressure builds up. If you were cooking chili, you wouldn’t set the timer to “zero.” Since you’re only reheating it, putting it on the “zero” setting will just warm it up.
- When the timer beeps, your instant pot will switch to the “keep warm” setting automatically.
*Tip: When you’re pouring the chili into the instant pot to reheat it, fill it below the “max fill” line. When the timer beeps to indicate that your chili is warm, let the pressure release on its own for 5 minutes before you press the “quick release” button to let out the rest of the steam and open the lid.
You are now free to take out the chili from the fridge or freeze to reheat it in your instant pot. If you don’t have an instant pot, it’s a good investment for heating chili, soups, and other types of dishes.