Vegetarian Chili (Instant Pot)

I wanted a recipe for chili made in my instant pot but I had a few criteria for it:
It had to use dry beans
No pre-soaking of the beans
It had to be zero Weight Watchers Freestyle Points
I couldn't find such a recipe anywhere, so with some experimenting I came up with this one. My two teenage daughters love, love, love it!

I really like the richer flavour of beef in my chili but that adds points to it, but I found that chopped portobello mushrooms give a lot of the umami flavour that the meat otherwise gives it.

1 cup dry kidney beans

1 cup dry black beans

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)

2 to 3 portobello mushrooms, diced small

1 ½ tbsp cumin, ground

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp tomato paste

Celery, inner ribs and leaves, chopped

2 Poblano Peppers, diced

1 jalapeño pepper, minced (or to taste)

3 sweet red/yellow/orange peppers, diced

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels

1 medium zucchini, cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking spray

Rinse beans and put in the instant pot with enough water to be 1 inch above the level of the beans.

Close Instant Pot lid and make sure the handle is in ‘Sealing’ position.

Pressure cook for 20 minutes. Do a natural pressure release for about 15 minutes.

Press ‘Cancel’ and release any pressure that is left, open the pot, drain the beans and set aside.

Wipe out inner pot and turn the pot to sauté, spray with cooking spray (or use some vegetable oil if preferred - I use cooking spray to reduce the calories).

Add onions, garlic, mushrooms and salt to pot and sauté for a minute or two, until onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste and sauté for another minute.

Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika and stir. Note that the amounts for the spices are approximate - adjust according to your own taste.

Add the rest of the vegetables except the zucchini and corn. Sauté for about five minutes, stirring often.

Add the beans, corn, zucchini and canned tomatoes to the pot. Stir in the cocoa powder.

Press cancel to stop the sauté function, put the lid on the pot ensuring that the handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position, pressure cook for 12 minutes. Do a natural release for about 10 minutes, release the rest of the pressure.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle chili into serving bowls and serve with your choice of toppings: yogurt or sour cream with lime juice, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, sliced jalapeños, hot sauce, diced avocado, and/or tortilla chips.

This makes a really large amount of chili, I have the 8 quart instant pot and this fills it! If you have the 6 quart version then you may have to reduce the recipe.

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